Agritourism & Farm Experiences near Valparaiso, IN

Valparaiso

Valparaiso's Fall Harvest Festival takes over Central Park Plaza for one Saturday each October, timed to land on the final day of the Valparaiso Farmers Market. Kids paint pumpkins and get their faces painted while everyone else works through caramel apples and cider. It's a few hours, not a full day — the 2025 event ran 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Valparaiso

Wyckoff Hybrids has bred corn and soybean seed out of Valparaiso since George Bayard Wyckoff bought 200 acres here in 1903. The company now supplies regional growers with hybrid corn and soybean varieties, backed by its own yield trial and plot data. Office hours run Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed weekends. This is a seed supplier, not a pick-your-own stop.

Valparaiso

Anderson's Orchard & Winery has poured wine in Valparaiso since 1927, working through Cabernet, Marquette, Red Zinfandel, Concord, Rose, and sparkling varieties alongside wine slushies. The remodeled tasting room opens Friday through Sunday, noon to 6 p.m., with flatbreads, sandwiches, and charcuterie on the menu and live music and weddings booked through the venue.

Westville

Coburg Flower Depot grows daylilies across three acres in Westville, with more than 500 varieties open for pick-your-own picking through the growing season. The stand also sells local honey alongside cut flowers. Updates on what's currently blooming go out on Facebook rather than a fixed weekly schedule, so a call ahead is worth it before driving out on County Road 600 East.

Westville

Valmere Farms has stayed in the Matthys family since 1948, when Achiel and Suzanne Matthys started it as a dairy, mint, and vegetable farm. Three generations later, the operation has shifted toward grass-fed black angus beef, pasture-raised elk, maple syrup, and honey, all raised without antibiotics. They also keep a herd of Gelbvieh cattle alongside the angus.

Westville

Coulter's has run a roadside stand in Westville selling sweet corn, tomatoes, melons, and garden plants through the growing season, then shifts into fall mode with a pumpkin patch, corn maze, and hayrides come September. It's a smaller, family-run operation rather than a big event destination; cider and a play area for kids round out the autumn visit. Jean Coulter has handled the farm's day-to-day for years.

Hobart

County Line Orchard grows Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Braeburn, EverCrisp, Melrose, Golden Delicious, and several other apple varieties on its Hobart property, with u-pick rows open through fall. Beyond picking, the farm runs barnyard activities, a full seasonal menu, and hosts more than 50,000 student visitors a year on school tours — a scale most u-pick operations in the region don't match.

This Northwest Indiana u-pick blueberry patch has changed hands and now operates as The Berry Patch at Mitzner Farms, though longtime visitors still know it by its old name. The new owners kept the u-pick and pre-picked blueberry setup that built the place's following in the first place.

Hobart

Johnson's has grown fruits and vegetables in Northwest Indiana since the 1940s, with u-pick strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and vegetables running June through October. The adjoining Johnson's Fun Farm adds more than 30 family activities, and the calendar fills out with strawberry, blueberry, pumpkin, and sunflower festivals through the season.

Merrillville

De Jong Farm is a working family farm in Merrillville where the kids handle real chores — animal care, planting, weeding, harvesting, irrigation, egg washing and candling — and sell what comes off the ground at an on-farm stand. It's produce and eggs first, agritourism second, with pick-your-own available depending on the season.

Hobart

Merrillville Farms has run a farm market out of Hobart since 1999, serving Lake and Porter counties with apples, blueberries, cabbage, eggplant, grapes, peaches, sweet corn, pumpkins, and raw honey depending on the season. Winter visitors can still get eggs, livestock grain, and straw bedding by appointment. Pick-your-own is available and there's no admission charge.

Michigan City

Stateline Blueberries has grown fruit on the Indiana-Michigan border since 1942, now spanning 30 to 35 acres and 11 to 12 blueberry varieties. Pick your own from late June into mid-August, or grab berries already picked at the stand along with the farm's raw honey, maple syrup, jam, and stranger specialty items like blueberry BBQ sauce and blueberry jerky. There's parking and a picnic area if you want to stay and eat what you just picked.

Michigan City

Radke's has grown apples in Michigan City since 1894, with more than 20 varieties available u-pick or ready-picked, plus donuts and tractor rides on weekends. The season opens Labor Day weekend and runs daily 8:30 to 5:30, with no admission or parking fees. It's an easy stop off I-94 at Exit 34A.

Wanatah

Guse Christmas Trees in Wanatah lets visitors choose and cut their own tree from the field, with staff on hand to shake, wrap, and load it into the car. The farm runs weekday afternoons and full weekend days starting the Friday after Thanksgiving, closing whenever the trees run out. Nearly 5,000 people follow the farm's Facebook page year to year.

Pavolka Fruit Farm in Michigan City grows more than 20 apple varieties, with u-pick running mid-September through October and cider pressed fresh on site during the same window. The orchard also grows pears, plums, grapes, raspberries, and sour cherries. Open daily 9 to 5 during the season.

Michigan City

Pavolka Fruit Farm is a family-owned apple orchard in LaPorte County growing over 20 apple varieties, plus u-pick grapes, pears, plums, raspberries, and sour cherries. The farm presses its own apples for fresh cider on site. U-pick apple season runs mid-September through late October, daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with fruit priced by the pound. It's a straightforward roadside operation off Wozniak Road, not a big production — just apples done well.

Wheatfield

Luedtke runs a straightforward u-pick blueberry operation in Wheatfield, open daily 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the summer harvest. Corinne Luedtke oversees the farm, which also sells baked muffins alongside the fresh berries. Call ahead before driving out, since picking hours shift with the weather and how heavy the bushes are running that week.

Merrillville

DeJong Farm is a family farm stand in Merrillville where the kids handle real work — animal care, planting, weeding, harvesting, irrigation, egg washing and candling, alongside running the stand itself. The farm sells produce, eggs, and other farm goods directly, with updates posted regularly on Facebook.

Crown Point

Hidden Creek is a small, kid-scaled pumpkin farm near Crown Point with hayrides, a corn maze sized for little legs, and its own honeybee apiary supplying farm-fresh honey. Birthday parties and school tours round out the fall season alongside the pumpkin patch itself, and pumpkins sell both at the on-site shop and a roadside farmstand. Facebook reviewers rate it a full 5 out of 5.

Wheatfield

The Van Kley family has grown blueberries on State Road 10 since 1943, now farming more than 40 acres across eight varieties. Summer hours run Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with fresh berries during the season and frozen ones once picking ends. They sell their own honey at the stand too.

La Porte

Blue Spruce Alpacas is a small family operation outside La Porte raising Huacaya alpacas for fiber and breeding stock. Visitors can buy raw fiber and finished alpaca goods right off the farm, and the herd includes a registered herdsire available for outside breeding. It's a niche stop for fiber-farm tourism in northern Indiana rather than the usual pumpkin-and-corn-maze circuit.

Crown Point

Mowry's Fruit Farm is listed as an agritourism stop in Crown Point, in Lake County. No verified details on crops, hours, or contact information surfaced online beyond the town and zip code.

Demotte

Four generations of the Eenigburg family have grown blueberries on this DeMotte farm since 1948, working 13 varieties in ground that's never seen GMO seed. U-pick runs Monday through Saturday for roughly a month starting around July 1, and the farm bottles what doesn't get picked fresh into jam, syrup, and barbecue sauce. It sits just off Route 10, minutes from I-65.

DeMotte

Evers' Farm in DeMotte has run as a u-pick fruit and vegetable operation, with apples among its orchard crops. Recent directory listings mark the farm as closed, so it's worth calling ahead to confirm hours before planning a visit.

LaPorte

McClure Christmas Tree Farm has been cutting Fraser, Canaan, and Concolor firs outside LaPorte since 2007, now run by three generations of the same family. Visitors cut their own tree from more than 9,000 planted, ride a hayride, warm up at the bonfire pit, and shop wreaths and ornaments in a restored century-old dairy barn. The season opens the weekend before Thanksgiving.

North Judson

The Goin family has grown blueberries on this 80-acre North Judson property for more than 40 years, about an hour from Chicago. U-pick season runs mid-June through early August, with ready-picked berries available for anyone who'd rather skip the field; picnic tables and lawn games make it easy to turn the trip into an afternoon. Indiana's State Fair has named it a Featured Farm.

North Judson

Bonnell's Blueberries in North Judson sells both u-pick and ready-picked berries, but ready-pick orders have to come in by phone — the farm doesn't take email orders. It's a straightforward, no-frills operation off S 750 W, worth a call before the drive to confirm what's ready.

San Pierre

Sunrise Harvest Farms has grown blueberries along US-421 in San Pierre since 2015, roughly an hour's drive from both Lafayette and Michigan City. Pick your own during the summer season, or skip the bucket and buy berries already picked at the farm stand. It's a small, single-crop operation — no maze, no petting zoo, just blueberries done well.

Demotte

Now in its third and fourth generation, Fritts has grown blueberries in DeMotte since 1949 — over 60 years under the same family. Visitors can pick their own or buy berries already picked by staff, and the farm sits along State Road 10 not far from Eenigburg's, making this stretch of DeMotte one of the state's denser blueberry-picking corridors.

Union Mills

This small, family-run u-pick farm on US Highway 6 grows red raspberries and blueberries, with raspberries typically ready by late June and blueberries following around July 1. It runs daily 8 to 6 through the June-to-September season and keeps a following for how clean and well-kept the rows stay all summer.

North Judson

Parker's Place is listed as an agritourism stop at 865 S. 600 W. in North Judson, on the corner of Route 10E and County Road 600 West. Public details are limited online, and a call ahead is the surest way to confirm current hours and offerings.

Merrie Acres sits on US 35 in La Porte, where a fall festival draws families for a tractor-pulled hayride and a pumpkin patch each October. The property once housed racing horses decades before it turned to seasonal farm activities. Some evening events call for bringing your own flashlight, so check current hours before visiting.

Kingsbury

Blank's Nursery, Garden & Pet Center in Kingsbury covers two things most nurseries don't combine — plant starts, trees, and garden stock from local growers, plus a pet supply counter. It's a small local operation rather than a chain garden center, worth a call ahead for current stock.

DeMotte

Zylstra's Blueberries grows on W 1200 North outside DeMotte, in Jasper County. Beyond the address, no verified hours, website, or picking details for the farm turned up online. The Zylstra surname fits DeMotte's documented Dutch-American heritage — the town's First Christian Reformed Church dates to the 1940s and DeMotte still holds an annual Touch of Dutch festival each August.

Griffith

Nicky and Jessica Jones started Earthling Bee Co. in 2018 as a full-service Northern Indiana bee operation — honey, nucs, hives, and pollination services, not just jars on a shelf. Their raw and wildflower honey, beeswax goods, and bee-themed gifts sell online and for local pickup, and they'll set up hives or provide pollination for other growers in the region.

Griffith

C & L Lawncare is a family-owned lawn and landscaping company at 6086 N Forest Ave in Griffith, founded in 2005 — not a farm attraction, despite the agritourism listing. The crew handles mowing, aeration, fertilization, seeding, and landscaping for area homes and businesses, plus leaf removal each fall and snow removal each winter.

De Motte

Fritts Berry Farm has grown blueberries in De Motte since 1949, now run by the fourth generation of the Fritts family. Visitors choose u-pick or already-picked berries during the summer season, with the farm open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed Sundays.

Highland

Scheeringa Farms has run its Highland farm stand for three generations and more than 50 years, selling homegrown tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, and cantaloupe alongside greenhouse annuals and vegetable starts each spring. The stand opens Father's Day weekend and stays open through Halloween, when the pumpkin patch, corn maze, and petting zoo take over. It's rated the highest of any farm in Highland by area reviewers.

Michigan City

Stateline Blueberries has picked berries a few miles from the Lake Michigan shoreline for decades, across 30 to 35 acres kept walkable with grass mowed between the rows. U-pick runs late June through mid-August, and the sales shed sells ready-picked berries alongside local honey, jam, and blueberry-based condiments like a barbecue sauce. Call ahead for picking conditions before making the drive.

Fischer Farm has grown sweet corn and pumpkins across three generations near La Porte, opening seasonally from August through October for hayrides, apple sales, and a corn maze. The rest of the year, the land grows field corn, wheat, and soybeans. Hours run 9 a.m. to dusk during the open season.

Lowell

Norm's has been a family-run pumpkin patch in Lowell for generations, the kind of place locals return to every fall out of habit more than novelty. Alongside pumpkin picking — including pie pumpkins and ones good for saving seed — the farm runs a corn maze and haunted hayrides, with firepits and wood included in hayride packages. Call for current hours.

Lowell

Harvest Tyme spreads across 45 acres in Lake County and claims the largest u-pick pumpkin patch in the county, backed by a 3-acre corn maze with a smaller kiddie version for younger kids. Weekend hours run 10 to 6 through late October, with the 2026 season opening September 19. After dark, the farm runs a Pumpkin Glow Trail, and the whole operation converts to Christmas Tyme Lights once the pumpkins are gone. It's under an hour from Chicago.

LaPorte

Blueberries of Indiana has grown organic blueberries in LaPorte since 1948 and holds USDA Certified Organic status. U-pick runs alongside ready-picked orders, and the farm stand adds local honey, juice, preserves, and baked goods. Weekend hours run Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., through the season.

Alger Acres is a produce farm in the La Porte area, listed in regional produce trade directories. Beyond that, specifics on crops and hours aren't published online — this is a working farm more than a public-facing agritourism stop, so a phone call is the best way to check what's available before visiting.

New Buffalo

Mike's Blueberries is a cash-only, U-pick blueberry farm on Farina Road in New Buffalo, running from July through early August. Visitors describe the picking as a quiet, unhurried break despite the nearby highway, with several pounds of fruit typical for an afternoon in the rows.

Chicago Heights

Smits Farms runs a Food Alliance-certified greenhouse and produce operation in Chicago Heights, selling at six farmers markets across the Chicago area each week rather than just from the farm. The greenhouse itself opens seasonally for direct sales. It's a market-focused operation more than a destination farm, built around wholesale and farmers-market volume.

Lowell

Five Hands Farm gets its name from the Bruce family members who work it — Tom, Rhonda, and their three sons, Nash, Luke, and Will — on land the family has farmed since the late 1800s. The CSA market farm in Lowell grows produce for Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana, selling direct to neighbors who sign up for a share of the harvest.

New Carlisle

Todd's has run a two-acre pumpkin patch outside New Carlisle for more than 30 years, the kind of down-home operation where you walk the field and pick your own instead of choosing from a pre-sorted bin. Gourds and squash round out the selection alongside pumpkins in every carving size. The field opens 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. during pumpkin season, a few minutes from New Prairie High School.

Walkerton

End of the Trail Riding Stable, near Koontz Lake in Walkerton, is a family-owned outfit offering hourly horseback rides across open fields and wooded trails. Beyond trail rides, the stable books pony parties, group camping trips with campfire cookouts, hayrides, sleigh rides in winter, and horse-drawn carriages for weddings and proms.

Beecher

Settler's Pond Pumpkin Patch runs seasonally in Beecher, part of Will County's fall pumpkin-patch trail. No current web listing was found describing hours or activities. Confirm open dates directly before visiting, since small seasonal patches like this shift year to year.

Beecher

Settlers Pond isn't a produce farm, it's a nonprofit, no-kill animal shelter that also operates as an agritourism stop. Since 1999 they've rescued and rehabilitated around 350 domestic, wild, and exotic animals, funded entirely by donations. Visitors can tour an indoor petting zoo and small museum, then work through corn and straw mazes, mini-golf, and wagon or barrel train rides.