If we’re going to be real right now, I’m kind of sick of people saying it’s “Basic” to like fall. Yes I’m a 20-something-girl living in Hoboken, yes I like pumpkin spiced lattes, and yes, I wear flannel and leather boots…so perhaps I embody those things that people get annoyed by and am utterly and totally basic. But really…if you’re getting annoyed by that, GET. A. LIFE. There are worse things to be cranky about. Regardless, I am totally okay with enjoying these things, and am now going to call anyone who dares to make fun or put down a person who likes fall a FROOGE.
Anyway, off the pumpkin scented soapbox and back to the original post. This past weekend, some friends and I went to do some fall-tastic things and not be Frooges, and we found ourselves at Demarest Farms in Hillsdale, NJ. If you have googled “pumpkin picking” near Hoboken NJ {which is exactly what we did}, you will probably come across Demarest. It’s about a 30 minute drive to the farm, and when we’re talking “farm” it’s not a major sprall of farmland, it’s more of a large general store with lots of yummy food + hay rides to the apple and pumpkin fields.
The store…chock full of things you can just buy instead of slaving to the pumpkin and apple fields with screaming kids just for instagram’s sake. I kid, I kid. Kinda.
Either way, we were in the mood for some fall fun and thought whyyyy not. When we arrived on Saturday around 2, it was SO busy that we had to park up the street. People everywhere! We walked to the general store/building and were starving, and luckily there was SO MUCH FOOD. I had beef stew and mashed potatoes {perfect fall comfort food}, and then we got a potato latke + apple cider donuts to share for dessert. Everything was absolutely delicious. It was serve yourself, so there wasn’t a major line.
The apple cider donuts that were the bomb dot com. Seriously amaaaazing.
After our meals it was time for some silly fall pictures. Now I will be seriously killed if I were to share some of these photos with you, so I will keep them to my personal Facebook for fear of retaliation {my fiancé was less than pleased to be sitting in the spot where you stick your head through a “sunflower” and take a picture…but I will say he was a decent sport}. I will show you the loads of pumpkins that were there for purchase, however:
From teeny tiny to HUGE and everywhere in between…they were a bit expensive, but if you’re there with family or friends it’s fun to purchase one {or get one from the field!}
So, on to the pumpkin picking. We got on a line for a hayride {the only way to get to the pumpkin “patch”} which didn’t take too long — a 5-10 minute wait and a 5 minute ride up. Once up there, we were greeted by this:
Yes, the pumpkins were already picked, but it was a pretty fall sight to see. To get a pumpkin, it $9, so if you’re trying to buy a small one, I would wait til you get back from frolicking in the pumpkin patch to purchase yours. We figured that out after the fact, oops! Still, there were some fun photo opps + places to feed some farm animals and buy cider:
In front of the truck by the pumpkin patch.
All in all, it was a really nice day — which left us feeling festive and in the mood for some spiked cider {no, there isn’t any there, unfortunately}. When we got home, our group of four laid out our pumpkins and painted + put our newly bought cider to good use:
OBVI.
I would definitely recommend Demarest Farms to any families who want to bring their kids for a hayride and some fall fun. As a group of four adults, we had a blast — but there are definitely other options further away from Hoboken in Sussex County, etc to look into that may be more tailored to adults {but in all honesty, pumpkin picking is kind of a kid thing that adults still love doing, so there will be a ton of families wherever you go…and that’s not a bad thing}. This was a great day trip which only took about 30 minutes to get to, so an easy ride on a whim! I had a blast — and would definitely come back here for the apple cider donuts and candy corn in a heartbeat. I also hear that they have wine mixers from time to time…that would be something to look into!
Have you been to Demarest Farms? What did you think?
Where else do you recommend going for some fall foliage frolicking and fun? {say that 5x fast, FROOGE}.
