The fall festivities hosted by Blackberry Bog Farm started almost by accident. Andrew Thompson, who runs the farm alongside his parents, Bonnie and Scott, recalls a reporter coming to get photos of pumpkins for an article published online in 2017.

Somehow, through Google’s nebulous algorithm, the photos resulted in Blackberry Bog Farm, located in Svensen, showing up in search results for pumpkin patches on the northern coast of Oregon. The next year, the Thompsons had people stopping by the farm, saying they were there for the pumpkin patch.

Rather than being bothered by the error, the Thompson family leaned into it.

In 2019, they hosted a fall festival featuring pumpkins at an empty lot near a feed store in Knappa. While they couldn’t provide a u-pick pumpkin patch, they had pumpkins for purchase, along with a wide array of autumn activities, such as a haybale maze, cornhole and a children’s story time.

In 2020, they made the event a tradition but moved it to their farm, scaling back activities because of the COVID-19 pandemic but still welcoming several hundred families over the course of the fall to relish the changing colors, crisp weather and produce of the season in an idyllic rural setting.

Now, they are prepared to host their 2021 pumpkin path and farm stand. The attractions are open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday in October. A one-way path will send visitors winding through the pumpkins, all of which can be purchased, with several spots providing the perfect backdrop for pictures.

Along the pumpkin path, children can partake in a free treasure hunt that culminates in a small prize. The farm will also have fresh baked goods that are prepared onsite, and other snacks will be available, along with seasonal farm produce and flowers.

If You Go

Blackberry Bog Farm

40271 Old Highway 30, Astoria

Saturdays and Sundays in October

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

There will be two gathering spaces set up with covered picnic tables and fall-themed games, like cornhole and life-sized Jenga. Each space can be reserved by a group for 45 minutes, and everything will be cleaned between reservations for the next group in effort to provide a safe environment.

However, families of all sizes can reserve a spot for $10. Reservations can be made online at blackberrybogfarm.com.

Although the farm isn’t set up to have people wander through the actual pumpkin patch and pick one themselves, the Thompsons take pleasure in offering an outdoor event that embodies a fall tradition—especially as such events are limited on the coast.

Scott Thompson said there are two things they’re often told by visitors: “It’s nice that this is close, so I don’t have to drive to Sauvie Island,” and, even more meaningful to the family, “I’ve never been able to afford to go to Sauvie Island.”

“That’s really nice to hear,” he said, adding they make an effort to keep several aspects of the event free and accessible.