Macdonald’s Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ

Pumpkin patches are a must during the fall season. It has been a family tradition to go since I was young, and now we have gone every year since my children were born. Recently, we went to MacDonald’s Ranch in Scottsdale and it was so much fun. They had tons of activities that I will be sharing with you all and my kids had a blast.

Plus, the photos… they are the best! 

We have gone to other pumpkin patches and ranches in the past fall seasons, but this one had the appeal of being a complete “western style” ranch with the inclusion of the typical pumpkin patch activities.

*I received tickets to this venue in exchange for my honest review of the property and the activities.

MacDonald’s Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ

As soon as you walk in, you see an entire town that makes you feel like you’ve stepped back into the wild west. Everything from the saloon (which I wish was functioning ;)), to the bbq pit restaurant, and the immediate view of the horses fit into the ongoing ranch theme.

The first thing that my girls saw were the horses. They are little, and have never even seen horses that close. Here at MacDonald’s Ranch in Scottsdale, they actually got to ride them! 

The cost of this was next to nothing. Both of them got to ride for $5 total, which in comparison to the little pony rides at the fair, is an amazing deal. Our guide was really sweet, and we got to walk along next to them so that they weren’t nervous. Really, I think it was so the parents didn’t get nervous 🙂 Both our 4 and 3 year old got to ride, and it was something that they are still talking about even weeks later.

Along with all of the typical ranch activities, like horses and such, there were also tons of fall activities to enjoy. Each of these were included in the price of admission, so there weren’t a bunch of hidden fees and costs, which was a huge win in my book. We got to go through a pretty intricute hay bail maze, that I actually had to cheat in and climb over the bails because we got stuck a few times.

There were also places where the kids could practice milking a cow, riding go carts, having sack races, and stuffing their own scarecrows.

There was also a ton of different places to get pictures like this one. These cut out frames are my kid’s favorite thing to do it seems like! At every single one they wanted to stop and take a photo. 

The pumpkin patch was a fun adventure in and of itself. They had huge “hay rides” put together so that you could all climb on and be taken out to the pumpkin patch. The hay ride was such a neat addition to the experience (although I wouldn’t recommend wearing shorts like I did).

After we all piled on and took a hay ride out to the patch, we got to choose our own pumpkins.

The one thing that I would say is that if you are looking for the experience from a patch that grow their own that you can go actually pick from the vine, then this isn’t for you. MacDonald’s Ranch in Scottsdale has their pumpkins brought in from local farmers, and they have a ton to choose from. Picking from the vine wasn’t an issue for us at all, and the kids each loved to pick their own pumpkins to bring home.

Overall, we had such a blast that day! It was so much fun to see the kids running around and enjoying all of the fall fun… although it was HOT the day we went. Arizona life I guess.

Have you gone to the pumpkin patch or a fall ranch with your family yet?

*Cheers to fun at the pumpkin patch*