Free general admission, life-size animatronic dinosaurs, and a brand-new Bee Train ride are drawing crowds to Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch in Morgan Hill this fall. The 60-acre site just south of San Jose is open seven days a week through November 2, weather permitting, with towering animatronic dragons and dino babies scattered across the grounds alongside the usual hayrides and corn maze.
General admission costs nothing, according to the New York Post, though the ticketed rides and attractions come at a price. Most individual attractions run $8, a hayride and dino walk bundle costs $10, and a $45 park pass bundles six children's attractions together, including the farm train, the cow-themed train, the new bee-themed train, the corn maze, pumpkin blasters, and the hayride. The dino ride and pumpkin cups each run an additional $8. Parking is free Monday through Thursday, but costs $30 cash-only Friday through Sunday.
Guests are welcome to bring their own food and drinks, and vendors on-site sell roasted sweet corn, churros, tacos, smash burgers, and pumpkin-flavored baked goods. Online, the reaction has been enthusiastic — one Instagram commenter called the patch “crazzzzyyy (in a great way),” while a TikTok commenter described it as “beyond beautiful,” adding that “its dinosaurs and activities were fun.” A commenter wrote, “This place has consistently been upping their game every single year.”
A Family Farm With Eight Decades of Roots
The pumpkin patch's spectacle sits on top of a much older story. Spina Farms traces back to the 1940s, when the Spina family established it as a small farm patch, giving the operation more than 80 years of agricultural history in Santa Clara County, according to KTVU FOX 2. The family farmed in Coyote Valley long before suburban development reshaped the surrounding South Bay landscape.
That legacy nearly hit a snag in recent years. Spina Farms lost its previous lease on Bailey Avenue and relocated in 2022 to its current site at Laguna Avenue and Santa Teresa Boulevard, a move made possible by a partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, which protected the farmland in late 2021, per the station's report. The Open Space Authority purchased the so-called Laguna 60 property specifically to preserve working agricultural land against encroaching sprawl, the outlet notes.
Coyote Valley's Bigger Land-Use Fight
On Nov. 16, 2021, the San Jose City Council voted to rezone portions of Coyote Valley and planned to preserve 314 acres of green space, according to the Morgan Hill Times, after developers had proposed building industrial warehouse parks over agricultural parcels in the area. The farm's move to its current site, however, was made possible by a partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority.
The patch is a significant economic engine for South County as well. It draws an estimated 100,000 visitors each autumn and provides seasonal employment for up to 150 local high school students, the Morgan Hill Times reports, making the fall season a primary source of seasonal work for area youth. Those numbers fit into a larger statewide and regional pattern: California ranks second nationally in pumpkin production value, generating roughly $29 million in commercial pumpkin sales annually, according to federal agricultural data cited by Farm Progress. Santa Clara County's broader agricultural sector produced a gross economic value of $371.5 million in 2023, a 3.5% increase over the prior year, per the County of Santa Clara.
Not the Farm's First Brush With Trouble
Spina Farms hasn't always had a smooth run. In October 2023, vandals broke into the property overnight and used a stolen tractor to smash scarecrows, crush dozens of pumpkins, and damage animatronic dinosaur displays, as Hoodline reported at the time in coverage of the overnight rampage. The site suffered significant property destruction midway through that season before repairs allowed operations to resume.
The farm has also drawn high-profile visitors. In October 2022, San Francisco 49ers players including quarterback Brock Purdy and fullback Kyle Juszczyk hosted an official team community event at Spina Farms for guests with intellectual and developmental disabilities, according to the San Francisco 49ers. Participants from Special Olympics and Best Buddies took part in hayrides and pumpkin blasting during that visit.
Beyond the seasonal spectacle, Spina Farms also runs a year-round produce fruit stand that has served Coyote Valley shoppers for more than 30 years, selling locally grown produce and farm goods along the Santa Teresa Boulevard corridor, per KTVU FOX 2. For 2026, the patch's newest addition is the Bee Train, joining the existing farm train, cow train, and corn maze as the farm continues adding attractions each season to keep families coming back.
