FOR SIX WEEKS every fall, people from throughout New Mexico flock to McCall’s Pumpkin Patch and Haunted Farm, in Moriarty, to pick pumpkins, wander the corn maze, taste delicious treats, and, if they’re up for it, stay for some spooky after-dark attractions. But co-owners Kevin and Kirsten McCall didn’t set out to create an autumn hot spot. The family farm started growing 35 acres of pumpkins almost 30 years ago. After a few school field trips led to a u-pick operation on the weekends, they decided there might be demand for something more. “If you’re going to do it, you might as well go all in,” says Kirsten, a former teacher turned full-time pumpkin-patch mastermind. Today, the farm attracts more than 100,000 guests from mid-September to Halloween. That popularity has lured the McCalls’ son, Caleb, back into the business and motivated the family to plan more activities for the young at heart.
I grew up between Bernalillo and Santa Fe, and my dad planted an orchard. At the bottom of each tree, I planted pumpkins, thinking I’d sell them out of the bed of a pickup. They never produced then, but maybe that started my interest in growing pumpkins.
Kirsten and I started growing pumpkins in ’96 and got a great crop the next year. A friend of ours from Albuquerque Public Schools asked if they could bring their students out and pick pumpkins.
The “aha” moment came when I had crews out in the field picking pumpkins and putting them in those boxes that you see in Walmart. I put those kids out in the field, and those kids picked the ugliest pumpkin that would never go in a box.
They loved it.
People just started showing up.
I sat out here in a folding chair and just sold pumpkins, hundreds of them on one Saturday. That’s when we realized there was real interest.
We’ve built the pumpkin patch a little at a time.
Today there are more than 60 attractions, from a giant slide to a petting zoo to the Pumpkin Princess’s castle, plus classics like hayrides and a 15-acre corn maze.
Our train, the Pumpkin Express, which loops around the maze, was originally from the Oklahoma City Zoo.
A lot of the kids that came here on field trips years ago, now they’re parents. So it’s become a tradition.
Kirsten is the creative one. She designs all the buildings, games, and activities. She spends a lot of time researching, visiting other farms and patches—getting inspired about what we can do here next.
She created our haunted story about Old Farmer McCall, who went crazy—and his family disappeared. Our old cattle barn was McCall’s slaughterhouse, and the maze is full of the ghosts of his victims.
Working with family is great. It’s good to have several personalities. Everyone brings something different to the table.
This work is hard. We have six year-round employees, but around 350 during the fall. It’s almost like opening a new business every year—with training, with marketing, it’s almost like starting from scratch.
My favorite part is still the farming. It’s always been important to us that this is a working farm, and the pumpkin patch helps us farm the way we want.
It gives us the chance to educate guests about food and agriculture.
When you’re picking pumpkins, you want to make sure they’re firm all over. But other than that, it’s really in the eye of the beholder—pick the one that speaks to you!
Read more: Try these spooky and family-friendly attractions around New Mexico.