From the Mountains to the Midlands, Mast General Store’s region is a hub for fall-themed activities. Throughout our varied landscapes, you’ll find farms, orchards, fields, and forests that offer some of the season’s best views and experiences you’ll find anywhere in the country.  

Read on to learn more about five of our favorite seasonal pastimes down on the farm, a bit about their histories, and the memories we associate with them. We’ll also share a handful places where you’ll find these activities in our region, but, as with all things “fall,” the best way to learn more is to seek and experience each for yourself! 

Pumpkin Patches 

Autumn in the United States changed forever on October 27, 1966. Nearly half of all American television viewers watched on as a little boy mightily swung his leg only to miss a football, which was pulled away at the last second by the young girl holding it in place.  

Equally transfixing was the daring World War I flying ace who, in an elaborate daydream, piloted his doghouse through perilous skies before crash landing behind enemy lines. 

These are a couple of the most iconic scenes in It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. It was the third animated TV special featuring cartoonist Charles Schulz’s Peanuts cast. This installment created the genre of Halloween-themed broadcast shows, and it’s generally regarded as the most acclaimed of the Peanuts series.  

The central plot of the film revolves around Linus’s search for the Great Pumpkin, whose arrival he expects on Halloween night. The quest leads Linus to a pumpkin patch where he observes only Snoopy, whom he briefly mistakes as the Great Pumpkin, during his stakeout. Though his sister, Lucy, finds him sleeping alone in the early morning and takes him home, Linus’s faith remains unshaken as he, in the final scene, vows to his friend, Charlie Brown, that he’ll perform the same ritual next year. 

While it’s hard to quantify the impact of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on pumpkin farming, the TV special did capture a growing trend in the United States and elevated its humble status to cultural iconography alongside Charlie Brown’s whiffed football kick and Snoopy’s Red Baron impression.  

The number and size of pumpkin patches had been growing on American farms since World War II. Their expansion went hand-in-hand with the increasing popularity of trick-or-treating as Baby Boomer kids swelled the country’s post-war population.  

Many small-scale farmers caught onto the trend and reserved more land for pumpkins, which were until that time a minor crop. This enabled them to cut out the middleman, especially as supermarkets became more popular as fresh produce suppliers, and serve their communities with not only a product but also an experience. 

Today, approximately 90,000 acres of farmland in the United States are devoted to pumpkin production. Many patches where they’re raised incorporate a fall festival style atmosphere of games, food, and seasonal beverages into the pick-and-purchase experience. Of course, most pumpkin patches offer carving and painting stations where children can decorate the family jack-o-lantern, too. 

Present-day North Carolina is thought to host the site of the first visual representation of a pumpkin patch in the New World. Pumpkins are indigenous to the Americas and have been cultivated by Native Americans for 7,000 years. During the Age of Exploration, Dutch engraver Theodore de Bry depicted a densely-populated field of pumpkins as the focal point of a thriving agricultural scene set in a Secotan village on the Carolina coast. The engraving, dated 1590, would have been completed the same year English explorers returned to nearby Roanoke Island to find Sir Walter Raleigh’s ill-fated colony vanished.  

Apple Picking  

Some legends are grounded in more truth than others. Such is the case for Johnny Appleseed. John Chapman was born in Massachusetts in 1774. When he was a young man, he left his home and traveled westward, establishing apple orchards in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and, eventually, Indiana, where he died in 1845. Some accounts claim Chapman started apple orchards farther west in Illinois or Iowa, while far-fetched fables tell of his travels to California.  

It is a certainty, however, that Johnny Appleseed forged west ahead of most pioneers planting multitudes of apple nurseries from seed. He used this method because seeding the trees, rather than planting grafts, was preferred for growing cider apples. Early pioneers brewed and fermented apple cider because water sources in unfamiliar areas couldn’t necessarily be trusted. Thanks to Chapman’s wilderness skills, understanding of terrain, foresight, and generosity, many pioneers following in his footsteps settled near orchards he’d planted. Johnny Appleseed was mythologized in American culture merely decades after his life, but the fact that he helped lay the foundation for the nation’s westward expansion is indisputable. 

Today, the United States produces more than 10 billion pounds of apples each year. Washington is by far the highest-producing state, while North Carolina and Virginia are among the top 10 apple producers. 

In North Carolina, Henderson County grows 80% of the state’s apples. For 79 years, Hendersonville, the county seat and home to a Mast Store, has hosted the North Carolina Apple Festival over Labor Day Weekend. This year’s event begins Friday, August 29, and concludes Monday, September 1, with the King Apple Parade.  

Other apple-themed celebrations in the Tar Heel State include North Wilkesboro’s Brushy Mountain Apple Festival on Saturday, October 4, and Waynesville’s Apple Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 18. If you’re closer to the Old Dominion, visit the relatively young Apple Cider Festival in Galax, about an hour-and-a-half drive south of Mast Store Roanoke. Hoisting a cup of cider serves as a reminder of how Johnny Appleseed himself would have enjoyed the fruits of his labor. 

You don’t need a festival to celebrate apples. Of the 300 commercial orchards in North Carolina and Virginia, many offer apple picking opportunities you and your family can take advantage of this fall. Instead of using these for cider, depending on the variety, we’d recommend baking most types of these in a pie or munching one in its purest form after a thorough wash!  

Photo of Johnny Appleseed Mural in Mansfield, Ohio. Highsmith, Carol M, photographer. A mural saluting the actual, and especially folklore, figure Johnny Appleseed in downtown Mansfield, Ohio. Mansfield Ohio Richland County United States, 2016. -10-07. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016632411/. 

U-Pick Resources for Apples, Pumpkins, & Corn Mazes 
North Carolina 
South Carolina 
Tennessee – Pumpkins and Corn mazes 
Virginia 

Corn Mazes 

Mazes and labyrinths have roots in antiquity. Civilizations in Egypt, Greece, and Rome constructed them for different purposes whether it be as a challenging game or test of wit, a device to hide human indiscretions or capture evil spirits, or a metaphorical journey at the center of which lies passage to a higher spiritual realm. 

Suffice to say that corn mazes as we know them today are a much newer, far less complex concept. Earl Beal created the first corn maze in Annville, Pennsylvania, in 1993. Beal drew inspiration from his father’s work designing mazes at a local amusement park, and he wished to recreate his art on a larger scale on his family farm. According to Maize Adventure, Beal’s original maze incorporated three paths – including one wide enough for a tractor ride – that converged in the center. A pretty “amaizing” (You knew it was coming…) accomplishment! 

Way back in the 1990s, corn maze paths were hand-sketched and then, cut into fields with plows or tractors. Now, however, GPS-enabled tractors do the design work. Some mazes are even planted in fields using GPS technology. Both these methods allow for more intricate designs than ever before. 

If you’re around Knoxville this fall, head out of town to Blount County. There you’ll find the impressive Maple Lane Maze at Maple Lane Farms. Here, you’ll discover plenty of attractions for the kids and a barn store for parents, which features antiques and spooky, fun Halloween décor.  

If you live a little farther south, visit Clinton Sease Farm in Lexington, South Carolina. Just a 40-minute drive from the Columbia Mast General Store, the theme of this farm’s elaborate, eight-acre maze is, “Barnyard Animals.” It’s a perfect family-friendly fall retreat that runs September 19 through November 2. 

Back in North Carolina, situated on US 421 between Winston-Salem and Boone at the I-77 intersection, is Hamptonville’s Alpha & Omega Corn Maze. This 20-acre agritourism complex can accommodate large groups. Check their schedule for concerts, flashlight maze evenings, and other unique events. 

In the mountains of Western North Carolina, navigate a maze for a cause at the Eliada Fall Festival and Corn Maze. This eight-acre maze is open Friday – Sunday, September 26 – November 1. Only five minutes away from Downtown Asheville’s Mast Store, admission to this maze supports Eliada’s child and youth development programs, which include residential mental health programs and foster care services. With a variety of fall-themed activities for kids, it also welcomes educational field trips and corporate parties. 

Hayrides 

It goes without saying that you can get a hayride at most, if not all, of the farms that have pumpkin patches, apple picking, and corn mazes. Even some Christmas tree farms in the mountains advertise hayrides with Santa Claus. No matter the type of farm or, in some cases, the season, a hayride tends to round out a day of soaking in the laidback, country lifestyle. 

But why is this the case? What’s so special about sitting on a bale of hay in a trailer bed while getting pulled behind a tractor that weaves down the dirt roads and turnrows of a farm? It’s difficult to put into words, but you’d know it if you’ve ever been on one. 

Hayrides were a fundamental method of transportation on American farms during harvest season as field workers rode back to the farmhouse atop mounds of hay in wagons pulled by horses, mules, or oxen. They took on a new meaning in the 1800s as people who had moved to cities for industrial work vacationed back home. As the nation industrialized, the concept of leisure time grew and so did the popularity of nostalgic, rural experiences like hayrides. 

Although tractors eventually replaced teams of animals and trailers replaced wagons, hayrides’ association with harvest season remained. By the 20th century, hayrides were common elements of fall festivals and fairs, and, importantly, allowed children as well as adults along for trip. 

Leaf Peeping 

Let’s start with the controversial term itself: leaf peeping. It just doesn’t sound quite right, especially with a Southern accent. It’s likely that the phrase was first spun with a New England dialect, but some research shows that “leaf peeper” is a variation of “leaf peeker,” a term which originated in Vermont in the early 1900s. As an article in the online magazine Afar suggests, perhaps the label was altered to avoid writing or speaking a sentence as confusing as, “It’s best to go leaf peeking at the peak of leaf season.” 

Call it what you will, there are plenty of opportunities in Mast Store’s region to go for a drive and take in the autumn scenery. Thanks to their varying elevations and sweeping vistas, the mountains are undoubtedly a popular destination for leaf tourism, but any piece of countryside where trees proliferate will do.  

We do, however, encourage everyone to make their best effort to return to the mountains this fall after the majority of last year’s leaf tourism season was cancelled following Hurricane Helene. The storm caused millions of dollars in lost revenue for small businesses that are heavily reliant upon this busiest time for tourism to get them through their fiscal year. Some businesses were forced to cut staff against their wishes, while others had no other option than to close their doors permanently. 

This fall, the mountains are OPEN for business, and the folks who live and work there are counting on the support of visitors like you! 

Although portions of one of the most popular scenic roads for leaf watching – the Blue Ridge Parkway – remain closed for repair, some of the most popular viewing spots, like the Linn Cove Viaduct section near Grandfather Mountain, are open as is the majority of Virginia’s mileage. Here’s where you can find updated information on Parkway closures. The Parkway isn’t the only scenic drive to view the fall colors, there are plenty of alternate routes with excellent views of foliage. Most of these roads lead into towns and communities welcoming tourists, so you’ll have the opportunity to help by patronizing local businesses.  

Some other familiar sites and outposts may still be closed, too, or their views and offerings may be more limited, but, please remember, it takes everyone working together to be MOUNTAIN STRONG.  

Refer back to last year’s Fall Foliage Primer for 2024 for thoughts on weather and elevation, and how they impact the color show.  

Fall Aboard! 

Keep in mind this list of fall favorites is very, very brief and themed for a day or weekend visit to the country. There’s plenty more fall fun to be had outdoors like hiking, building bonfires, tailgating, and jumping into piles of leaves. 

Whether outdoors or inside, fall is full of cozy moments and exhilarating experiences everyone can enjoy. Share some of your family’s favorite autumn activities by tagging us on social media.