Pumpkins and peace

From hayrides to goats, Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch is a place to slow down and savor the fall season.

The trees clap here. If you stand still long enough at Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch, tucked into an old-growth forest in Arcadia, you’ll hear it — the wind rustling through the leaves like applause for the joy that stirs across 55 acres each fall.

At the center of it all is Paula Parkhurst, affectionately known as “Granny P.” Born on the first day of fall and turning 70 this September, Paula’s roots run deep in Oklahoma soil — both literally and spiritually.

“I’m a steward of the land. I’m not the controller,” she said with a smile, her voice carrying the kind of calm that comes from decades spent working with nature instead of against it.

For more than 22 years, Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch, served by Central Rural Electric Cooperative, has grown into a seasonal retreat that now draws more than 12,000 visitors each weekend. But don’t expect neon lights or concrete sidewalks. This place has a whimsy of days gone by.

Vine-covered archways lead guests into a clearing where squash grows near the entrance, tree trunks wear wooden faces and a pig with a mind of his own roams just far enough before being gently herded back. There’s a Cinderella-style metal carriage tucked between pumpkin plots and goats at the petting zoo with plenty to say.

Rather than cram every corner with attractions, she’s left room to breathe. Between hayrides, handmade quilt square art, pony rides and craft stations, visitors can wander from spot to spot at their own pace.

“Before this, I was a classroom teacher,” Paula said. “One of the things I loved was setting up stations — different places for kids to explore. That’s what I’ve tried to do here.”

Helping guide the vision is director of operations Tiffany, who shares Paula’s love for the land. Last year, following the loss of Tiffany’s son, Paula opened the field for a private fireworks memorial.

“It was special,” Tiffany said. “There was lightning in the distance, and it felt like even the sky was part of it.”

The sky plays a big role here. Paula brings it up often.

“There’s a scripture that says there will be days of heaven on earth,” she said. “And there are days when the clouds are perfectly aligned in the blue, blue sky, and people are just laughing and enjoying themselves. And I look around and think, ‘Dadgum, if heaven didn’t just touch down here.’”

Visitors may come for pumpkins, but many return for the sense of calm that lingers long after the hayrides are over. Goldfinches settle in 200-year-old pecan trees. Monarchs and dragonflies drift over the fields. A molting peacock struts nearby and that wayward pig trots back toward freedom again.

Nature isn’t just a backdrop here — it’s a co-host.

Parkhurst also sells a variety of homemade preserves and butters — apple, blackberry, pumpkin and more — as a nod to farm life. And while the property looks like a perfect place to unpack a picnic, Paula gently reminds guests to leave the sandwiches at home.

“We’d be picking up trash all day and that’s all we’d get done,” she said, laughing.

The patch opens for the season Sept. 19 through Nov. 9. General admission is $13, with discounts for kids, seniors and military families. Children under two get in free.

Whether you visit for the hayrides through corn and milo, the tree-lined trails or simply the peace, Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch is more than a fall stop. It’s a place rooted in something lasting.

As Paula put it, “The further away from the soil a man gets, the more shriveled his soul becomes.”

To plan your trip to the patch, visit
parkhurstranch.com.