Kelder’s Farm: Hudson Valley pumpkin picking two hours from NYC ranks No. 3 in the US
The Ulster County farm offers pick-your-own pumpkins, a corn maze, apple cannons and Highland cows. You can get there by car, bus or train.
A Hudson Valley farm about two hours from New York City just finished third in the nation for pumpkin picking. Kelder’s Farm, in Kerhonkson in Ulster County’s Rondout Valley, took the No. 3 spot in the 2026 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
The farm had landed in the top 10 of the same readers’ poll in earlier years. It has moved up steadily, and this year it finished near the very top.
What to do at Kelder’s Farm this fall
The pick-your-own field has classic orange jack-o’-lantern pumpkins, heirloom gourds and small decorative pumpkins. The farm sits near the Shawangunk Ridge, so fall foliage is part of the view, and there are photo setups around the grounds.
The farm has more than 35 attractions. Visitors can try a themed corn maze with a new design each season, take a tractor-pulled hayride around the edge of the fields and fire apple cannons. Kids can bounce on giant jumping pillows. A petting barn has goats and other animals, and the farm also keeps Highland cows. There is a 13-foot garden gnome, too. Before you leave, the farm market is worth a stop: it stocks apple cider donuts and baked goods, cider made locally and products raised right on the farm.
How to get to Kelder’s Farm from NYC
By car: take the New York State Thruway (I-87) north to Exit 18 for New Paltz and head west on Route 299. Turn right onto Route 44/55 west, then take US-209 north to the entrance at 5755 US Route 209. The drive takes roughly 1.5 to 2 hours.
By bus: Trailways runs from the Port Authority Bus Terminal to New Paltz and Kingston. A rideshare from either stop to the farm takes 20 to 25 minutes.
By train: Amtrak and the Metro-North Hudson Line both stop at Poughkeepsie. From the station, the farm is about a 40-minute drive across the Mid-Hudson Bridge to Kerhonkson.
Quick answers
Where is Kelder's Farm?
The farm is at 5755 US Route 209 in Kerhonkson, in Ulster County's Rondout Valley.
How do you get to Kelder's Farm from NYC without a car?
Take a Trailways bus from Port Authority to New Paltz or Kingston, then a 20 to 25 minute rideshare. Or take Amtrak or Metro-North to Poughkeepsie, then about a 40-minute drive.
What can you do at Kelder's Farm?
Pick your own pumpkins, walk a corn maze, take a hayride, fire apple cannons, visit the petting barn and shop at the farm market.
