OCTOBER 2023, UPDATED 2025

In 2023 I first visited Gertrudenhof for its pumpkin patch and since then it has become an annual activity for Hugo and myself. The pumpkin patch at Gertrudenhof near Cologne is one of the biggest pumpkin patches in Germany and we were super impressed with our visit. Pumpkin patches are an American phenomenon but over the years I noted that they have risen in popularity in Germany as well. Even the Netherlands now has some pumpkin farms that organize activities, but if you are looking for the real deal with pumpkin towers and delicacies Germany is the place to be in Europe. In this blogpost I will explain exactly why we yearly visit Gertrudenhof!

Practical information

Gertrudenhof yearly organizes a pumpkin patch, it usually last about six weeks and is held in September-October. In 2025 the park is open until November 9, check the official website for the actual times. If you want to visit during the weekend it is advised to buy your tickets in advance, you can do this on the website. Tickets are € 12,90 in the weekend and € 9,90 during the week. Children until 3 are free. On a sold out day, there definitely are a lot of people but it didn’t get uncomfortable (no queues at toilets, playgrounds). Friday’s are the sweet spot, it is cozy but not busy. Parking is free, but depending on the weather your car might get dirty from the mud. It is also possible to visit the farm shop for free, which you can find next door.

Did you know that Gertrudenhof has an Easter park as well? You can find my blogpost on the Easter park here.

Our experience

The grounds of Gertrudenhof are large. There are multiple stands with food, often pumpkin themed such as pumpkin soup and pumpkin flammkuchen. They have pumpkin drinks as well, we found that the pumpkin-secco tasted a bit like Aperol spritz. There are plenty of seating areas where you can get cozy and have your food. I mainly came for the photo opportunities with the pumpkins, but there honestly is so much more to do. It especially was very kid friendly, Gertrudenhof features farm animals, trampolines and a large playground. Especially for the autumn season they have several bouncy castles in orange and in pumpkin theme. Hugo loves the enormous barn where he could play and climb on the hay bales. Of course there are opportunities to buy pumpkins and autumn flowers, Gertrudenhof built a little village where all the delicacies were displayed. The real highlight is the pumpkin tower, where I of course had to take several pictures. Overall, we love visiting Gertrudenhof, it really is fun for adults as well as kids. The atmosphere is really good, with people loving the autumn vibes. It really helps that the premises of Gertrudenhof are so beautiful, the orchards were bursting with apples, just a lovely autumn scene. The grounds are incredibly well maintained and clean. We will be back in 2026!

The displays can change yearly, in this blogpost you can find displays from 2023, 2024 and 2025.

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