LATHROP, CALIFORNIA – You can feed an emu with a fishing rod, send a snack up a tower to a goat, and ride a tube down a giant hill that feels like something you’d find in Tahoe.
And somehow, that’s only a small part of what there is to do at Dell’Osso Family Farm.
I recently visited the gigantic pumpkin patch in Lathrop, near Manteca, with my wife and our three kids. After four hours, there were still plenty of activities we hadn’t tried.
From much of the 925, it’s about an hour away, depending on traffic, with a drive over the Altamont Pass. Once you arrive, the place feels almost like a county fair in its scale and variety.
There’s an actual pumpkin patch, of course. But picking a pumpkin is kind of a side note compared to everything else you can do here.
A Pumpkin Patch on a Different Scale
Dell’Osso spreads out across a huge farm setting, with a crazy number of different activities.
My mom saw the pumpkin patch from the highway on a previous drive, and remarked that “In Manteca, they’re making their own fun.” Indeed. This is essentially a giant field, transformed into a place you can easily spend a day.
Parking was easy during our visit.
Once inside, we found miniature golf, pedal racers, a basketball shooting gallery, giant hamster-style rollers you can propel through a field, and hills built for sliding.
One of the standouts is Thrill Hill, where you ride a tube down a giant slide.
It has the feel of a Tahoe snow-tubing outing, transplanted into a fall afternoon in the Central Valley.
There’s also a tractor-pulled hayride and a train that travels around the property, teaching riders about local agriculture along the way.
I liked that there weren’t lots of rickety rides. Instead, all the activities were creative and low-key, and felt very approachable for our younger kids.
The farm has deep agricultural roots, too. According to its official history, three brothers from Italy founded it in the 1920s. Ron and Susan Dell’Osso started the corn maze in 1997, making this year’s event its 30th annual pumpkin season.
Feed a Goat in a Tower
The animal area was another highlight.
You can buy carrots to feed donkeys, but some of the other feeding setups turn the experience into an activity all its own.
For one, you place food into a system that lets you winch it up to a goat perched atop a giant tower.
For another, you put carrots on a fishing-rod-style feeder and lower them down to an emu.
It’s a wonderfully odd experience. I’ve never emu-fished before. But both I and the emu really enjoyed the experience.
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Leave Time for the Corn Maze
The corn maze is huge, with two routes to explore during our visit. Allow around 40 minutes to navigate it, although your time will depend on your route and how many wrong turns you make.
There’s a funny sign saying that if you get lost, they send a search party in every Thursday morning to check for stranded guests!
The design changes each year, giving returning visitors a new challenge.
These mazes have come a long way from their early days. The farm says it once designed and created them entirely by hand and with farm equipment; today, computers and GPS help bring the designs to life.
Between the maze, animal area, train, hayride, and all the smaller activities, it’s easy to spend several hours here. We certainly did.
The Food Is Surprisingly Good
I expected the usual fair food. Dell’Osso has plenty of that, including pretzels and chicken tenders, but some of what we ate went well beyond those expectations.
There’s pizza in a separate beer garden area, with a selection of beers and ciders. The pizza is fine, and my youngest enjoyed it.
My favorite discovery, though, was the baked potato shack.
It served some of the best baked potatoes I’ve had–gigantic spuds with sour cream, chives, cheese, butter and more. Bring cash, as this stand is cash only.
Save some room — and some time before leaving — for the General Store by the entrance.
We found delicious pumpkin pie, fudge, candy, chocolate-covered marshmallows, and caramel apples. We took home an entire pie ($29) and ate a candy apple on the spot.
And yes, you can also take home a pumpkin. The pumpkin patch itself has pumpkins sold by weight.
What It Costs and When to Go
One of Dell’Osso’s biggest advantages is that admission includes most of the activities, so you can spend the day exploring without buying a separate ticket for every stop.
For 2026, posted admission prices are:
- Monday-Thursday: $24.95 per person.
- Friday: $29.95 per person.
- Saturday-Sunday: $34.95 per person.
- Children 2 and under: Free.
Parking is free. Food, pumpkins, and certain specialty attractions cost extra, including pony rides, gem mining, the carousel, blasters, and pumpkin painting.
It’s kind of pricey for a family. But again, it’s nice that once you’re inside, you don’t need to pay for much else. And the food is quite reasonable–we paid about $12 for a potato that was big enough to feed me and two of my kids.
The farm is at 501 Manthey Road in Lathrop and is open daily through October 31, 2026. Gates open at noon on weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends, with last entry normally at 7 p.m. Halloween has shorter hours, with last entry at 3:30 p.m.
Tickets are purchased at the farm. Guests also need a waiver, which can be completed ahead of time through the farm’s website.
Leave plenty of time and make this a full-day outing.
