Of all the fall traditions, visiting a farm during the harvest is easily one of the most classic ways to enjoy the season. As Portlanders, we are lucky to have such an incredible place to go as Sauvie Island—and yes, it’s pronounced Sauvie, not Sauvie’s—where there are multiple farms and countless activities to do with friends or family. It is located a half hour from school.
It’s situated between the Columbia River and Multnomah Channel, which provides the island with fertile soil, perfect for growing vegetables like corn and pumpkins. With over two dozen farms open to the public, it can be hard to choose which to spend your time on the island visiting. But three tried-and-true options stand out from the rest: Bella Organic Farm, The Pumpkin Patch, and Topaz Farm. All three have their own merits, but which one is really the best Sauvie has to offer? Depends on your feelings about crowds, food, mazes, animal attractions and rides.
Crowds
Everyone has experienced long waits, whether it be at the grocery store, an amusement park, or especially, a public farm. Of the three farms, Bella and The Pumpkin Patch are the busiest, and happen to be next to each other.
They have immense parking lots and free admission to the property, and unlike Topaz, they have a live field of pumpkins, which is the main reason many people go to farms like these.
But these farms feel a bit too commercial sometimes. So, if you’re looking for a smaller farm away from the crowds, Topaz—formerly known as Krueger—Farm is a great place to hang out. There’s only space for fewer than 50 cars in the parking lot, and most of the property is occupied by gardens and its unique sunflower maze. The reason for these smaller crowds is the minimum 12 dollar admission fee on weekends, which covers everything at the farm except food.
There’s always a price you have to pay for peace and quiet, so if that’s what you want, Topaz is your place.
Food
Every farm must have unique attractions to appeal to people. Some are focused on the farm feel with pumpkins and animals while others are more commercial with food stands and stores. Many of them, especially on Sauvie, have a combination of these things, but each one does it differently.
Bella is well-known for its huge farm store in a barn, which even includes a winery. There’s a wide variety of produce, but unless you’re specifically looking for Bella products, you can find similar stuff at most grocery stores and farmer’s markets—without the stuffy, dark barn interior and long drive out to the island. The food stands that come out from the side of the barn are also uninspiring.
Next door at The Pumpkin Patch, the main entrance way almost acts as a main street, with different food spots on each side of the path. You have lots of choices for food, and they’re spread out. Even when there are a lot of people at the farm, no single area is too crowded—except maybe the main center area where the main path ends. There is also a small and insignificant farm store that has a side-of-the-highway general store feel, but if you want a marketplace more like Bella’s but smaller-scale, Topaz has you covered.
The Topaz store has bins of loose gourds, both inside and outside, and other produce under sprinklers like you’d expect at a grocery store. In the center of the building are tables with honey and non-food goods like candles. Topaz has the most creative and gourmet selection of hot food to eat there. They have more than just burgers and corn, and both the design theme and food choices feel rustic.
For foodies, Topaz wins this competition.
Mazes
Most people associate corn mazes with fall farms.
Bella and The Pumpkin Patch are the main farms on Sauvie that people visit for this activity. The mazes are close to each other in location, but are quite different. The Bella maze is square, while The Pumpkin Patch one is more hand-with-outstretched-thumb-shaped.
Bella’s design tends to be about more serious themes, raising awareness for different causes or issues, while The Pumpkin Patch tends towards nostalgia and playfulness.
Both include interactive games within the maze, but Bella’s is much better thought out, based on the murder-mystery game Clue. They both have a bridge in the middle that allows for a view of the surrounding area, and it’s a great place for group photos if it isn’t too crowded.
Topaz offers a unique take on the maze, growing sunflowers instead of corn. This year, they had an Oregon-shaped design, with very few clear-cuts. The point of this one is less of a maze to work through to try and not get lost, but more of a maze to get lost in, to enjoy your time enclosed by towering sunflowers.
Both Bella and Topaz offer a haunted version of their maze later at night. I haven’t tried either in a while but from what I remember they’re dark and mysterious and a more engaging way of walking through the maze. There’s the added spookiness of humanoid creatures chasing you through the maze!
Overall, Bella offers the best maze, as it should because it’s one of the only attractions there. The maze designs are meaningful and the embedded interactive game is better thought out.
Rides and Animals
Many farms have tractor or cart rides to explore the farm land, travel to the pumpkin patch, or as a kids attraction.
Bella has a simple system: Free hayrides to its pumpkin patch, and nothing else.
The Pumpkin Patch has more options. There’s a tractor-towed “cow train” for kids, and a hayride out to the place notable enough for the farm to get its name from. However, that hayride is two dollars per person. So if you don’t want to spend that money and want to get more exercise, you can walk a mile each way to the patch along dirt roads. You do have to yield to the hayrides coming down the roads, and you are limited to smaller pumpkins, but it’s a fun way to bond with friends more. Most of the time, just spending the two dollars is worth it. You could also just choose a pumpkin from a bin outside the store, which has similar options but is simply no fun.
The Pumpkin Patch is famous for its almost 100-year-old barn, and inside is a petting zoo. I haven’t been in it before, but I can’t imagine it’d be very comfortable, especially on warm early autumn days.
Topaz offers a similar experience but with outdoor pens you can walk around. I think Topaz executed this farm feature better.
If you care about fun rides, The Pumpkin Patch has the best options. For animal lovers, Topaz once again wins.
In conclusion, you can’t go wrong with going to any of these farms, but it’s important to keep in mind that each offers a very different experience. If you want the farm with the most activities to keep you busy, choose The Pumpkin Patch. I think you could easily spend a whole three to four hours there with plenty to do. If you want a low-key, small farm experience with good food and a more natural-feeling farm animal display, choose Topaz. If you want the most fun maze, largest farm store and free transportation to a pumpkin patch, choose Bella. Both Bella and Topaz offer about two hours of fun before you may start to get bored.
