Virginia
Taylor Swift corn maze, pumpkins, hay rides and more fall fun in Maryland and Virginia
Is that… the smell of pumpkins, crisp apples and corn?
Fall season is here so it’s time to pull out boots and jackets to really set the cozy mood.
As the leaves turn orange and prepare to fall from the trees, now is the perfect time to pick some apples, get lost in a corn maze or pick out the perfect pumpkin for decorating or baking!
Here are some fall festivals to check out in Virginia and Maryland.
Maryland corn mazes, pumpkin patches and apple picking
Maryland Corn Maze: Taylor’s Version
📅 Sept. 14 through Nov. 3
📍 389 Gambrills Road, Gambrills, Maryland
💲 $17.95
🔗 Details
Maryland Corn Maze (Taylor’s Version) is open for all Swifties and non-Swifties alike!
Can’t get enough of Taylor? Visit the maze on Oct. 2 to listen to singer Kanin Wren’s Taylor Swift Experience live concert.
Answer Swift-themed quiz questions to find your way out of the maze. Don’t miss out on the Flashlight Nights if you want a challenge.
Pick your own pumpkins and explore the farm yard complete with a bounceyard, rodeo roping area and slingshots.
Gaver Farm Fall Fun Fest
📅 Through Nov. 5 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily)
📍 5501 Detrick Rd Mt. Airy, Maryland
💲 $14.50-$23 (Kids under 24 months are free)
🔗 Details
Gaver Farm has all of your fall fun needs. From sunflowers to pumpkins to apples — there’s just about everything for everyone.
This family-friendly affair offers over 65 attractions including the “Fun to the Core” Corn Maze, animal meet-and-greets, a zipline and pedal karts.
Guests can pick their own pumpkins, apples and sunflowers after riding a free hayride out to the fields. Don’t miss out on the sunflowers — the farm expects blooms through Sept. 22! The farm provides all the tools needed to make picking seamless.
Butler’s Orchard Pumpkin Festival
📅 Sept. 21 through Nov. 3
📍 22222 Davis Mill Road Germantown, Maryland
💲 $11-$22 (Make a reservation ahead of time to avoid higher prices)
🔗 Details
The Butler’s Orchard Pumpkin Festival is bigger and better than ever!
Hunting for the perfect pumpkin? This year, guests have three options. You can drive to the pumpkin patch for the classic picking experience, get a pumpkin at the festival’s market or visit the Pumpkin Yard to get pre-picked pumpkins.
You aren’t just limited to picking your own pumpkin. Once you purchase a ticket, you can take hayrides, visit some backyard buddies, turn through the Twisted Corn Maze and jump in the Corn Pool.
Magnolia Meadow Farms
📅 Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 27
📍13001 Creagerstown Road, Thurmont, Maryland
💲 $15 (online)/$20 (walk-in)
🔗 Details
Magnolia Meadow Farms says it is home to Maryland’s largest corn maze along with family-friendly activities like mini ziplines and a barrel train.
Don’t miss out on Moonlit Maze Nights on Oct. 5 and Oct. 26 where you can try out the corn maze under the stars for a good cause.
If you don’t want to stick to just pumpkins, you’re in luck! You can wander into three different fields to have your pick at sunflowers, pumpkins, gourds or cut flowers.
If you tire out from the fun, private campfires are available on-site. Reserve a campfire in case you want to get your own views of the farm away from the crowds.
Montpelier Farms Fall Festival
📅 Sept. 13-Nov. 3
📍 1720 North Crain Hwy, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
💲 $19.95 in advance/$24.95 at the gate
🔗 Details
Spend all day at the Montpelier Farms Fall Festival with its 7-acre corn maze, Barnyard Basketball and other fall activities. Try your hand at pumpkin bowling or tug of war. When it gets chilly at night, cuddle up by the public bonfire with loved ones.
If you want to pick your own pumpkins, you can visit the patch without purchasing a ticket to the festival — just pick your favorite (or favorites) and buy it there!
Virginia corn mazes, pumpkin patches and apple picking
Cox Farms Fall Festival
📅 Sept. 14 through Nov. 5
📍 15621 Braddock Rd., Centreville, Virginia
💲 $10-$25
🔗 Details
Cox Farms has just about everything you can think of when it comes to fall fun. The Fall Festival is a family-fun affair and there are many activities that you can choose from. You can ride the hayride, visit several attractions like themed slides, taste different apples and feed goats.
If you’re looking for a corn maze filled with surprises, the Cornundrum is just for you. Wind through the maze and you’ll come across pirates, caves and the Vortex!
The fun doesn’t stop there. Go back for spooky scares at their Fields of Fear starting on Sept. 20.
Great County Farms
📅 Aug. 31 through Sept. 30
📍 34345 Snickersville Turnpike, Bluemont, Virginia
💲 $12-$16 (advance tickets are highly recommended for weekends)
🔗 Details
If you’re looking for fresh pressed cider, apple picking and a fun corn maze, Great County Farms is for you!
You can visit the apple orchard, get lost in their 15-acre corn maze and the 15-acre play area that features the Farm Ninja Obstacle Course.
On weekends, guests can enjoy perfect fall activities like live music and visiting a snack bar complete with kettle corn and roasting marshmallows. You can even learn how to learn to press a bushel of apples!
Want to beat the weekend crowds? No worries! Guests can visit the farm during the week along with the weekend.
Wayside Farm
📅 Sept. 21 through Oct. 27
📍 5273 Harry Byrd Highway, Berryville, Virginia
💲 $17-$25 (Depending on ticket type)
🔗 Details
With great power comes great responsibility, and if you have great navigation skills, you can use that power to guide your group out of Wayside Farm’s Spiderman-themed corn maze! Make sure not to get lost in the mazeverse.
There are plenty of fun activities to choose from, including pig races and pumpkin smashing. If you’re interested in the pumpkin patch, reserve a spot in advance. The ticket will cover the first $20 worth of pumpkins.
Leesburg Animal Park’s Pumpkin Village
📅 Sept. 21 through Nov. 5 (closed on Tuesdays)
📍 19246 James Monroe Hwy, Leesburg, Virginia
💲 $18.95-$22.25 (weekend tickets must be purchased in advance)
🔗 Details
If you love the zoo and autumn equally, Leesburg Animal Park’s Pumpkin Village might be the place for you. There’s a whole bunch of family-friendly activities to enjoy such as a kiddie hay maze, animal petting and feeding and pony rides (for an extra fee).
Up the fun factor on the weekends and Columbus Day with live entertainment, face painting, free cider, apple and pumpkin cookie tasting.
Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene, our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.
Virginia
Virginia lawmakers criticize anti-redistricting mailer with Jim Crow-era images – WTOP News
The flyers encourage people to vote against the redistricting effort and feature pictures of the Ku Klux Klan and from the Civil Rights Movement.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones condemned flyers with Jim Crow-era images discouraging voters from supporting redistricting in the state.
The mailers, which Jones told WTOP he first learned about last weekend, featured pictures of the Ku Klux Klan and from the Civil Rights Movement. One such mailer said, “Our ancestors fought to represent us. Now Richmond politicians are trying to take our districts away.”
The flyers encourage people to vote against the redistricting effort.
A group, Justice for Democracy, has been sending out mailers and texts with some clear dog whistles, using varying disclaimers in Virginia (“Democracy and Justice PAC” and “Justice for Democracy PAC”).
Its treasurer is listed as Christopher Woodfin and its address is the same … pic.twitter.com/JvetyKGnbw
— Matt Royer (@royermattw) March 7, 2026
Early voting is underway, as Democrats in the state push for changes to congressional districts that are expected to give them more of an advantage in Congress. They said it’s in response to President Donald Trump encouraging redistricting in Republican-led states such as Texas. Republicans, though, have been critical.
In an interview with WTOP, Jones, Virginia’s first Black attorney general, said the mailers are disturbing, shocking, offensive and deceptive.
“It’s very clear a MAGA-linked group that opposes the referendum is sending these mailers to Black voters, and they’re misusing very, very hurtful imagery from the Civil Rights Movement, even invoking Jim Crow, to weaponize one of the darkest chapters in our history, to scare people into voting no and help Republicans maintain a rigged map for 2026 so they can keep control of Congress,” Jones said.
In a statement, the NAACP Virginia State Conference said the flyers falsely compare redistricting to Jim Crow.
“While the NAACP is nonpartisan, we are deeply engaged in political advocacy to safeguard our communities,” said Rev. Cozy Bailey, president of NAACP Virginia.
The purpose of the mailers, Jones said, is to “suppress the vote. It’s to make sure that people don’t go make their voices heard during this election.”
The flyers said they’re paid for by a group called Democracy and Justice PAC. Former Virginia Del. A.C. Cordoza, a Republican, is listed as the chairman, according to Virginia Board of Elections documents.
“I couldn’t see why they say it’s insulting,” Cordoza told WTOP. “I’m a Black man. I don’t want my Black vote to be taken away.”
The proposed new map, Cordoza said, “ripped apart majority-minority districts in order to increase the number of white representatives from Northern Virginia.”
Cordoza said he didn’t know how many homes the mailers had been sent to or how much the PAC spent on them.
“I want people to do their research and see exactly what’s happening,” Cordoza said. “We, as Virginians, voted for a bipartisan redistricting commission for a reason.”
Jones, though, said he sits “across the dinner table from people who have had their right to vote denied because of the color of their skin. It’s 2026. I would hope that we’d be past tactics like this, but clearly we aren’t.”
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RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger met with public safety leaders from across the commonwealth Monday as part of a “unified readiness” coordination effort.
The governor met with police and fire chiefs, sheriffs, emergency managers and private sector members — including Dominion Energy — to discuss Virginia’s commitment to public safety, intelligence sharing and interagency collaboration.
“As global tensions continue to evolve, I want to be very clear: there are no known threats specific to Virginia at this time,” Spanberger said. “Today’s briefing was about making sure that information can be shared quickly and we remain at the ready.”
The meeting relates to Spanberger’s Executive Order 12, which she says reaffirms Virginia’s commitment to public safety, community trust, and readiness.
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Virginia
Opinion | Virginia Giuffre’s brothers join protest outside Epstein’s former New Mexico ranch
The brothers of the late Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre joined demonstrators outside Epstein’s former ranch in New Mexico on Sunday to demand more transparency.
The protest, pegged to International Women’s Day, was attended by what the Santa Fe New Mexican estimated to be hundreds of demonstrators, including activists and lawmakers, outside the estate formerly known as Zorro Ranch.
Sky Roberts said it was the first time he had visited the ranch, and demonstrators’ presence was important as a show of “force” that they’re not “going away,” as some people, including the president, try to direct attention away from the Epstein scandal. During his remarks, he rebuked the government for what he called a cover-up and demanded the Justice Department release documents that show who visited the ranch, among other things.
“All those names are in the files, and right now the government is covering those up,” he said, according to Reuters.
Epstein reportedly talked about using the ranch (now owned by Don Huffines, the GOP candidate for Texas state comptroller) for a eugenics-inspired plan to impregnate several women to “seed” the human race with his DNA (there’s no evidence he carried out such a plan). Giuffre’s posthumously released memoir includes allegations about meeting politicians and CEOs at Zorro Ranch, which was also recently linked to an unverified claim in the Epstein files alleging the deceased sex criminal had the bodies of two women buried near the property. After that allegation surfaced among the recently released Epstein files, New Mexico’s state legislature formed a truth commission to investigate Epstein’s activities at the ranch; the state DOJ has opened a probe of its own.
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