Fall With Your Dog: NJ Places Worth Visiting this Fall
There are plenty of lists of dog-friendly places in New Jersey.
The problem is that “dog-friendly” can mean anything from your dog is genuinely welcome here to technically there is a sidewalk nearby.
For fall, I want the first kind.
A pumpkin patch my dog can actually walk through. A festival where bringing him is part of the plan. A day at the Shore specifically set aside for dogs. Something that feels like a fall outing, not our regular walk with prettier leaves.
Ort Farms
📍 Long Valley, NJ
Ort Farms allows leashed dogs in the pumpkin patch, sunflower field, and corn maze, which immediately puts it ahead of most farms where pets can only hang around the general grounds.
There is one catch worth knowing before you go: dogs cannot ride the hayride to the pumpkin patch. You can walk down instead. They also cannot enter the fruit or vegetable picking areas or the Farm Market Store.
Two Sisters Farm
📍 Long Valley, NJ
Two Sisters Farm is a small, family-run spot on Schooleys Mountain where pumpkins are still on the vine and you cut your own. Free wagon rides take you out to the patch, and well-behaved, leashed dogs can ride along. The farm stand carries local apples, cider, and baked goods. Open Friday afternoons and weekends during the season.
Johnson Locust Hall Farm
📍Jobstown, NJ
This one is our favorite for apple picking, hayrides, and pumpkin patch.
Johnson’s Locust Hall Farm sits on more than 300 acres of farmland in rural Burlington County, and there’s something different to see almost every time the season changes. Spring brings strawberries and other early crops; summer has blackberries, sunflowers, and field flowers; and fall is the big one with apples, pumpkins, a corn maze, hayrides, and weekend festivals. There’s also an animal farm, an outdoor play area, and a farm market known for its apple cider donuts.
Red Wagon Farm
📍 Monroe Township, NJ
Red Wagon Farm's Monroe location has pumpkins picked straight off the vine, plus a corn maze, hayrides, farm animals, swings, axe throwing, cornhole, and food. Activities here run on weekends and cost extra, and the farm is cash only. Well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome to walk the pumpkin patch with you. There's a second Red Wagon location in Manalapan on Route 33.
The Red Barn Farm
📍 Hammonton, NJ
The Red Barn Farm sits in the Pinelands outside Hammonton and runs its fall festival Friday evenings and weekend days into early November. The fairgrounds are free and include farmyard games, chickens, and mini goats. The All Access Pass covers the hayride and U-Pick in the pumpkin patch and sunflower field, the 10-acre corn maze, and the giant bounce pillow ($25.20 online, $28 at the gate).
The pie shop, bakery, and cafe are worth the stop on their own. Leashed, well-behaved dogs are welcome, though free-range chickens roam the property, so keep a firm grip if your dog has opinions about birds.
Historic Smithville Irish Festival
📍 Smithville, NJ
📅 Saturday, October 10th - Sunday, October 11th
Free, dog-friendly Irish festival at Historic Smithville on October 10 and 11.
Full Description: The Smithville Irish Festival fills the Village Greene on Saturday, October 10 (10 AM to 6 PM) and Sunday, October 11 (10 AM to 5 PM). Celtic bands play on the Main Stage and Gazebo Stage all weekend, with pipers, Irish dancers, a food court, and a market of Irish craft vendors.
Admission is free, and dogs are welcome on leash. Saturday midday gets crowded, so go early if you're bringing your dog.
Long Branch Fall Festival & Pooch Parade
📍 Long Branch, NJ
📅 Saturday, October 17th
Pier Village hosts its fall festival Saturday, October 17, from noon to 4 PM, with live music, a Bavarian band and dancers, pumpkin carving demos, a pumpkin patch photo op, and trick-or-treating at the shops. The Pooch Parade costs $5 to enter and benefits Pick Your Paw Rescue. Dogs must be licensed, leashed, and pre-registered by 12:15 PM, and female dogs in heat can't participate.
Check-in is at Doggie Sweets from 11 AM to noon, with the parade stepping off at 12:30 PM. Stick around for Yappy Hour and dog trick-or-treating at Carousel Bar at 1 PM.
Bark for Life at Bell Works
📍 Holmdel, NJ
📅 Sunday, October 18th
Bark For Life turns Bell Works into a full morning devoted to dogs while raising money for the American Cancer Society. The 2026 event has a “Howllywood” theme, with an opening ceremony and walk, dog contests and a parade, photo opportunities, themed activities, vendors, and community groups throughout the morning. It’s lively and very dog-centered, with plenty to do even after the walk is over.
Ocean City Dog Days
📍 Ocean City, NJ
📅 Saturday, October 24th - Sunday, October 25th
For one weekend a year, leashed dogs can walk the Ocean City Boardwalk: Saturday, October 24, from 9 AM to 5 PM and Sunday, October 25, from 9 AM to 3 PM. Saturday is the main event, with dog vendors along the boardwalk, photo stations, and free photos with Santa from 11 AM to 1 PM under the Music Pier Loggia.
The Howl-O-Ween Parade starts at 3 PM at Sixth Street and runs to 14th Street. Costumes are encouraged, and parade proceeds benefit the Humane Society of Ocean City.
Waggin' Tails Fall Fest
📍 Skillman, NJ
📅 Saturday, October 10th (rain date: October 11th)
SAVE's Waggin' Tails Fall Fest runs Saturday, October 10, from 11 AM to 3 PM on the shelter campus in Skillman, with a rain date of October 11. Expect local artisans and vendors, food and treats, music, fall photo spots, and a costume parade starring adoptable SAVE dogs. Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for kids under 12.
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Find more dog-friendly spots across the state in the Explore directory.