Located just over 30 miles southwest of Chicago, Bengston’s Pumpkin Farm is a family friendly seasonal attraction assorted with rides, entertainment, and a wide variety of food.

Perhaps the most highly anticipated Bengston’s treat would be the fresh apple cider donuts they boast as “Chicago’s Best Apple Cider Donut.” Although costing two dollars per donut, the fall treats’ warm doughy interior complimented by a generous glaze and powdered sugar coating make the money well spent. To wash down the donuts, the farm sells various sodas as well as apple cider, which can be served cold or hot.

For a meal more substantial than a couple donuts, Bengston’s serves pizza, tacos, and barbecue food. On weekends only, their barbecue joint, Uncle Bub’s BBQ, has award winning ribs. I found the ribs’ meat to be incredibly tender and wished shortly after ordering the half slab that I had brought enough money for the full order.

Unfortunately, the lines to both Uncle Bub’s BBQ as well as their donut bakery were very long. This wait, however, gave me ample time to look over the map they gave out and explore everything else the pumpkin patch has to offer.

Adjacent to the BBQ is their newest ride, a 90 foot “Mega Fun Slide.” There, children, teenagers, and adults bundle into flimsy blankets and shoot themselves down the chute. Rather than wait in line for the ride, I walked to the eastern section of the farm where each hour three heats of pig races are directed by two hilarious commentators. The two men did an excellent job of getting the crowd involved, calling up volunteers to represent each pig. I would recommend bringing food to eat as there are bleachers to sit on during the races.

In addition to the slide and pig races, other major attractions include a fun barn, haunted barn, and a baby animal barn. All three of these attractions were packed with young children on the Sunday evening I went. Even though this was, at times, annoying, all the little kids’ energy and excitement created a more vibrant atmosphere for the entire barn.

Bengston’s is open every day until Nov. 3 with prices fluctuating from $13.99 on most weekdays to $22.99 on the weekends. There is a special discount on Halloween, charging visitors $11.99. Parking is free and divided into massive lots right off of W 151st St.