"People come in and say, 'I had no idea it was this cool,'" Grant Dewey, executive director of the Western Museum of Mining & Industry, told The Gazette last fall. He was talking about the museum's working machinery and living-history demonstrations, which surprise visitors who had driven past the place for years.
For a lot of north-end households, October is when they finally pull in. The Miners' Pumpkin Patch fills the museum's campus at 225 North Gate Boulevard every Saturday in October. The museum calls it "our primary fundraiser of the year." So the hayrides and smashed pumpkins are paying for something specific. They help keep the museum open, according to KKTV's 2025 coverage, with most proceeds going to operations. The museum has been open since 1970 and is home to an 1895 Corliss steam engine, a walk-through mine drift and a Victorian ranch house.
Two Saturdays remain on this year's schedule: Oct. 24 and Oct. 31.
Two Saturdays, Two Different Lineups
The patch normally runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Halloween it closes at 2 p.m., so the last day is two hours shorter than the others.
The museum posts which food trucks and entertainers come on which dates, and the two remaining Saturdays don't match:
| Saturday, Oct. 24 | Saturday, Oct. 31 | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Food and drink | Renew Coffee Cart, 4th Avenue Crepes, Grilled Cheese Food Truck, Roccos Mobile Italian Food, The Jungle Wild Snacks | Renew Coffee Cart, 4th Avenue Crepes, Treats in Motion, The Jungle Wild Snacks |
| Entertainment | Inspector Magic, Gemineyes Face Painting, Pathway to the Rockies, School of Rock Colorado Springs | Inspector Magic, Gemineyes Face Painting, Pathway to the Rockies, Fairytale Fable |
If you're after a hot lunch, Oct. 24 is the better pick. It's the only remaining date with both the Grilled Cheese Food Truck and Roccos Mobile Italian Food, and School of Rock Colorado Springs is listed for that day only. Halloween brings Fairytale Fable and Treats in Motion, and the early close makes it easier to fit in before trick-or-treating. The museum notes that lineups can change, so check the event page the night before.
What the Ticket Covers, and What Costs Extra
The museum's 2026 booking page lists admission at $13 if you buy ahead and $15 at the door. Children 3 and under get in free. Online booking closes at midnight the night before, so for the $13 price on Oct. 24 you need to buy by the end of Friday, Oct. 23. KRDO's October 6 story put tickets at "about $14," so the booking page is the place to check the price you'll actually pay.
The online system asks you to pick an arrival window, but the museum's FAQ says tickets are accepted any time that day. If plans change, the museum says it can move your ticket to a later date if you call 719-488-0880.
Included with admission:
- Hayrides, the children's straw maze, the giant slide and the corn bins
- Cornhole, ladder ball, giant battleship and other lawn games
- The vintage apple cider press and animal encounters
- Gold panning and mining machinery demonstrations
- The pumpkin catapult and smashing
Extra:
- Pumpkins, listed at $7 each at the pre-purchase rate. The FAQ warns that prices may change with the market.
- Food trucks, face painting, other vendors and the Rock n' Gift Shop. The museum takes cards and cash.
- Museum admission, which comes with a buy-one-get-one-free offer you can use that day or another day.
The museum says plainly that you can spend a full day at the patch without paying anything beyond the ticket. It suggests planning about two hours for the outdoor activities, machinery demonstrations and gold panning.
Why a Mining Museum Runs a Pumpkin Patch
The museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and KRDO called the patch its largest fundraiser of the year. During the 2025 season, the museum's executive director told KKTV that proceeds mainly support operations and help schoolchildren afford visits.
That explains why so much of the patch looks like the museum. According to KRDO, guides help visitors pan for gold inside the museum and run the historic cider press, and the museum's early 20th-century machinery stays running and open to the public during the event. In the same story, grounds and maintenance supervisor Colton Manchester explained the museum's purpose: "Colorado Springs was such a huge contributor to the mining industry," he said, and preserving that local and national culture "is something that the museum's honored to do."
The buy-one-get-one offer makes the most sense when you compare prices. Regular adult admission is $14, a dollar more than an advance patch ticket. Two adults who use the offer pay for one admission. If your kids are already sold on hayrides, that's an easy second trip to plan. You also don't have to use it on patch day. The FAQ says the offer is good on another day of your choice, which helps if you'd rather see the exhibits without a Saturday crowd.
A Better Way In Than There Used to Be
If your last visit was a few years ago, the drive in is different now. For more than a century, the museum's access was what Dewey called "basically a ranch drive." The Gazette reported that as I-25 and the surrounding roads crept closer, getting in and out became "really tricky." The entrance has since moved to a nearby intersection. The museum built it with the City of Colorado Springs Public Works Department and contractors Wildcat Construction and RockSol, and celebrated it with a ribbon cutting last October.
That matters on a busy patch Saturday. The museum also explains that the online arrival windows are there to help it gauge traffic flow.
What's Behind the Patch the Rest of the Year
Once the pumpkins are gone, the museum keeps its regular schedule:
- Hours. Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., all year. It closes only on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
- Admission. Adults $14. Military, first responders, teachers, and seniors 60+ or AAA members $12. Students 13+ $9. Children 4 to 12 $7. Members get in free.
- Tours with the machines running. Free guided tours at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. last about an hour, first come, first served, and the historic machinery runs during them. Gold panning and the museum's films come with admission.
- The Reynolds Ranch House. A Queen Anne-style Victorian farmhouse from the mid-1890s, listed on the Colorado Register of Historic Properties. Tours are Mondays at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. by reservation. They cost $5 alone or $3 with museum admission.
Inside, you'll find the walk-through mine drift, a fluorescent-mineral display and a Chilean rescue pod. Outside are the Yellow Jacket II stamp mill, the Osgood steam shovel, historic barns and bunkhouses, an apple orchard, a blacksmith shop and a mining headframe. The museum notes that the stamp mill is open seasonally or by appointment. The blacksmith shop is open only during Summer Family Day events or by special appointment.
The museum's events calendar already lists the next two months:
- Nov. 7: Book release, talk and signing with Jon Campbell
- Nov. 10: Lecture by John Howe and Michael Weinfeld
- Nov. 11: Homeschool Day on simple machines
- Nov. 24: Thanksgiving STEaM Camp
- Dec. 9: Homeschool Day on the mine drift model
- Dec. 28 to 30: Winter STEaM Camp
The museum says these dates can change, so check the calendar before you plan around one. If you have kids home during the week of Thanksgiving or between Christmas and New Year's, those camp dates are the ones to note now.
I've lived in Colorado Springs since 1992, and the museum on North Gate Boulevard is still one of the easiest north-end outings to recommend. If you have family visiting for Halloween or a PCS move bringing you north this fall and want ideas for getting to know the area, reach out to Kevin James Bond. Let's Connect.
