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Editor's note: This article has been updated to include Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” Light Trail.
Austin, Creedmoor, Leander, Round Rock, Georgetown and more neighboring cities are hosting a range of fall-focused events featuring pumpkins, mazes, bounce houses and haunted houses. This list is not comprehensive. Event details are subject to change.
Fall festivals
Hill Country Pumpkins
Locals and visitors alike can pick the perfect Halloween pumpkin at the patch while also enjoying a bounce house slide, complimentary hot cider, coffee, snacks, drinks and adult beverages.
Attendees can check out the zoo’s animals while dressed in their Halloween best, ride the Spooky Train and tour the space’s haunted house.
Visitors can participate in fall-themed activities such as a pumpkin patch, photo opportunities, hay and barrel train rides, apple cannon, hay maze, outdoor bowling, food vendors, and more. A new feature this year includes a 1.4-mile scarecrow maze.
Featuring a pumpkin patch, a hall of monsters with animatronics, live music, magic showcases, pumpkin pie eating contest and more, the festival is back with attractions for all ages to enjoy.
The fourth annual pumpkin festival will bring all things fall to Round Rock including farm animals and feeding, a barrel train, pumpkin painting, a bouncy house and funnel cake. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Austin Pets Alive and the Old Settlers Association.
Attendees can look forward to a free wagon ride into the Christmas tree fields where pie pumpkins are hidden. Additional activities will be available including pumpkin launcher, mazes, axe throwing and zip lines.
The seasonal event will feature live music, a mini hay maze, a bat scavenger hunt, yard games and activity stations. Attendees will have the opportunity to get free admission to the Amazen’ Ranch Round-Up if they wear a family-friendly costume to the event.
With over 50 attractions and over 40 photo opportunities, the festival brings fun in a variety of ways to community members of all ages. Attractions include an inflatable bounce pad, a corn pit, a monster maze, cornhole and camel rides.
A general admission ticket to the Sweet Eats Adventure Farm & Petting Zoo fall festival includes access to the corn maze and daily pig races. On weekends, admission includes access to the candy cannon, a fireworks show and community campfires. Patrons can also pick their own pumpkins for $0.85/lb.
The gardens will host a patch with activities available on weekends such as train rides, slides, playscapes, bounce houses and pumpkin painting.
Christ Lutheran Church’s pumpkin patch will benefit Water to Thrive, an Austin-based nonprofit committed to building wells and providing clean water in Africa.
The event showcases a half-mile path of 10 immersive pumpkin-themed lands including a forbidden city and a pirate’s cove. Walkers will also experience over 7,500 hand-carved and custom pumpkins throughout the space.
Attendees can look forward to an immersive experience featuring scenes, music and video projections transforming Austin into Halloween Town and Christmas Town. The attraction is only available in New York City and Austin.
Haunted houses
Bat City Scaregrounds
Participants can explore three haunted houses, Slaughter Mall, Castle Orlock and Ancient Evil. Other attractions include live music, Vegas-style performances and seasonal food. The event is recommended for ages 12 and up.
The locally-operated attraction will host the spooky experience for all ages for its 11th and final year. Food donations will be accepted for Hill County Community Ministries Food Pantry.
Recommended for ages 13 and up, attendees can experience a world where all communication with the outside world is down, soldiers are blocking the roads and answers must be found sooner rather than later. Proceeds for the event go toward various local cancer-related charities and attendees are also encouraged to bring canned food for the Manor Food Bank.
