TEXAS — Temperatures may still be reaching 90-degree highs this week in Texas, but that's no reason to put fall festivities on hold. Sept. 22 marked the first day of fall and spooky season has finally arrived. Here is a list of upcoming family-friendly autumn activities in the Austin, San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth areas.
Austin
Sweet Berry Farm
Nothing says fall like visiting a pumpkin patch. The 152-acre farm in Marble Falls is located just an hour northwest of downtown Austin. Families can enjoy picking and painting pumpkins, hayrides, scarecrow stuffing and so much more until Nov. 3. The strawberry and pumpkin patch is the largest and oldest in Central Texas.
Both entry and parking is free for participants, but there is a set charge for each fall activity.
Other pumpkin patches in the Austin area include King of Kings Pumpkin Patch in Round Rock, Sweet Eats Fruit Farm in Georgetown and The Jersey Barnyard in La Grange.
Boo at the Zoo
Head to the Austin Zoo every weekend in October from 5:45 p.m. - 9 p.m. for a family-friendly adventure with Halloween-themed activities and games. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes upon their arrival. Families can enjoy spooky activities such as a haunted train ride through the zoo or they can even explore a haunted mansion.
Tickets are $22 per person.
Pumpkin Nights
More than 7,500 hand-carved real and synthetic pumpkins are displayed at Pioneer Farms to give families a Halloween-themed trail to explore. Located in both the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth areas, families and visitors can also enjoy a live fire dance performance, face painting and food and beverages.
Tickets are on sale through Oct. 31 and cost $17 on weekdays and $22 on weekends for adults.
San Antonio
San Antonio Pumpkin Festival
Open until Oct. 27, the fall festival includes a carousel, a massive corn pit and a train ride through a replica Alamo. Families can also enjoy live music, a bouncy pumpkin, houses made from pumpkins and more.
The festival will be open Monday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for a $15 admissions price.
Circle N Corn Maze
Beginning on Oct. 4, the Circle N Maze will be open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Friday, noon to 9 p.m. every Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. every Sunday.
The 10-acre Circle N Corn Maze offers the largest maze in the San Antonio area. Visitors can choose which of the three mazes they wish to participate in – the .3-mile, 1.5-mile or the 2.9-mile trail.
Other attractions include a petting zoo, food trucks and games for children.
Tickets are $12 for ages 8 and up.
SeaWorld’s Spooktacular Sleepover
Every Thursday through Sunday until Oct. 31., Seaworld will have its Spooktacular Sleepover. Children and visitors will learn about animals through Halloween-themed activities, animal encounters and night tours with optional visits to Howl-O-Scream haunts.
Near bedtime, all participants will snuggle in their own tents for a night near the sharks.
Tickets run at $169.99 per person.
Dallas-Fort Worth
Autumn at the Arboretum
This year will mark the 19th annual Autumn at the Arboretum. Over 100,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash will be displayed in this season’s pumpkin village, and this year will feature the theme “Texas Town,” taking visitors on a journey through Texas pioneer life.
Tickets to attend the event cost $22 for adults and $13 for children.
Ennis Autumn Daze
This year marks the 22nd Annual Ennis Autumn Daze. The event includes live music for visitors along with a hay maze, carnival rides, a pumpkin patch, a cornhole tournament and more. However, one of the most attractive parts of the festival are the photo ops with fall-themed backgrounds that include hay bales and pumpkins.
Ennis Autumn Daze will be around from Oct. 25-27 and admission is free.
Yesterland Fall Festival
Until Nov. 3, Yesterland Farm will offer a pumpkin patch, fireworks show, sunflower picking and amazement rides. When the sun goes down, families can enjoy a spooky, not gory, spooktacular Halloween event including zombie paintball and a creepy corn maze.
General admission tickets cost $22.95 (plus a $3.42 fee) while Super Admission tickets, which include five tokens for special attractions, are $42.95 (plus a $4.67 fee).