While fall in Florida may not always have the typical falling leaves and crisp air we all dream of, there are still loads of local activities to get us into the spirit of the season. The typical fall weather is a few months away for us here, but you can now add these St. Augustine festive fall events to your calendar for you and your family to enjoy! Locally, we have pumpkin patches, corn mazes, chowder cook-offs, fall festivals, and so much more fall fun! Check out these local events and activities to start your fall off right.
Visit a Pumpkin Patch
To get the locals into the fall spirit, St. Augustine offers three pumpkin patches for all to enjoy. You can visit Rype and Readi’s Downtown Market starting October 1st for all your pumpkin needs! The Market also hosst a children’s pumpkin painting event on Saturdays in October. On October 4, the First United Methodist Church’s annual pumpkin patch opens in Downtown St. Augustine on King Street. The Pumpkins are also coming to Shores United Methodist Church! Shore United Methodist Church’s Pumpkin Patch opens October 6 and supports the local outreach ministries of the church.
Get Lost in a Corn Maze
Enjoy the best of fall activities all October long at Maze Dayz Fall Festival! The festival will be open October 5 to 28 during the weekends. During the festival you can wind your way through the corn maze, pick out the perfect pumpkin, meet the farm animals, explore on a hayride, relax by the nighttime bonfire, race down the burlap sack farm slide, and much more! General admission is $10 and children 3 and under are free. Another corn maze to look into is the Sykes and Cooper Corn Maze! It is open October 6-November 4 during the weekends. It is a 9-acre corn maze full of “cornfusing” twists and turns combined with live entertainment, like a cow-milking station, and lots of farmtastic family fun! General admission is $13 and children 2 and under are free.
Explore the Paranormal with a Local Ghost Tour
Go out and experience the spooky side of St. Augustine after dark with these local nightly ghost tours: Ripley’s Ghost Train Adventures, The Original Haunted Pub Tour, Dead Walk, Everdark Express: Hearse Ride, Haunted Romance, Ghosts and Gravestones, A Ghostly Encounter, Sheriff’s Ghost Walk Tour, Dark of the Moon Lighthouse Ghost Tour, Haunted Hallows Ghost Walk, A Night Among Ghosts, and Secrets of St. Augustine.
Have a Spook-Tacular Time at these Scary Events
Start your fall out right with these three frighteningly fun festivities! Join the GTM Reserve for the Estu-Scary Festival on October 26-27 at 6pm. If you’re in the mood for a Halloween fright, purchase a ticket for the Haunted Forest Tour–a ghastly and ghostly exploration of the woods…and everything that lurks inside it! Tickets for the Haunted Forest Tour and the hayride are $8 online and $10 at the door. There is also the Holler-Ween Festival on October 19-27 at 6:30pm. Guests can enjoy a haunted house (The Slaughterhouse and the Forbidden Forest Trail Ride), a pumpkin patch, trail rides through the woods, bounce houses, story time in a graveyard, lots of treats and refreshments, and live entertainment. General Admission is $15. Kids 12 and under are $10 and kids under 4 are free! Also, to celebrate Halloween with the whole family, go to the Alligator Farm’s annual Creatures of the Night experience on October 26-28 from 5:30 to 7pm. Come in your costumes and get ready for a night of trick-or-treating, bugs and beasts, and a lot of family fun! Tickets are $10 per adult and $8 per child.
Run Turkey Run!
Start a new fall family tradition with your choice between these three charitable Thanksgiving runs. All taking place on November 22, these runs will start your family’s Thanksgivings off in a healthy way. Run Turkey Run 5k takes place in the beautiful World Golf Village. This is the 4th Annual Run Turkey Run and registration is $35 if you sign up now. Another Thanksgiving race is the annual Turkey Trot in Ponte Vedra. If you register before November 21, the fee will be $39. Another run this Thanksgiving is the 16th annual Shut Up and Run X-C 5K in Treaty Park. Registration is $25 per person.
Sample the City’s Favorite Chowders
The Annual Great Chowder Debate takes place on November 4 and features over 30 local St. Augustine Restaurants competing for “Best Chowder” bragging rights in five different chowder categories: Minorcan Conch Chowder, Minorcan Clam Chowder, New England Clam Chowder, seafood Chowder, and Non-Seafood Chowder. Tickets for chowder tastes will be sold for $1 each. Patrons are welcome to vote for their favorite chowders to decide which wins the “People’s Choice” award. The proceeds of the Annual Great Chowder Debate will benefit Big Brothers, Big Sisters of St. Johns County.
Celebrate the Season at a Fun Festival
Ring in the fall season with a day full of fun for the whole family at the annual St. Ambrose Fall Festival on October 14 from 12-4pm. Entertainment and activities at the festival include live music, a silent auction, a bake sale, hay rides, face painting, and lots of kids’ games. Come to chow down on some Minorcan clam chowder and delicious barbecue as well. Admission is free for all! Another annual ST. Augustine festival you can’t miss is the Fall Festival and Chili Cook-Off. It takes place on October 20 from 3-5pm. Come to enjoy free food, face painting, games and more for the entire family. There will be a Chili Cook-Off fundraiser for $10 to sample and vote on all the different varieties of chili. All are welcome!
Featured image via Cowart Ranch and Farms
Find more events in St. Augustine by visiting our online calendar of events!
