Here are 11 fun things to add to your Texas fall bucket list.
The Autumn Texas weather is the perfect time to get out and explore this great state. With temps cooling off, this is a great opportunity to enjoy nature. It’s time to celebrate fall in Texas with activities from pumpkin patches and hiking through the state park to touring the wine trails in the hill country. Here are eleven festive adventures to add to your Texas fall bucket list.
Related: Texas Fall Festivals
Add These Fun Activities To Your Texas Fall Bucket List
Fall means Halloween, Thanksgiving, and fall foliage! Other fun fall activities like corn mazes, hay rides, fall festivals, and taking the perfect weekend trip. So grab your pumpkin spice latte and start planning your fall fun for the year.
Homemade pumpkin bread and banana bread are my two favorite loaves of bread to bake for fall. What are your favorite things to bake for fall? The entire family will be jumping for joy with freshly baked goods and outdoor fall activities!
1. Pick Pumpkins With The Family
Local pumpkin patches, fall festivals, and farmer markets are scattered across the state. What better way to spend a Saturday than strolling through a corn maze, enjoying the farm animals at the petting zoo, a hay ride, munching on kettle corn, sipping on apple cider, and picking out the perfect pumpkin for carving?
Autumn at the Arboretum, located at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, is one of Dallas’ favorite fall traditions. The theme for 2022 is ‘A Fall Fairy Tale,’ which features themed pumpkin houses, a hay maze, a pumpkin village, and displays of classic tales of Jack & The Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, The Sword in the Stone, and One Thousand and One Nights made from gourds. Over 100,000 pumpkins, gourds, and squash are used to create the structures.
Not sure where to find a pumpkin patch near you? Check out this list of our favorite pumpkin patches and fall festivals in Texas.
2. Celebrate Oktoberfest
Head to New Braunfels for the 10-day Wurstfest, a German heritage celebration. Don your dirndl or lederhosen, grab a pint of German beer, and hit the dance floor! Wurstfest features live music, amazing food, carnival rides, games, and shopping.
This annual event begins on the first Friday in November and continues for ten days. Open rain or shine, this event is the perfect place to enjoy funnel cakes, potato pancakes, sausage on a stick, and a large Biergarten you don’t want to miss.
3. Take A Ghost Tour
If you want to get in the Halloween spirit, a ghost tour might be for you. Granbury Ghost and Legends Tour was named by Frommer’s Travel Guides as one of the seven best ghost tours in the country.
The tour takes place in historic Granbury, where guests can enjoy a spooky family-friendly evening exploring the legends and hearing ghost stories about the town.
The tour guide, dressed in Civil War costumes, takes guests around Granbury’s Historic Square, where they will encounter the Lady in Red, the Faceless Girl, and Indian Joe.
4. Enjoy Boo At The Zoo
Zoos around the state put together Boo at the Zoo that both kids and adults will enjoy. The Fort Worth Zoo, Houston Zoo, Austin Zoo, San Antonio Zoo, and Abilene Zoo all host this event the weekend leading up to Halloween. The events features treat stations, animal shows, pumpkin patches, carnival games, costume, and more. Boo at the Zoo is a fun, family-friendly activity where guests can participate in Halloween activities for a spooky good time.
5. Discover The Texas Wine Trail
The 290 Wine Trail is located in the Texas Hill Country. Spanning between Johnson City and Fredericksburg is 30 miles of wineries, vineyards, unique dining, and lodging.
Wine lovers can stop at any of the almost 100 wineries off Highway 290 for a fun day of wine tasting, food pairings, vineyard tours, whiskey tasting, and even a wine safari.
6. Take A Photo With Big Tex
A visit to the State Fair of Texas is a must! Begin your day by taking a photo with Big Tex, the world’s tallest cowboy standing at 55 feet, as he greets you at the entrance. Spend the rest of the day tasting the unique food, riding carnival rides, playing games, exploring the Texas Auto Show, checking out the livestock exhibits, watching a football game, and appreciating the art displays.
No visit to the state fair is complete until you’ve eaten your weight in fried food. Fried fruit loops, fried butter, fried Oreos, fried beer, fried Twinkies…you get the drift. Sure, most of the food is ridiculously unhealthy and a bit odd. But that makes it more fun!
The Texas State Fair is open daily from September 30 – October 23. Be sure to check the website for hours and the complete schedule of the daily events.
7. Hike Through A State Park
Finding a state park near you and spending the day in nature is a must-do during the fall. If you are looking for a spectacular glimpse of the fall foliage, then head to Lost Maples Natural Area. Take the East Trail to view the majority of the park’s maple trees, which turn bright red, orange, and yellow.
Other state parks that are great to hike through during the fall are Palo Duro Canyon, Inks Lake State Park, Colorado Bend State Park, Pedernales Falls State Park, and
McKinney Falls State Park. Strolling along the bank of the rivers or hiking through the woods at these parks will have you feeling like you are in New England.
8. Take A Scenic Drive
A scenic drive through East Texas is a wonderful place to enjoy the fall foliage. The Pinewoods Autumn Trail is a 145-mile loop between Athens and Palestine. You may need to wait until later in the year to see the bright yellow, orange, and red colors of fall. Fall foliage is always later in Texas than in our northern states.
A few stops along the loop include Lake Athens, Tara Vineyard & Winery, East Texas Arboretum, and Palestine Community Forest. If you are looking for a scenic Birdseye view of the gold and crimson trees, then make a stop at New York Texas Zipline Adventure. Climb up the 100-foot platform, enjoy the sweeping views of the Piney Woods, and zip through the 940-feet canopy of the Texas Pines.
Treehouse at Silver Spur Resort at night. Photo Credit: Chastity V.
9. Go Glamping
October and November are one of the best times to pack your bags and enjoy a weekend of glamping. It’s just like camping, except better! Here you’ll have air conditioning, Wi-Fi, and all the other modern luxuries you want while still escaping the business of everyday life.
Across the state, you can find numerous tree houses, yurts, Conestoga wagons, or even sleep in a bubble hotel in the middle of the Terlingua Texas Desert, near Big Bend National Park. These are the perfect locations to enjoy the Texas sky.
10. Celebrate Dias De Los Muertos
From late October through early November is the celebration for Dias de Los Muertos. It’s the Mexican holiday that remembers loved ones that have died. Cities across the state host events and celebrations to commemorate the day. But if you are looking for the ultimate experience, you must visit San Antonio.
San Antonio hosts SpiritLandia, a four-day family celebration featuring live music, face painting, food trucks, art exhibits nightly river parade, and more. This is the largest Day of the Dead celebration in the United States.
11. Fall Camping With The Family
Get out of that tent and shake off the dust –it’s time to camp. If you don’t want to “glamp” as mentioned above (it can be a little expensive), grab the tent or look for a cabin in the woods. Either way, you’re out in nature, and the fall season is the best for that here in Texas!
There you have it – eleven fun things to do to add to your fall Texas Bucket list!
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