You loved our Summer Fun Bucket List, so we thought we would keep the excitement going with a Fall Fun Bucket List! There are so many great activities to get out and enjoy as the leaves start changing. The only trick is trying to fit it all in before we get hit with that first snowfall of the season.
✔️ Pick your own pumpkins at a pumpkin patch. Choose the perfect gourds to decorate your porch or carve into jack-o-lanterns. With our cooling weather and early frosts you usually need to schedule this in for the beginning of September. Somerset Farms and Violet Gardens and Greenhouse are both popular choices for the quintessential Pumpkin Picking experience.
✔️ Get lost in a corn maze. Our fall isn’t complete without a visit to at least one of the amazing corn mazes in the area! Check out our list of nearby Corn Mazes right here.
✔️ Take part in a Harvest Festival! The Reynolds Museum in Wetaskiwin, The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village , and Stony Plain Pioneer Museum all hold incredible annual fall festivals in early September. Come experience what harvest was like in the past by exploring old farming equipment and watching farming demonstrations!
✔️ Watch an outdoor movie. September is the BEST time to get out and watch a movie together under the stars. Grab your blankets, chairs, and snacks and head out to watch one of the MANY movies on our guide to Outdoor Movies.
✔️ Cheer on the Green and Gold at a football game. Fall means football for many, and the Edmonton Elks offer up an incredible family-friendly experience thanks to Free Kids Admission (12 and under) and Kids Zone fun before each game. Don’t miss the Edmonton Elks Family Day vs. the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday, September 9 or the Christmas in October game vs. the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday, October 14.
✔️ Enjoy a night of stargazing. Look to the changing skies in your own backyard, or reserve a spot with Gateway to the Stars at Elk Island National Park. This Parks Canada interpretive program helps you experience all the wonder of the Beaver Hills Dark Sky Preserve as you learn to navigate the stars and listen to storytelling about the constellations.
✔️ Challenge the family to a round of mini golf. Hit up an outdoor course now before the snow flies or enjoy a spooky themed indoor course! Our family loved playing Blackstone Mini Golf at Pigeon Lake, Putting Horse Ranch outside Spruce Grove, and Canada Golf Card Mini Golf right here in South Edmonton.
✔️ Take your favourite furry family member on an autumn adventure. Dog Days at the U of A Botanic Garden is back from September 15 to October 9, 2023, or take advantage of the pet-friendly policies at The Edmonton Corn Maze and Kraay Family Farm to bring your well-behaved pooch along.
✔️ Stock up on fresh fall goodies at a Farmers’ Market. We are lucky in our city to have access to so many amazing weekly Farmers’ Markets throughout the city. Check out our guide to Edmonton and Area Seasonal Farmers’ Markets to see where to get your fill of fresh fall produce.
✔️ Enjoy a warm seasonal drink together. Pumpkin Spice Latte anyone? Hit up your favourite coffee shop and indulge in a coffee, apple cider, or hot chocolate to combat the cooling weather. The Kettle Corn Latte at Second Cup definitely has me intrigued!
✔️ Scare yourselves silly at a Haunted House! Our family LOVES checking out all the unique Haunted Houses in Edmonton and the surrounding communities. In many cases, people are opening their homes to complete strangers to share the love of Halloween through these impressive labours of love. Head here for our guide to Frightfully Fun Haunted Houses in Edmonton & Area.
✔️ Boo a Friend or Neighbour for Halloween! Kids will love this sneaky tradition of leaving surprise Halloween treats or gifts on the porch for the recipient to discover. The fun is meant to spread from there, where your two recipients then choose two more recipients to surprise “Boo”.
✔️ Give trunk-or-Treating a try! You know all about trick-or-treating, but have you heard of TRUNK-or-treating? This fun spin makes cars the houses, and trunks the doors. Kids can experience all the same joys of trick-or-treating as they move safely from trunk to decorated car trunk. Here’s where to Trunk or Treat this Halloween.
✔️ Take a stroll down the BEST Halloween street in Edmonton! Head to the southeast neighbourhood of Summerside to see Summerside Grande Boulevard lit up for Halloween between October 15 to 31. Visitors come from all over the city to experience the decorations and electric atmosphere on Halloween night, but we prefer to admire the decorations on the less chaotic lead up to the holiday.
✔️ Watch a Spooky Movie at home. Pop the popcorn and stream a Halloween childhood favourite while making fun memories with the kids. Here are a few of our favourites for inspiration:
🎃 It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
🎃 Scooby Doo
🎃 Casper
🎃 Nightmare Before Christmas
🎃 Hocus Pocus
🎃 Beetlejuice
🎃 Ghostbusters
🎃 Addams Family
🎃 Coraline
🎃 Edward Scissorhands
🎃 Halloweentown
🎃 The Haunted Mansion
What’s on your Fall Fun Bucket List? We hope we have given you some helpful suggestions for more Family Fun together.
