14 min read
Best Fall Activities in Lancaster for Families [2025]
By: Amanda Witherow | September 10, 2025
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Pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and apple cider, oh my! Fall is on its way to Lancaster County. Accompanying the cooler weather and changing leaves, fall brings an abundance of fun family activities to experience around Lancaster.
Whether you love taking in Lancaster’s colorful foliage, participating in fall-themed events, or channeling your spooky side, there is never a shortage of activities for you and your littles to enjoy this harvest season in Lancaster County.
Visitors, new residents, and natives alike are sure to find something in this list to keep busy!
Lancaster Staples for Fall Fun
Cherry Crest Adventure Farm
Open Thursdays to Saturdays September 13 to November 1, 2025
Full of fun, education, and adventure, Cherry Crest Adventure Farm offers 60 attractions on 25 acres of land. You and your family can laugh and learn your way through the themed corn maze, farm wagon tour, bee barn exhibit, hay chute, animal grove, and so many more attractions.
Special Fall Events:
- Saturday, September 13: Hometown Heroes Festival
- Saturday, September 20: Cider Donut Festival
- Saturday, November 1: Pumpkin Madness Festival
PA Renaissance Faire
Saturdays and Sundays from August 16 through October 26 2025
Travel back in time at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire! Meet kings and queens, watch an exciting joust, and enjoy a turkey leg as big as your head. Each week has a different theme and will showcase a different experience. With immersive experiences around every corner you will witness history right before your eyes.
Cherry Hill Orchards
You know what is better than fresh produce? Fresh produce that you picked yourself. Take the family to Cherry Hill Orchards to pick your own peaches, apples, and pumpkins! Visit their website to see what produce is in season before you head out for a fun-filled afternoon in the orchard.
While you are there, be sure to visit their farmer’s market just down the road to shop for fresh produce, baked goods, flowers, and more!
Strasburg Railroad
All Aboard! The Strasburg Railroad is a local favorite for a family-friendly experience. Hop on to take a ride through Lancaster’s beautiful farmland and fall foliage. Stop at one of the picnic groves or playgrounds and catch another train on the way back. Learn all about locomotives with one of the many tours.
It’s a big day when celebrities like Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends roll into town! This 30-minutes train ride is pulled by the fully operational Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas and Friends will be at the Strasburg Railroad September 13 and 14 and September 18 to 21.
Corn Cob Acres
Open weekends, Labor Day Weekend to November 9th.
Celebrate the fall season by creating lifelong memories at Corn Cob Acres. A fall family favorite with over 50 activities for kids of all ages, Corn Cob Acres will have you and your family adventuring all day long. Take a hayride, paint pumpkins, feed goats, see the pigs race, climb a pyramid of straw bales, walk through the cornfield trail, and many other fun-filled farm activities.
Country Barn
Open Now to October 29
When you think of fall, you think of pumpkin picking. You will definitely want to stop by The Country Barn for picking your own pumpkin. Jump on one of their wagons and ride out to their pumpkin patch. Finding your perfect pumpkin won’t be too hard with over 10 acres of pumpkins to pick from. Looking for pre-picked pumpkins, head to their Farm Market!
Old Windmill Farm
Explore a working farm and learn about the Amish life at Old Windmill Farm. Take a hayride farm tour and meet the animals, milk cows, and gather eggs. Hop on one of the barrel train rides. Join a garden tour to plant seeds and harvest vegetables.
Join them between September 9 and November 23 for their seasonal Farmhouse Experience. Try your hand at making fresh cider, baking bread, and churning butter. Afterwards, sit down with your family to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Dutch Wonderland
Open Saturdays and Sundays September 13 to October 26, 2025
Ready for some Spooktacular family fun? Happy Hauntings at Dutch Wonderland, opening September 13, is a fun, fall event featuring themed rides, special entertainment, yummy treats, and the Trick-or-Treat Trail.
Oregon Dairy
Open Every Weekend from September 20 to November 2, 2024
Head over to Oregon Dairy and enjoy the Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch! Fall! Enjoy activities like barrel trains, pedal tractors, a jump pad, and corn launcher! Hop on the new ride, The Barnyard Express Train Ride! Also pick pumpkins in their pumpkin patch!
Hersheypark Halloween
Open select days from September 12 to November 2, 2025
Hersheypark In The Dark is filled with rides and rollercoasters, chocolatey trick-or-treat adventures, wild zoo visits, and festive Hershey Character experiences. Grab some of their pumpkin-flavored goodies and hop on a lights-out ride experience!
Trick-or-treat at the sweetest place on earth! The Trick-or-Treat trail takes you from Hershey’s Chocolate World to The Boardwalk at Hershey park, enjoying 14 sweet stops along the way.
On Friday and Saturday nights in October, head over to ZooAmerica to see “Creatures of the Night.”
Dark Nights Are Coming To Hersheypark Halloween. Starting September 12, this fully immersive haunted experience is sure to have you frightfully spooked with three scare zones and four spine-tingling haunted houses.
Lancaster Ghost Tours
Tours available on select days from Now thru November
Experience a spine-tingling journey through Lancaster’s shadowed past on the Candlelight Ghost Tour of Lancaster City. Departing from the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Penn Square (25 S. Queen St.), this atmospheric evening walk illuminates over 300 years of eerie tales—from phantoms of the Opera House and haunted markets to the legend of the “Walking Tombstone,” star-crossed lovers, fatal curses, and the spectral presence at the old jail. Guided by costumed storytellers wielding lantern light, you’ll traverse eight city blocks steeped in Pennsylvania Dutch folklore, haunted mysteries, and dark history.
Lancaster Special Fall Events
Lancaster City Restaurant Week
Participating restaurants and bakeries in Lancaster County
September 8 - 14, 2025
Celebrate 10 years of Lancaster City Restaurant Week! One thing that makes Lancaster special is the wide variety of cuisine that it offers. Now is your chance to enjoy all those by supporting local restaurants. Continue to visit their website to see the list of incredible eateries, bakeries, restaurants, pubs, bars, and cafes so you can plan your week!
Tailgating Festival – Kitchen Kettle Village
Intercourse, PA
September 19 and 20
Every year Kitchen Kettle Village pays tribute to tailgating season with a two-day food festival. See the Village come alive with scarecrows, pumpkins and corn shocks. Enjoy delicious fall food and seasonal themed events!
Lancaster Balloon Festival and County Fair
Bird-in-Hand, PA
*Unfortunately this event has been canceled for 2025. Hopefully it will be back next year!
Lititz Craft Beer Fest
Lititz, PA
Saturday, September 27, 2025
This charity-fundraising event features live music, great local food trucks, and more than 80 craft breweries with 150+ offerings to sample. Also enjoy the homebrew competition!
Pumpkins in Paradise – Strasburg Railroad
Strasburg, PA
September 27, 2025
Ride the train to our convenient Groff’s Picnic Grove – a recreational area along the train’s route. Here you will have a fun filled 40-minute layover as you enjoy live music, games, and pumpkin decorating.
Included with each guest ticket is:
- A 45-minute steam train ride through Amish Country
- Complimentary “Field Trip” (aka Mystic) pumpkin for each child
- Live music by Strasburg Rail Road team members
- Sweet seasonal treats from Café 1832
- Fun fall activities
Haunted Rails and Tales – Strasburg Railroad
Strasburg, PA
Weekends from October 4 to November 2 (Thursdays starting October 24)
Step aboard Strasburg Rail Road’s Haunted Rails & Tails for a spine-chilling journey through Lancaster’s most eerie folklore and fables, guided by acclaimed author and storyteller Matt Lake. Known for his works Weird Pennsylvania and Weird Maryland, Lake brings local legends to life in this unique steam train experience. Featuring a talented cast of professional actors, this event promises a night of spooky entertainment.
The Spooky Scoot – Strasburg Scooter Tours
Strasburg, PA
Select Dates October 3 - October 25
Hop aboard your scooter for the only motorized ghost tour in Lancaster County. Visit some of Lancaster County's best haunts as you travel along eerie back roads, make stops to hear local folklore and see the lesser-known haunted side of Lancaster County.
Harvest Days – Landis Valley Museum
Lancaster, PA
October 11 and 12
Celebrate Pennsylvania German heritage during Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum’s 100th Anniversary Harvest Days! Harvest Days is Landis Valley’s oldest and largest family event. This two-day festival brings 19th-century rural life to the present with artisan demonstrations, wagon rides, seasonal foods, and hands-on activities for all ages. Kids can enjoy pumpkin painting, harvest games, and meeting farm animals, while adults explore traditional crafts like blacksmithing, weaving, and tin-smithing.
New for 2025: Enjoy a live performance by the Hammer Creek Bluegrass Band on Saturday afternoon, and don’t miss Sunday’s Historic Car Show, a showcase of vintage automobiles. With music, crafts, food, and history, Harvest Days is the perfect way to welcome fall in Lancaster County!
Manheim Community Farm Show
Manheim, PA
October 6 - 10
Every October the Manheim community gets together to celebrate their town and agriculture. Enjoy all things farm! From livestock to tractors, baked goods to crafts you won’t want to miss this community fun!
Pumpkin Patch Train Rides – Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad
Middletown, PA
October 11 & 12, October 18 & 19
This ride stops at a special pumpkin patch along the line where each passenger may go and select their very own pumpkin.
Wolf Awareness Day fundraiser
Participating restaurants and bakeries in Lancaster County
October 18, 2025
Get ready for a wild and wonderful day at the Wolf Sanctuary of PA! This heartwarming, family-friendly fundraiser invites visitors to enjoy self-guided wolf tours, pumpkin painting, arts & crafts vendors, educational games, and delicious fare from local food trucks—all in support of the wolves of Speedwell Forge.
Live music from award-winning Pennsylvania Americana artist Kevin Neidig—a “folkgrass for the critical thinker”—will add a melodic layer to the autumn atmosphere.
Plus, meet author and longtime sanctuary volunteer Chuck Rineer during a special book signing of Wolf Sanctuary, featuring stunning photos and stories that bring the sanctuary’s inhabitants to life
Yummie's Halloween Boo Bash – Kitchen Kettle Village
Intercourse, PA
Saturday, October 25
Visits Kitchen Kettle Village for the perfect recipe for Halloween fun! Enjoy a meal, some colorful characters, including Yummie, a costume contest, whoopie pie making experience, special treats and more.
The Red Rose Film Festival
Penn Cinema & Zoetropolis
November 6 - 9
The Red Rose Film Festival is a celebration of storytelling through the art of film, connecting filmmakers and the Lancaster community. Attendees will be treated to a mix of short films, documentaries, and feature-length movies, along with engaging panel discussions that dive into the creative process.
Fall Fairs
September 17 - 19
September 23 - 27
September 24 - 26
October 1 - 4
Picking the Perfect Pumpkin
Lancaster Hiking
Local fall activities in Lancaster can definitely keep the family busy all season long, but if you're looking for a more low-key experience, try getting out into nature. Breathe the crisp cool air and take in the colors of fall on one of the many local hiking trails.
Here are a few of our favorite hiking spots:
- Turkey Hill Trail
- Chickies Rock
- Steinman Run Nature Preserve
- Grubb Lake
- Tucquan Glen Nature Preserve
- Reed Run Nature Preserve
- Conestoga Trail
- Middle Creek Millstone Trail
- Trout Run Nature Preserve
- Fishing Creek Nature Preserve
- Ferncliff Wildflower and Wildlife Preserve
- Homewood Nature Preserve
- Rannels Kettle Run
- Kelly’s Run
Uncharted Lancaster
Uncharted Lancaster is more than just geocaching; it's a thrilling blend of treasure hunts and real-life adventure, inspired by the cinematic magic of Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Goonies, and National Treasure. Fueled by his passion for these iconic films, Adam Zurn has masterfully created a series of immersive experiences that bring the spirit of adventure to life in Lancaster County. Each challenge, meticulously crafted by Adam, offers a unique opportunity to explore the rich history and hidden gems of the area. This fall, embark on one—or more—of these exhilarating quests, and uncover the secrets that make Lancaster County truly legendary.
Ready, Set, Celebrate Fall in Lancaster!
We hope this list helps your family jumpstart your fall fun in beautiful Lancaster County this year! And if you have more ideas that we should include in next year's list, please leave them in the comments!
