Fall in Chicago: apple orchards, pumpkins and color

This guide is for Chicagoans who want a proper fall weekend without booking a hotel. It covers the apple orchards and pumpkin farms within about 90 minutes of the city, where and when to see the leaves turn, the Halloween events worth a ticket, what is left of Oktoberfest season and the football and marathon weekends that shape traffic in October.

Almost every farm here needs a car. Prices below are this year’s, taken from each place’s own site, and several change between weekdays, September weekends and October weekends. Plan on the October weekend price if you can only go on a Saturday.

Apple orchards and pumpkin patches

Close in: Lincolnshire and Homer Glen

The easiest trip from the North Side is Didier Farms, 16678 Aptakisic Rd. in Lincolnshire, where Happy Times Pumpkin Fest runs September 16 through October 31. Didier makes the list because walking in and parking are both free, so you can buy a pumpkin and a bag of cider donuts without paying a gate fee. Attractions run on $1 tickets: the corn maze is five tickets, pony and camel rides are eight, and the petting zoo is six for the day. The fest is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Tuesday, with late hours on October 30 and 31. Phone: (847) 383-6958.

On the Southwest Side, Bengtson’s Pumpkin Farm, 13341 W. 151st St. in Homer Glen, has run its fall festival since 1981. This year’s Fall Fest runs September 4 through November 8. Bengtson’s is a ticketed amusement day, with rides, pig races and a haunted barn included, and the price climbs through the season: $23.99 Monday through Thursday, $26.99 Fridays, $31.99 on September weekends and $38.99 on October weekends and Columbus Day. Parking is free. Buses cannot park, and pets are not allowed. Phone: (708) 301-3276.

Worth the drive: Maple Park, Harvard and Hobart

For picking your own apples, Kuipers Family Farm, 1N145 Watson Rd. in Maple Park, is the big one to the west. Kuipers runs two separate tickets. The U-Pic Apple Orchard is $11.99 on weekdays (gate price) and $14.99 on weekends and holidays, through November 1. The Pumpkin FunFarm, with the corn maze, hayrides and pig races, runs September 18 through November 1 and costs $19.99 on weekdays and $26.99 on October weekends. The farm is open daily in October, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. most days and from 10 a.m. on Sundays and Mondays. Kuipers keeps a recorded apple line at (815) 827-5200, extension 1, updated weekly with which varieties are on the trees.

Near the Wisconsin line, Royal Oak Farm Orchard, 15908 Hebron Rd. in Harvard, grows about 30 apple varieties and has an apple-tree maze called Amaze ‘N Apples. Royal Oak is the pick for families who hate wristband pricing: parking, the playground and the petting zoo are free, and you pay per activity. Apple picking is $12 a person with a quarter-peck bag, the maze is $10, and a $20 ride wristband is sold on weekends. Fall hours run through October 31: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The drive is the longest here, closer to an hour and a half from the Loop. Phone: (815) 648-4141.

In northwest Indiana, County Line Orchard, 200 S. County Line Rd. in Hobart, is the South Side and Southland choice. Be honest with yourself about apples there this year: the orchard says spring frosts and summer storms left a limited U-pick crop, with only a few fields open, though the Big Barn sells picked apples. The pumpkin patch opens October 1 with a $3 entry and pumpkins at 40 cents a pound, capped at $20. The Big Barn is open daily 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and attractions 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: (219) 947-4477.

Fall color drives

The state’s Fall Colors Trip Planner, run with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, puts the estimated peak for the Chicago area and for Starved Rock in the second week of October. As of September 22, the color report at The Morton Arboretum said only early trees, such as Freeman maples in parking lots, were showing hints of red.

The Arboretum, at 4100 Illinois Route 53 in Lisle, is the simplest leaf trip: woodlands and tree collections along winding roads, and a weekly Fall Color Report that tells you which areas have turned. Parking is free in 33 lots across the grounds, but admission is timed and priced by day, and online tickets save $2 each. The grounds open at 9 a.m. and close at sunset. The Metra BNSF station in Lisle is about two miles away, so plan a rideshare for the last leg. Phone: (630) 968-0074.

For a drive rather than a destination, Sheridan Road north from Evanston through Wilmette, Winnetka and Glencoe to Lake Forest runs past lakefront parks and ravines, and it is slow on weekend afternoons. End at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe if you want a walk. Farther out, Starved Rock State Park near Oglesby is under 100 miles southwest of the city. The canyons and bluffs are the reason to go, and October weekends are when it is most crowded, so go early or on a weekday.

Halloween events

The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns runs October 7 to 11, 14 to 18 and 21 to 25, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., with a path of carved pumpkins that includes 75 giants of about 150 pounds each. Advance adult tickets start at $24 for nonmembers and $17 for kids 3 to 12, and day-of tickets cost more. Parking is $15 bought online and $25 at the gate. The cheapest slots are Wednesday and Thursday after 7:45 p.m.

In the city, Lincoln Park Zoo is free and has Fall Fest on Fridays through Sundays until November 1, with s’mores and pumpkin carvers. Spooky Zoo, the free trick-or-treat day, is Saturday, October 17. Adults get Zoo Brews: Howls and Growls, a 21-and-over beer and cider night on October 23 and 24. Zoo gates close at 5 p.m. this time of year.

West of the city, Brookfield Zoo Chicago runs Boo! at the Zoo from October 3 to 25, with trick-or-treating, costume parades and pumpkin enrichment for the animals on weekends. The event is included with admission. Parking is $17 at the North Gate and $20 at the South Gate. Weekend hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For teens and adults, 13th Floor Haunted House, 5050 River Rd. in Schiller Park near O’Hare, is open select nights through November 8 and warns that the show may be too intense for children 12 and under. Parking is the catch. A third-party lot charges $20 for valet or $10 to self-park, free street parking is on Winona Avenue and Ainslie Street, and cars left at neighboring businesses can be towed.

Oktoberfests

Most of the area’s Oktoberfests happen in September, so by now you have missed a lot of them. The DANK Haus German American Cultural Center held its ballroom Oktoberfest on September 19. What is left leans toward cider and beer.

Lincoln Square’s Apple Fest runs October 2 to 4 on Lincoln Avenue between Lawrence and Sunnyside avenues, with ciders, apple dishes and more than 100 vendors, for a $5 suggested donation. Friday runs 3 to 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday run 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Take the Brown Line to Western and walk south; parking in Lincoln Square during the fest is not worth the fight. Afterward, Gene’s Sausage Shop & Delicatessen, 4750 N. Lincoln Ave., is a European grocery and butcher with more than 40 house-smoked sausages and a rooftop beer and wine garden. The rooftop is open Friday through Sunday, weather permitting, so call before counting on it late in the season. Phone: (773) 728-7243.

The Morton Arboretum’s Cider and Ale Festival is Saturday, October 3, with hard ciders and seasonal beers from more than 30 breweries and cideries. The festival is a ticketed event.

Fall sports weekends

Three Bears home games fall inside peak color season. Soldier Field hosts the Jets on Sunday, October 4, at noon, the Patriots on Thursday, October 22, at 7:15 p.m., and the Buccaneers on Sunday, November 8, at 7:20 p.m. Expect DuSable Lake Shore Drive near the Museum Campus to back up on game days. The Roosevelt stop on the Red, Orange and Green lines is the usual walk in, and the Metra Electric stop at the Museum Campus is closer.

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is Sunday, October 11, starting at 7:30 a.m. Streets along the course close that morning, so a Sunday drive out to a farm is easier that weekend if you leave early or go the day before. The Bears are in Green Bay that day.

In Evanston, Northwestern plays its first game at the new Ryan Field on Friday, October 2, against Penn State at 7 p.m., after opening the season at Martin Stadium on the lakefront. Homecoming is Saturday, October 10, against Ball State at 11:30 a.m., followed by Rutgers on October 24 and Iowa on November 7, and the season ends against Illinois on November 28. The CTA Purple Line’s Central stop and the Metra Union Pacific North line’s Central Street station are both a short walk from the stadium.

Good to know

Checked September 28, 2026. Farm dates, ticket prices and apple varieties can change with weather, and several farms sell tickets online at lower prices than at the gate. Most orchard picking ends by November 1, though the Kuipers shop stays open Thursday through Sunday for most of November. Didier, Bengtson’s and Royal Oak do not allow pets, and Royal Oak also bans outside food and alcohol. The Morton Arboretum’s color report comes out on Wednesdays, so check it before a weekend trip.

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