Seattle Family Calendar
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Visit a pumpkin patch and corn maze
Take a break from the school grind with an autumn mini adventure. Pick some pumpkins, sniff the crisp fall air — and hurry, before the rain sets in!
Carpinito Brothers (27508 W. Valley Hwy. N., Kent) is a perennial favorite for a good reason. It’s free to go into the pumpkin patch (hello, photo op!), and there’s a nominal fee for the farm yard, tractor rides and corn maze. Pick up farm-fresh veggies at the produce stand on your way out.
For families in the North End, Bob’s Corn & Pumpkin Farm (10917 Elliott Rd., Snohomish) is a popular pick, what with its 10-acre corn maze and homemade doughnuts! Buy an activity wristband for access to unlimited cow train rides, a rope maze, corn crib and more. Parents with babies will be psyched to know there’s a dedicated building for nursing and changing.
Both farms are open through Oct. 31. The fields can get muddy, so come prepared with rubber boots.
Hate crowds? Don’t wait until the last weekend before Halloween, when it’s guaranteed to be a zoo. Go early in the month, early in the day, or on a weekday, if you can swing it. (Get even more ideas on patches to hit around the Seattle area and in South Sound.)
Go apple picking
You know what they say, an apple a day.… The Farm at Swan’s Trail (7301 Rivershore Rd., Snohomish) offers Honeycrisp and Jonagold apples in its U-pick orchard. Kids learn to twist, not pull, the apple stem off the branch. Low branches make the fruit easy to reach.
Unlike picking itty-bitty berries, picking apples is instant gratification. It doesn’t take long to pick a couple of bags full, as you’ll discover when you head back to weigh (and pay for) your haul. Apple season began in mid-September, so don’t wait. Get ideas on where to get pickin’.
Get a free pumpkin
Free-pumpkin alert! On Oct. 27, select PCC Community Markets will give kids a pumpkin and everything they need to decorate it. The event, which is free for kids 12 and younger, runs 9 a.m.–noon at the PCC Markets in Bothell, Burien, Edmonds, Green Lake (Aurora and Greenlake Village stores), Issaquah and Redmond.
See fall colors
The weather has cooled off, the mosquitoes have died down, and it’s still light out — it’s the perfect season for hiking. Storms will likely move in by the end of the month, so head out soon to stretch your legs. Take the kids up Mount Rainier to Paradise, where you’ll find gorgeous fall colors at this time of the year. Be sure to ask about the Junior Ranger program at the new Paradise Jackson Visitor Center (Paradise Road, east of Longmire), which is generally open weekends and holidays through the winter.
The Nisqually Vista Trail starts at the west end of the lower parking lot and is a good distance for little legs (1.2 miles). Plus, what a payoff: glorious views of Mount Rainier, the Nisqually Glacier and beautiful subalpine meadows.
Or skip the three-hour drive and stay in the city. Visit Seattle’s largest park, the 534-acre Discovery Park, where an easy 1.4-mile walk takes you to a beach with a lighthouse on the shores of Puget Sound. Kids will also love the newly renovated play area tucked in the woods near the visitor center (3801 Discovery Park Blvd., Seattle). You’ll find a zip line, a very tall slide and an area where kids can build their own tree forts.
Drive to Leavenworth
If seeing fall colors by car is more your jam, the two-hour drive to Leavenworth is nothing short of stunning. This charming faux Bavarian town holds its annual Oktoberfest for three weekends in October (5–6, 12–13 and 19–20). The celebration is all-ages until 9 p.m. Expect lots of lederhosen, bratwurst and live music. Prost!
Hit the beach
The crowds have thinned out, and the sand isn’t burning the soles of your feet. Fall is the perfect time to head to the beach. Our Puget Sound water stays a chilly 56 degrees even in August, too cold to swim in anyway. Snag a fire pit at Golden Gardens Park (8498 Seaview Place N.W., Seattle) or Alki Beach (1702 Alki Ave. S.W., Seattle) and settle in for s’mores with a view of the Olympics.
Touch-a-truck, with a Halloween spin
Trucks and tanks and monsters, oh my! The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum (3407 109th St. S.W., Everett) hosts its annual Monster Bash on Oct. 6. There’s trick-or-treating around the museum, monster Jeep rides, and firetrucks and tanks to explore. Adults: $20; admission is free for kids 13 and younger in costume ($12 for those not in costume and for ages 14–17).
Go for a train ride
All aboard! Train rides are fun any time of the year, but they’re extra special on select weekends in October. Take a ride on the Northwest Railroad Museum’s Halloween Train (38625 S.E. King St., Snoqualmie) and then enjoy special Halloween stories, old-fashioned cider pressing and other activities for kids at the museum.
Farther afield, join Snoopy and the Peanuts gang on The Great Pumpkin Patch Express at the Mount Rainier Railroad (54124 Mountain Hwy. E., Elbe). As the steam train winds through the foothills of Mount Rainier, you’ll read “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” Wear your Halloween costumes and go trick-or-treating through a historic logging camp.
Tour the heart of the city
Now that the cruise ship hordes have cleared out, it’s a great time to visit our iconic Pike Place Market. The fish market with the famous fish throwers has changed ownership, but nothing else has changed: same worn walkways, same produce and flower sellers, just a little less claustrophobic. (Get an age-by-age guide to the Market.)
Sensory-friendly tip: When you need a quieter place to go (and a reliably clean restroom), head across the street to the Seattle Art Museum, at First and Union. An exhibit of royal treasures from Jodhpur, India, opens on Oct. 18. But frankly, the lower level (which is always free) is a bigger draw for kids.
Walk under John Grade’s giant hemlock sculpture next to the ticketing desk. Stop by the Chase Open Studio to make some art — it’s free and stocked with art supplies. Chances are you’ll be the only ones there; the studio’s kind of a hidden gem.
Go bird-watching in Skagit Valley
Arriving in late October, tens of thousands of snow geese blanket the fields of Skagit Valley. They’re migrating from their nesting grounds in Siberia and Alaska, and settle in for a (well-deserved) rest through April. Get the kids outside to watch and listen to the big white birds feeding and interacting.
There’s a short trail at Fir Island Farms (Discover Pass needed), which is a no-hunting snow goose reserve. Have your camera ready; if you’re lucky, you’ll see the giant flock take flight at once.
Before driving back to Seattle, stop by a U-pick pumpkin patch in Mount Vernon (try Schuh Farms or Gordon Skagit Farms) to find your perfect jack- o’-lantern.
