Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. The trees are beautiful, the weather starts to cool down (boot season!), I get to make pumpkin EVERYTHING, football is back, and the holidays are just around the corner. I feel like in Colorado it can be such a QUICK season. You blink your eyes and suddenly the beautiful trees are empty, covered with snow and it’s too cold to go outside. So GET OUT THERE and enjoy fall before it disappears!
I think the fall is the perfect time to be outside, it isn’t too hot or cold and there is so much beauty to be seen and fun to be had. I myself am looking for some fun activities to do with my family this fall, so I thought I would share what I found 😁
1. Take a Drive to the Mountains
Colorado in the fall…does it get any better than this!? SO BEAUTIFUL! These pictures were taken just this past weekend by my sister near Crested Butte, Colorado.
There are SEVERAL mountain drives you can take in Colorado, I found that 9news provides a list of the 9 Best Drives to See Fall Colors, the pictures are stunning!
You can also use this map to see what dates are best to go to certain areas for peak color change:
While you’re driving through the mountains… you’ll definitely want to…
2. Go for a Hike
Because again… it doesn’t get any better than this!
It’s a bit trickier for us to take a long drive with an 8 month old, so Jordan and I are planning to spend Saturday hiking at Castlewood Canyon in Franktown, Colorado. I also found a list of the 9 Hikes to See Fall Colors in Colorado” where you can find hikes near Denver and farther into the mountains in areas such as Crested Butte, Georgetown, Aspen, Devil’s Head and just west of Fort Collins.
3. Go to an Oktoberfest
Surprisingly most Oktoberfest festivals are held in SEPTEMBER… go figure 😂 but there are still several happening all around Colorado that you don’t want to miss! I went this past weekend to Parker’s Oktoberfest with my family and we had a blast (aside from the 90 degree heat)!
There’s lot’s of fall beer, entertainment and family fun activities. Most local Oktoberfest’s have free admission and you purchase tickets for food and beer inside. Here’s a list of upcoming dates for you to plan a fun day with the family, or date night with your spouse!
- Denver- September 21 & 22, 28 & 29
- Boulder- September 21& 22
- Castle Rock- September 29
- Greeley- September 28 & 29
- Highlands Ranch- September 22
- Durango- October 6th
4. Go to a Fall Festival
These are my favorite! Especially now that we have a kiddo to bring along 🙂
There are so many all over the state of Colorado happening from now until late October. There’s plenty to do for everyone in the family, beer to drink, food to eat, pumpkins to pick (and chuck), games and more. Again I found a list FULL of festivals and they are listed in order of when they’re happening. Click here for the guide to fall festivals. There’s one happening THIS WEEKEND in Estes Park that looks amazing! It’s the Autumn Festival of Bands, Brats and Beers. The Aspens will be golden and there usually are PLENTY of elk to see!
Sometimes these festivals have a corn maze as well!
But if not…
5. Go to a Corn Maze or a Pumpkin Patch!
These are ALL OVER Colorado, both big and small, haunted and kid-friendly. One of my favorites is in LaSalle, Colorado called Fritzler Farm Park. It has a HUGE maze and SO many games, activities, a pumpkin patch, hayrides and several upcoming events. Besides the big ones, there are many small farms, mazes and pumpkin patches located right around Denver such as the Flat Acres Farm right here in Parker with hay rides, petting zoos and more. This list provides a huge list of all the pumpkin patches in and around the Denver area. It includes hours, costs and a glimpse at what activities you can expect.
Most of these corn mazes are “haunted” at night- which always makes for a great date night!
Here’s the list I found of
6. Host a party
For us, fall is the perfect time to have friends over for a get together. Soon, it will be much too cold to be outside and much too crowded in the house, so we want to spend time with friends before bundling up for the winter! Some of our favorite fall get togethers have been…
– The Fall Flannel- Everyone wears flannel and brings their favorite fall food & drink. Play games, have a bonfire and make some s’mores!
– A Chili Cook Off-
You can even integrate this into a one of the other parties listed! Have everyone bring their best chili recipe and everyone gets to vote- have a prize for the best tasting chili! Click here for my favorite chili recipe.
– Pumpkin Carving Party- A must have before October 31st! This can even be just a fun night set aside for your family to carve pumpkins for your front porch.
Our dogs love to join our pumpkin carving parties too 🤣
– A Murder Mystery Party-
If you have never done one of these…Halloween weekend would be the perfect time! They are SO MUCH FUN and switch up your regular get together of ‘games and food’ to a fun, interactive game night. There are many themed packages for purchase, here is a list of great websites with games to download:
Sometimes if you do enough digging you can come across a free download, these sometimes just take more prep work on your end.
You’ll want to plan this in advance and have RSVP’s from people to know how many “characters” you need to plan. Once you know exactly who’s coming you can assign each person a character (provided in the kit). Typically the character description will tell the person what their name will be, what their personality is like and what clothes to wear. Then for the actual party you’ll print out the instructions for each character. For example, my character’s instructions for round 1 might be “have a conversation with Sam about how upset you were that Mindy didn’t come to the party.” Eventually one of the characters instructions will tell them to “die,” which is when the questioning and investigating begins.
We did these for a couple years at our annual Christmas party & always had a prize for best dressed and a prize for the winner. They are always a blast!
7. Go to a Football Game and Tailgate
Like I said before, one of the best parts of fall is FOOTBALL! Get out to a local high school, college or NFL game. Get there a few hours early to tailgate with friends or family! If you haven’t already, be sure to check out my Tailgating Tips and Essentials before the big day!
8. Decorate your Home with a DIY Fall Craft
You’ve pinned only a hundred of those fall craft pins…or am I the only one? 😂 Finally time to MAKE ONE! Pick your favorite, head to your favorite craft store and get started. Click here to see my steps to making a custom fall wreath for your front door! Here’s a gallery for some inspiration… all pins I need to get to from my Pinterest 🤣
9. Bake Pumpkin Treats 🎃
Another GREAT part of fall…pumpkin everything! I absolutely love baking pumpkin treats during the fall. It just feels wrong to have pumpkin bread and pumpkin cookies at any other time of year… so I have just a couple of months to make and eat ALL. THE. PUMPKIN.I’ll be posting several pumpkin recipes this fall, including this (pictured) amazing Pairing of the Week, Pumpkin Buttercream Bread & Coffee with Homemade Pumpkin Spice Creamer.
10. Weekend Getaway in the Mountains
Fall is one of my favorite times of the year to go on a mountain getaway. You can most likely check off EVERY item in this list while on a mountain getaway. You can drive and see the amazing trees, go for a hike, find a festival, corn maze, oktoberfest, bake pumpkin treats… you name it! Just use one of the links above to pick your favorite drive, hike, festival, etc then find the closest town nearby. Search for an airbnb or hotel for your family and you’re set for an AMAZING, fun-filled weekend to celebrate all things FALL.
🍁 🎃 🍂
Click the picture below for more family fun ideas!
