MetroKids' Ultimate Guide to Fall Fun 2011
Delaware and Maryland
Fall Festivals
At farms, orchards and other sites, you can pick the perfect pumpkin, test your navigation skills in tricky corn mazes, play old-fashioned games, go on hayrides and meet barnyard animals, then finish the day with a farm-fresh treat like homemade ice cream and an apple cider donut.
Activities vary at each location, click a site name for more info.
Open weekends in Oct. unless specified.
► Coleman’s Tree Farm, Middletown, DE
► Coverdale Farm, Oct. 1-2 only, Greenville, DE
► Fifer Orchards, Mon.-Sat. through Oct. 29, Camden-Wyoming, DE
► Hagley Museum & Library, Sundays only, Greenville, DE
► Milburn Orchards, Elkton, MD
► Newark, DE: Troop 283 Fall Festival, Oct. 8-9, and Harvest Arts Festival, Oct. 15
► New Castle Farmers Market, Oct. 14-15 only
► Ramsey’s Farm, Wilmington, DE
Hayrides in the Park
Gather the family for an old-fashioned hayride through Bellevue State Park in Wilmington, Brandywine Creek State Park in Greenville, or White Clay Creek State Park in Newark. Bellevue and White Clay require group reservations for its hayrides (Thurs.-Sun. through Nov. 20 at Bellevue; Sat.-Sun. in Oct. at White Clay). Brandywine welcomes individuals and families on its daytime and evening hayrides, select Fridays and Saturdays in Oct. Fair Hill Nature Center in Elkton, MD also offers a fall hayride on Oct. 7.
Other fall fun at Bellevue: pumpkin painting with a hayride, Oct. 9, and a Halloween hayride where kids are encouraged to wear costumes and bring a trick-or-treat bag, Oct. 29.
The annual Haunted Trail returns to Brandywine Creek Park, Oct. 21-22 (recommended for ages 12 & older). Families can carve a jack-o’-lantern for the trail during a program on Oct. 19.
White Clay celebrates "Owl'oween" on Oct. 23 with an educational owl program with a craft, campfire and the opportunity to meet real owls.
Learn more on the Delaware State Parks website.
Down the Shore
Join the crew at Clear Space Theatre in Rehoboth Beach for The Pirate Coast, a fast-paced interactive haunted house Halloween adventure for families, Oct. 21-30. The 22nd annual Sea Witch Festival, Oct. 28-30, also in Rehoboth Beach, features weekend-long Halloween festivities, including costume parades for humans and pets, a haunted house, a horse show on the beach, live entertainment, the “Sea Witch Hunt” and Fiddlers’ Festival.
More Fall Fun & Kid-Friendly Halloween Happenings in Delaware and Maryland
► Fall foliage and Halloween train rides on the Wilmington & Western Railroad
► Halloween spooks and scares at Six Flags America in Bowie, MD
► Halloween programs at the Delaware Museum of Natural History, Delaware Children's Museum and Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington
► Halloween party at the Smyrna Opera House
► Pumpkin decorating at the Biggs Museum, Dover
► Halloween magic show at The Grand, Wilmington
► Seasonal storytelling at the Rockford Tower, Wilmington
► Trick-or-treating at the Delaware Agricultural Museum, Dover
► Free Halloween pancakes at IHOP
