Fall is officially underway, meaning everyone’s favorite seasonal locations are open! As the cooler weather begins to take over, the weekends begin to feel longer. A wide variety of pumpkin patches and haunted houses are prepared to make everyone enjoy their weekends.
Tanners Orchard is commonly known for their addicting apple cider donuts. While they have a market full of favorites, they also have fun activities that both kids and adults can partake in. A fun activity for kids is going on a barrel train driven by a tractor. As the tractor pulls the kids, the driver takes them on a tour of the orchard entertaining them. A group event for families and friends is the corn maze! Corn mazes are fun but also are intellectually stimulating and practice decision making skills. Another interactive activity for all is goat feeding! In order to get the food, you have to put a quarter into the food dispenser and spin it for food to spill out. Those are just a few of the fun events at Tanners Orchard. Make the 50 minute drive to see and participate in them all!
Raiders Farm is another commonly known farm and is famous for their pumpkin donuts! Raiders and Tanners have similar activities with minor tweaks to personalize them to accommodate the location. Instead of a barrel train they have a Critter Cart for kids to be pulled by a tractor and taken around the farm. In comparison to a corn maze, Raiders has a selfie scavenger hunt with 6 items/people/places to find and capture a selfie with. At Raiders, you can also purchase a cup of food to feed the goats on the farm! Those are only the similar events at Raiders, but in order to participate in them all, drive 25 minutes to the farm!
As Halloween approaches, haunted houses begin to open! Spook Hollow is a famously known haunted house here in the Peoria Area. In years past, Spook Hallow has received many awards as a, “Top Ten Haunted House”. Spook Hollow is located in Marquette Heights, 28 minutes from Mackinaw. They officially open for the season on October 10th and will be open every Friday and Saturday from 6pm-11pm for the rest of October!
Another well known haunted house is Terror on Washington Street located in Clinton Illinois which is 48 minutes from Mackinaw. While the main focus is their haunted house, activities take place outside during the wait time to get in. If you start to feel hungry, they also have a concession stand with both food and drinks. This haunted house opens October 3rd, and is open every Friday and Saturday for the rest of October 7pm-10pm.
To learn more about haunted houses for this October, go visit Coen Gilbert’s article!
As October approaches, start to decide what places to visit for each weekend! Although the drive seems far, the memories and experiences are definitely worth it!
