Fun Fall Activities in Southwest Missouri

If you are planning a visit to the beautiful Ozarks, here are some wonderful fall activities that will delight children and parents. A brief stop in Southwest Missouri and enjoy our cool fall weather and these exciting Festivals, Fairs, and Trick or Treating hot spots.

The Ozarks span Arkansas and are some of the most beautiful hills in the country.

On Saturday October First, the Whispering Oaks Winery offers up its annual celebration of a successful harvest with a traditional grape stomp. Wonderful food, music, fun and prizes. Perfect for families or people who are just kids at heart.

Grape Stomping for the purpose of making wine has been legislated out of existence for fears of contaminated food, however now grapes that cannot be used to make wine are used in a traditional grape stomp giving families a chance to experience an age old tradition that is a lot of fun also. So roll up your pant legs and join us out at the annual grape stomp.

For more information e-mail: Vintner@WhisperingOaksWinery.com or visit the winery located in beautiful Seymour Missouri.

Prairie Hollow Pumpkin Patch in Ozark Missouri, opens to the public on September 30th until October 30th, and offers up activities like a Haunted Maze that opens up after 8pm, and have general admission pricing that is reasonable starting out at $7 for ages 5-12, and $8 for ages 13 to adult.

They are only open on the weekends though, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so if you are looking for something to do during the middle of the week you might want to consider one of the other activities listed here.

Also offers a haunted maze, and flashlight maze and are open Thursday through Sunday. With weekday appointments only for schools and large groups.

In the Ozarks, mazes and pumpkin farms are a big thing, but there is nothing that quiet meets up with the standards of the Silo Hills farm in Willard Missouri.

Starting on October 8th and going until the 16th, Carthages Maple Leaf festival hosts around 80,000 people a year and closes with the largest parade in Southwest Missouri.

Among the activities offered, there is an arts and crafts fair, a petting zoo, car show, food, and live entertainment. there are also family fun walks, beauty pageants, baby and toddler contests, and a lip sync competition. This is a family fun in a hometown atmosphere.

The first Saturday in October, visit Republic Pumpkin Daze, there is music, live entertainment and a pumpkin weigh-off that revivals, Competitors throughout the world, including Germany, Ireland, Finland, and the U.K.

There is usually around 12,500 people in attendance for this one day event that also features civic booths, community organizations, and pageants.

The competition is open to the public as well as competitive growers, families and businesses.

Hosts its annual Spooktackular starting on October 21st and running until Halloween night. The zoo opens at 6:30 in the evening, and admission is $7 a person at the gate, $6 if you buy them in advance or $3 for Friends of the Zoo. All proceeds go to the Zoo's conservation programs. The zoo is lit by hundreds of jack-o-lanterns, their a child-friendly scents, and a festival of scarecrows. There are also candy treat stations throughout the zoo, so for a safe friendly trick or treating environment this is one of the best.

October 7th, 8th and 9th Marionville Missouri Apple Butter Makin' Days is another one of the Historic festivals in beautiful southwest Missouri that is a must for anyone visiting this state or even locals. If you haven't been, check it out there is a craft show, but the main attraction is the the apple butter cooked on large copper kettles, in a century-old method. This is what brings people back year after year to this fun festival.

There is a fair with over 350 booths, open from 9-5 on Friday and Saturday and 11-5 on Sunday. All proceeds go to help charitable organizations in Southwest Missouri, so come buy some fresh Apple Butter made in the heart of the Ozarks.