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(Pexels)
Pumpkins can mean a lot of different things to people. They can be the most important part of your family's favorite pie recipe, the object for carving spooky art with your friends and significant others, or even the perfect color to complement your fall outfit.
Whatever comes to mind, all of these moments can start out from a simple pumpkin patch. Here are the top pumpkin patches in or near Austin to help you fulfill your pumpkin dreams.
Barton Hill Farms, 1115 FM 969 (Bastrop)
Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Tickets: $21.95
Just 30 miles east of Austin, fall fanatics will have the opportunity to celebrate Barton Hill Farms' 10th Annual Fall Festival until Nov. 7. Not only will it offer a pumpkin patch to explore but also a 5-acre corn maze, flowers for picking, hayrides, live music, food and drinks and 30+ fall activities all on a 118-acre farm off of the Colorado River.
Texas Pumpkin Fest, 1090 East Crystal Falls Parkway (Leander)
Hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Tickets: $10 Friday-Sunday, free Monday, $5 Tuesday and Thursday
Visitors will have the chance to roam five acres of pumpkins and gourds to pick out the best one for the home. To celebrate Halloween as well as National Magic Month, Texas Pumpkin Fest will have fall games, a "Stranger Things"-themed hay maze, magic shows every weekend and so much more. The fest runs until Nov. 7.
Sweet Eats Fruit Farm, 14400 East State Highway 29 (Georgetown)
Hours: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. every day
Tickets: Ranges from $16.95 to $21.95
Just half an hour north of Austin, Sweet Eats Fruit Farm will be hosting its fall festival until Nov. 21 where visitors can stroll through their 2-acre pumpkin patch that includes 40 pumpkin varieties. It also has a 4.5-acre corn maze to explore and offers a fireworks display, a horse show, a flashlight corn maze and a candy cannon on Fridays and Saturdays. Pig races will be available at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., as well as other fall activities all day including wagon rides, live music and a chance to walk through an 11-foot tall pumpkin house.
Evergreen Farms, 242 Monkey Road (Elgin)
Hours: 12-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: Free admission and parking ($3 tickets required for activities)
This year, Evergreen Farms is hosting a family-friendly pumpkin hunt until Oct. 31 in which visitors will ride on a wagon to the Christmas tree fields and look for hidden mini pumpkins. Though admission is free, purchasable tickets are required for activities such as the pumpkin hunt, a pumpkin launcher, a train ride, fishing, a kids' zipline, a maze and more.
Sweet Berry Farm, 1801 FM 1980 (Marble Falls)
Hours: 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday (closed Wednesday), 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: Free admission and parking (purchasable tickets required for activities)
On this 60-acre farm, all your fall dreams can come true. Have beyond pumpkin picking with goat feeding, picking flowers, three mazes, a barrel train, pumpkin painting, pony rides and scarecrow stuffing. Ice cream and popsicles will also be available to purchase.
Robinson Family Farm, 3780 White Owl Lane (Temple)
Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. every day
Tickets: $13.95 online and $17.95 at the gate
From now until Oct. 31, the Robinson Family Farm will be hosting its fall festival which includes 20+ attractions. Visitors have the chance to pick out pumpkins as well as take photos in the new pumpkin barn. There will also be herding shows every Sunday in October from 12-3 p.m. as well as chainsaw wood carving every Saturday in October, not including Oct. 2 and 16.
Elgin Christmas Tree Farm, 120 Natures Way (Elgin)
Hours: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday, 12-5:30 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $10
At the Elgin Christmas Tree farm, friends and families will have the opportunity to take quality photos with the pumpkins as well as explore two mazes: the crazy maze and the corn maze. Other activities will include rubber duck races, animals to visit, a train and hayride, a playscape and areas for picnics. This will be available until Oct. 31.
Get to cookin', carvin' and photo takin' this fall!
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- Domain NORTHSIDE favorites Bakery Lorraine, Grimaldi's Pizzeria, Jeni's Ice Cream and Sprinkles released their fall flavors.
- Cinnaholic at The Arboretum opens Friday, October 14, serving "create your own" cinnamon rolls and other sweet treats.
- San Francisco's Marufuku Ramen opens next Wednesday, October 12, in the Mueller District.
- Carpenter Hotel announces its popup food truck, Lil Carpenter, open Fri-Sun both ACL weekends, serving what you want, early to late, coffee to donuts, to dogs/burgers/fries/beer.
(AUS airport/Instagram)
With major entertainment events slated for October, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is gearing up for a busy month.
Artists and music lovers are set to pack into Zilker Park for The Austin City Limits Music Festival in the coming two weekends. Following that, Formula One will bring racing fans to the Circuit of the Americas.
For those two events, the airport is anticipating high passenger days with 30,000 or more people departing flights.
ABIA recommends arriving at least two and a half hours in advance for domestic flights on those days. For ACL, it's expected on both Sundays of the festival along with the Monday and Tuesday after. The F1-driven high passenger days are expected on Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 23-26.
\u201c#AustinCityLimits visitors, you\u2019re in for a weird and wild ride \ud83e\udd18\u262e\ufe0f \n\nFlying in or out of our airport? We got firm and fun tips for you: https://t.co/RawVRalOXN\u201d— Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) (@Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)) 1664894083
F1, especially, could draw in loads of travelers as the three-day event saw 400,000 attendees last year. ABIA warns that highways leading to the airport may see even higher traffic than usual around the event and that travelers should plan their route accordingly.
Bailey Grimmett, a spokesperson for ABIA, said travel numbers come in 24 hours in advance. So, it's hard to predict if the airport will see travel volumes at the same levels that have happened around previous F1 races or if it'll top ACL's flight traffic.
Still, she says historical knowledge points to a chance for it.
“We've had that Monday after F1 break the record for single busiest in airport history," Grimmett said. "So context clues I would say yes, but I can't confirm that. But the historical background points to that."
In anticipation of the high volume of flyers, the airport received additional TSA officers for security screening through the end of October. To prepare even further, the Department of Aviation and partners hosted a job showcase and hiring fair to address the continued labor shortage the airport has experienced.
Relief from hectic travel days is on the horizon with November likely to see a slowdown.
"I don't anticipate it will be as busy as October just because we don't have as many events going on," Grimmett said. "Thanksgiving is kind of our primary holiday that we see a lot of passengers coming in and out of the airport."
