We know that piling the kids into the car for a long drive can be an adventure all its own, so the destination better be worth it. These fall festivals beyond Dallas-Fort Worth deliver, with everything from fossil hunting and Renaissance fantasy to live music, carnival rides and celebrations of German and Native American heritage. Pack the snacks, cue up the kids’ favorite playlist and hit the road for a fun family outing that’ll keep the keep talking about it all season.
Fall Festival at Yesterland Farm
Photo courtesy Yesterland Farm
Where: Yesterland Farm in Canton, Texas
When: Weekends September 19–November 8, 2026
Indoor or outdoor? Outdoor
Why go? Out east of DFW, here you’ll discover a rural fantasyland with a Texas-sized pumpkin patch, towering sunflowers for the picking, a corn maze designed to get lost in, and more than 30 rides and attractions, including four roller coasters. Kids can meet and feed barnyard animals, paint pumpkins and pose for fall photos, while weekend evenings bring spectacular fireworks. For extra scares, stay late for Spooktacular Nights, featuring a haunted hayride, Zombie Paintball, a creepy corn maze and Chuckles the Clown’s Funhouse, with Halloween thrills designed to be more giggles than gore.
What’s nearby? If you’re staying the weekend and have the spare time, check out Canton Grand Safari Adventure about 10 minutes east, for up-close encounters with exotic animals like energetic lemurs and gentle sloths.
Cost: For Yesterland general admission, limited time pricing starts at $20.95, with more promotions available. Free for parking and for all kids 2 years and younger.
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Scarborough’s Hollow Fall Fantasy Festival
Photo courtesy Scott Fischer and Southwest Festivals, LLC
Where: Scarborough Fairgrounds in Waxahachie, Texas
When: Saturdays September 26–October 31, plus Sunday, November 1, 2026; 1–9pm each day
Indoor or outdoor? Outdoor
Why go? Scarborough’s transforms its Renaissance village into a fall fantasy setting with live entertainment, artisan shopping, seasonal food and interactive experiences. Families can follow a story inspired by the Three Sisters and explore attractions throughout the village, with family-friendly fantasy and fall costumes welcome. Optional experiences include Blackthorn Haunted Castle, Trickster’s 3D Fun House and the Secrets of Rottingwood Cemetery scavenger adventure.
What’s nearby? No doubt a visit here will take up the whole day, but for a refreshing drink for the drive back, stop by Prickly Boba in downtown, for boba, mochi or a dessert like confetti cookie cheesecake.
Cost: Festival general admission from $29.70 adults; from $16.50 children ages 5–12; children 4 and under free.
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Photo courtesy Dusana Risovic
Where: Zilker Park in Austin, Texas
When: Weekends October 2–4 and 9–11, 2026; noon–6pm each day
Indoor or outdoor? Outdoor
Why go? For music-loving parents making it a whole family outing to the Austin City Limits festival, Austin Kiddie Limits is a space that gives the youngest festivalgoers their own chance to let loose, get out of the sun and get creative. Kids can make music in the Drum Zone and Hip Hop Workshop, create crafts and festival crowns, get airbrush tattoos and glittery hairdos, and pose for a rock star photo. Families can also recharge in a shaded lounge, and a family services tent offers diaper changing supplies, private space for nursing and pumping, and a supervised toddler play area. Plus, for peace of mind during the festival, families can register for the Tag-Your-Kid wristband program in case they become separated in the crowds.
What’s nearby? Carve out some time to visit the Austin’s children’s museum, the Thinkery.
Cost: Kids age 8 and younger enter ACL Festival free with a ticket-holding adult.
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Eisenhower Birthday Celebration
Photo courtesy Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site
Where: Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site in Denison, Texas
When: Saturday, October 10, 2026; 10am–3pm
Indoor or outdoor? Both
Why go? First, a quick history lesson: Our 34th president and war hero Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower may have lived most of his life in Kansas, but he was born in Texas. In celebration of his birthday (October 14, 1890), the Texas Historical Commission, which operates the two-story home as the museum and visitors center, hosts a posthumous birthday party that both kids and history lovers can get into: a kids bike parade, a bounce house, youth group performances and educational activities all day.
What’s nearby? Since you’ll be in the area, take advantage of the cooler morning weather and go for a hike through another attraction dedicated to the past president: Eisenhower State Park. The Armadillo Trail is the most kid-friendly at 0.8 miles.
Cost: Free festival admission
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Photo courtesy City of Pilot Point
Where: Pilot Point Town Square, Texas
When: Saturday, October 10, 2026; 2–9pm
Indoor or outdoor? Outdoor
Why go? Pilot Point revisits its Hollywood and outlaw history during this annual festival, marking the filming of the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde on the Historic Pilot Point Square. Watch a reenactment of the movie’s bank robbery scene, see a fleet of Model A cars and catch live music, including tribute bands performing songs by Taylor Swift and ’70s artists. Kids can tackle a Ninja Project obstacle course, play inside the Rollcade Game Truck and get their faces painted, all for free in the Kids Zone.
What’s nearby? The splash pad at Old City Park will still be on for the season, weather permitting. To cool off and get the water flowing, just push the yellow button on the post to get it cooling.
Cost: Free festival admission
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Photo courtesy Mineral Wells Convention & Visitors Bureau
Where: Mineral Wells Fossil Park, about an hour west of Fort Worth, Texas
When: Saturday, October 17, 2026; 8am–dusk
Indoor or outdoor? Outdoor
Why go? Mineral Wells isn’t only well known for its natural mineral water (the only such that’s bottled in Texas) but also for its enormous cache of 300-million-year-old fossils, including ancient, shelled creatures (think oysters), sea urchins, and most of all something called crinoids (sea lilies). And they’re there for the taking year-round when you visit this city-owned park, but on this day in October, the trip out west is especially worth the drive because the city digs up some extra curiosities your way: more fossil displays and activities for kids, experts with the Dallas Paleontological Society, and a screening of Finding Nemo.
What’s nearby? For your kids on the hunt for even more treasures, stop into Toytopia in the middle of town next to Crazy Water Hotel.
Cost: Free dig festival admission and free to take home the fossils you find.
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Photo courtesy Visit Ennis
Where: Historic Downtown Ennis, Texas
When: Saturday, October 24, 2026; noon–9pm; Sunday, October 25, 2026; 10am–8pm
Indoor or outdoor? Outdoor
Why go? The home of the bluebonnets goes all out for pumpkins each fall. The city sets up a pumpkin patch and hay maze in downtown, open each Thursday–Sundays in October. But the month culminates in a big party on two weekends prior to Halloween. Make a fall day of it when Autumn Daze adds carnival rides and pumpkin painting to the mix.
What’s nearby? Catch a screening at Galaxy Drive-in, an old-fashioned movie theater just north of downtown.
Cost: Free admission. Carnival rides, games and food vary.
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Photo courtesy Choctaw Cultural Center
Where: Choctaw Cultural Center, Cadera, Oklahoma
When: November 6–8, 2026; 10am–5pm daily
Indoor or outdoor? Both
Why go? Kick off Native American Heritage Month in the best way, in-person at the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma’s cultural headquarters. Their exact schedule is TBA but you can expect a full weekend of traditional games and demonstrations, dancing and hymn singing that are so intrinsic to Chahta culture.
What’s nearby? Don’t miss the powwow happening the same weekend, just 5 minutes down the road at the Choctaw Event Center. Free admission.
Cost: Heritage festival admission is included with admission to the Choctaw Cultural Center: $12 for adults; $6 for children 4–12; free for 3 and younger.
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Photo courtesy Wurstfest
Where: Comal County Fairgrounds, New Braunfels, Texas
When: November 6–15, 2026
Indoor or outdoor? Mostly outdoor
Why go? The 65th annual Wurstfest is a 10-day celebration of New Braunfels’ German heritage starring unmistakably German food and live polka music from multiple stages every hour. For the kids, they’ll have their own entertainment stage in the Kinderhalle (check back for when that lineup has been announced) and all the carnival rides and games to give them the daytime thrills they’re looking forward to. There’s so much more to this festival. To see how the sausage is made, literally, don’t miss the demonstrations in the Weingarten on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 2pm.
What’s nearby? Get some giggles in at the nearby Circle Arts Theatre, which is staging a popcorn-throwing melodrama and Robin Hood spoof, The Wurst Adventures of Bratenhood each day during Wurstfest.
Cost: Kids under 12 get in free.Adults get free admission Monday–Thursday, but for the weekends, their general admission starts at $15.
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To find more family festivals closer to home, search our calendar here.