The Ultimate Houston Fall Bucket List

child playing in leaves

If you’re like me, you’re looking forward to cooler weather coming to Houston this Fall {or at least just convincing yourself it will}. And while the state of NOT profusely sweating is worthy of celebration on its own, enjoy the change in season with an explosion of fun activities and events to do your family and friends. There are 100+ ideas here, so whip those calendars out and start planning!

This Houston Fall Bucket list is primarily divided by location, but be sure to check out the second half for things to try wherever you are!

Inner Loop

  • Halloween Happy House at the Children’s Museum of Houston: Howl at the moon while you bask in Houston’s ultimate Halloween party for kids.  Let the ghoul times roll as you boogie to the hauntingly hip tunes of Radio ONE’s wicked DJs along with monstrous characters.  Be sure to come dressed in your most boo-tiful or frightfully freaky costume!. {Oct 24}
  • Find out what all of the museums in Houston’s Museum District have to offer!
  • Kids Day on Buffalo Bayou : A day filled with FREE family fun…featuring hands-on nature-themed crafts, music, food, park performers, and kayak demonstrations! {October 19}
  • Bayou City Art Festival: Hundreds of artists are joined with music, food, and fun. {October 11-13}
    • Tickets
      • General Admission $18
      • Children 6-12 $5
      • Children under 6 FREE
  • The Original Greek Festival: Authentic Greek food, wine, dancing, and artifacts are fun for the entire family! {Oct 3-5}
    • Tickets
      • Children under 12 FREE
      • General Admission $8 at gate, no online tickets
      • Pre-Sale Ticket (includes 1 day admission, Traditional Food plate, and special treat of choice) $40
  • Take a walk/jog in Memorial Park.
  • Hop on the train at Hermann Park.
  • Toddler Tuesdays are back at Discovery Green! Enjoy the fresh air, story-time, and fun activities. {Tuesdays, Oct 1-29}
  • Participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure : Strollers are welcome! {Oct 5}

North Houston

  • Woodlands Children’s Museum : Enjoy interactive exhibits, story time, and a full calendar full of events. Plus, check out the Fall Workshops and Mini-Milestone series- great for after-school and homeschool families!
    • Tickets
      • Ages 1 and up $8
      • Workshops and series priced separate
  • Oil Ranch {Hockley, TX} : 50+ acres with over 20 unique activities, including hay barn, dairy barn, hay rides, train rides, and other fall fun! See calendar for reopening in October for Fall Season
    • Tickets
      • Children 2 and under FREE
  • Annual Children’s Festival {Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion}: Barnyard Bash! Lots of activities are located in different zones, so every child has something to enjoy! {Nov 9-10}
  • Texas Renaissance Festival: A Houston favorite! This year is the 50th Anniversary! Enjoy arts and crafts, food, and entertainment that will take you back to medieval times! {Oct 12-Dec 1}
    • Tickets {Date specific}
      • Children 4 and under FREE
      • Children 5-12 Half Price on Saturdays and Thanksgiving Friday, FREE every Sunday
      • General Admission ranges from $13.50 to $39
  • Pick your own fruit at the Harvest Season Farm {Tomball, TX}.
  • Pack up the kids and the snacks and head to The Showboat Drive-In for a double feature!{Hockley, TX}

East Houston

  • Visit Armand Bayou Nature Center, and register for an EcoKids or EcoTots {Mom & Me} class while you’re there!
  • Baytown Parks and Rec {Baytown, TX}
    • Upcoming Events 2023
      • Grito Fest {Oct 4-5} : FREE event celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month
      • Nurture Nature Festival {Oct 12, 10am-4pm}: introduce kids to reptiles, birds, native plants, and more!
  • La Porte Parks and Rec {La Porte, TX}
    • Upcoming Events 2023
      • Kids Rodeo and Fall Festival {Oct 12}
      • Treats on the Trail {Oct 26, 6-8pm}

South Houston

  • Froberg’s Farm {Alvin, TX} : More Houston Fall fun with a Corn maze, pumpkin patch, sunflower trail, hayrides, and lots of fresh seasonal produce! Plus a ton of fun activities for kids of all ages.
    • Upcoming Events 2024
      • Fall Festival {Sept 21- Nov 3}
  • Pearland Fall Festival {Pearland Town Center}:Tis the season for pumpkin everything! Vendor booths, Food, Music, Inflatables, and so much more!
    {Sept 28 from 11am-6pm}
  • George Ranch Historical Park : Featuring lots of hands-on activities, battle re-enactments, live entertainment, food, craft vendors, and more!
    • Tickets
      • Children 3 and under FREE
      • Ages 4-12 $11
      • Ages 13-64 $16
      • Ages under 3 FREE
      • Teacher and Military discounts available
    • Upcoming Events
      • Haunted Historic Tours {Oct 26, 31}
      • Frontier Days {Nov 16}
  • Wings over Houston Airshow {Ellington Field}: Featuring the US Navy Blue Angels, Vietnam Demo, MV-22 Osprey, and much more. Special Family Chalet area designed with kids in mind, includes kid activities, diaper stations, breakfast and lunch, and lots of shade! {October 26-27}
  • Kemah Boardwalk {Kemah, TX}: Houston Fall Fun for the whole family, with waterfront restaurants, shopping, live entertainment, and amusement park rides!
    • Upcoming Events 2023
      • Spooktacular Weekend Adventure {Oct 11-14}
      • Fall Beer Fest {Oct 5}
      • Day of the Dead Celebration {Oct 27}
  • Clear Lake Greek Festival {Seabrook, TX}: Cultural celebration of Greek heritage and traditions, includes live dance performances, Greek beers and wines, kids activities, and so much food! {Nov 1-3}
    • Tickets
      • Children 14 and under FREE
      • General Admission $5
      • First Responders and Military FREE
  • The George Observatory is open for Saturday Night Stargazing – check it out for a front row seat to the stars!
    • Adults $7, Children under 12 FREE

West Houston

  • Blessington Farms {Simonton, TX} : Outside adventures for the entire family including hay rides, giant slides, hay maze, barrel train ride, pedal cars, sand mountain, nature play area, steer roping, pony hops, and animal encounters! 
    • Upcoming Events 2023
      • Pumpkin Patch/ Fall Festival {Sept 21-Nov 24}
      • Sunflower Festival {Sept 7, 8, 14, 15}
  • Dewberry Farm {Brookshire, TX}: Fall family entertainment at its very best, just a short country drive from Houston!  35+ attractions. 10 yummy eateries. Acres and acres of fun!
    • Upcoming Events 2023
      • Fall Festival {Sept 14- Nov 3}
      • BOOriffic Nights {Fri-Sun, Sept 27-Nov 3}, included with Fall Festival ticket

Galveston

  • Galveston Island Shrimp Festival: Shrimp as far as you can see. Enjoy Gumbo cook off samples, live music, parades, 5k fun runs, and more all day fun. {Sept 27-28}
    • Tickets 
      • Gumbo stroll $13
      • Shrimp dinner plate and beer combo $20
  • Island Oktoberfest {First Lutheran Church of Galveston}: This is an Island favorite that covers 2 blocks in downtown Galveston. Enjoy drinks, food, live music, kids zone and more! {Oct 25-26}
    • FREE admission
  • ARToberFEST : Enjoy this fine arts festival in the cultural arts district, featuring over 120 artists of all kinds! Tickets support The Grand 1894 Opera House Education outreach programs. {Oct 19-20}
    • Tickets
      • Children under 12 FREE
      • General admission $5

garland of fabric leaves

Good Eats & Warm Drinks:

Culture & Education:

Create & Craft:

Out & About:

  • Everything’s bigger in Texas — including high school football! Take your family to cheer on your local high school team! {You can find schedules and ticketing information on local school district websites.}
  • Pack a picnic and head out to a local park.
  • Orange isn’t just for Halloween — cheer on the Houston Dynamo this fall, in person or with a group of friends!
  • Adventure out of your neighborhood to find a food truck.
  • Find the perfect pumpkin at any one of the great Houston-area pumpkin patches!

Get Moving {Sports & Recreation}:

  • Invite family/friends to join in a friendly game of flag-football
  • Have a budding hoops star? College games are WAY cheaper than pro games, plus, you’ve got your pick of quite a few colleges to cheer on! {…and you can use it as an opportunity to talk to your kids about hard work on AND off the court!} Added Bonus :: Autographs are much easier to attain!
  • Set up an outdoor obstacle course or relay race.
  • Discover a new park in your area.
  • Register for a Halloween-themed fun run near you.
  • Go for a family bike ride.

Building Community:

  • Host a play-group non-perishable food drive benefiting the Houston Food Bank.
  • Make Blessing Bags/Homeless Care Kits with your kids.
  • Share a seasonal treat with a new {or old} neighbor.
  • Invite friends/family/neighbors over for a watch party for your favorite sports team.
  • Work with neighbors to arrange a Halloween block party, and forget about going door to door and dodging cars!
  • Celebrate Friendsgiving a week or two before the real-deal…invite families to bring a side-dish of their choice, play games, and celebrate the holiday without all the stress!
  • Have a bake sale and donate the profits to a shelter {like Star of Hope} or a children’s palliative care center {like Project Joy and Hope} to cover Thanksgiving dinner costs.
  • Take cookies/treats to your local fire station.
  • Clean out your closets and donate gently used clothes.
  • Have kids go through toys and have a garage sale; then, use profits to buy toys for a holiday toy drive!
  • Host a Halloween PJ & Treat play-date for friends.

Other Houston Fall Family Fun:

  • Have a movie night at home! Bring out the sleeping bags and blankets, pop some popcorn, and make it a family-night-in!
  • Pick out Halloween costumes.
  • Make a blanket fort.
  • Set up a backyard or indoor camp-out! Tents, flashlights, sleeping bags, oh my! {AND indoor plumbing!!!}
  • Have a family game/puzzle night.
  • Watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”…or better yet, read the book!
  • Set up a pumpkin bowling alley.
  • Schedule Fall family portraits!

Happy Fall, Houston Moms!


Please note: While we make every effort to crosscheck current links and event details on our guides, we always encourage you to do the same when researching options and making plans too! If details are missing or incorrect, please let us know so that we can make every attempt to correct them. And if you know of any other Houston fall events, please include those in the comments as well!!


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Elizabeth Baker
Elizabeth was raised in Houston and met her husband Ryan shortly after graduating from Texas A&M with a journalism degree. A few years later, Grayson {Sept 2010}, turned Elizabeth’s world upside down, not only with his sparkling blue eyes and killer smile, but with his profound disabilities and diagnosis of Mitochondrial Disease. After two years of navigating the world of special needs parenting, Elizabeth and Ryan were blessed with Charlotte {Jan 2013} and Nolan {Sept 2015}, perfectly completing their party of five. Elizabeth and her crew live in Katy, and when she can steal a few moments for herself, she can be found out for Mexican food and margaritas with girlfriends, binge-listening to podcasts and audiobooks, or trying once again {unsuccessfully} to organize her closet. In addition to her role as Managing Editor of HMB, Elizabeth writes about faith, politics and special needs parenting for publications like Scary Mommy and HuffPost.You can connect with Elizabeth on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, or ElizabethKBaker.com

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