Fall Guide · Blackland Prairie, Texas
Fall on the Blackland Prairie: Things to Do Near Ferncrest Chambers Creek
Texas fall is much different than the East Coast but it doesn't make it any less special. It's celebrated with cooler temps and sunsets that you want to be outside for. That is the whole season here — the pumpkin farms open up, and everything you avoided doing in August becomes pleasant again.
FallFun
Everything worth doing nearby between the first cool night and the last leaf.
Pumpkin Patches
Mainstay Farm's World of Pumpkins
Twenty minutes away in Cleburne is one of the biggest fall festivals in North Texas! Mainstay Farm has over 30 attractions, a pumpkin barn, hayrides, slides, a merry-go-round, and of course an apple cannon. It is kid and adult friendly with enough to do that you may go back twice. This is a weekends-only attraction, running September 19 to November 7.
If that sounds like a lot, Country Critters Farm in Alvarado is the low-key version: pony rides, a maze, and a relaxed afternoon.
- Mainstay Farm · 20 min drive
- Country Critters Farm · 37 min drive
Hiking
Cleburne State Park, once it cools off
Rolling prairie and lake trails just down the road. Fall is for comfortable hiking and good fishing.
- Cleburne State Park · 37 min drive
Dino Tracks
Walk among dinosaur tracks at Dinosaur Valley
Glen Rose has fossilized dinosaur tracks pressed into the limestone bed of the Paluxy River. Fall is the right time to see them — lower water means more exposed track. This is the single best thing to do here with kids.
- Dinosaur Valley State Park · 1 hr drive
Antiquing
Antiquing around town
Pop & Gran's Antiques and More and Redeeming Winds are both close and both worth an hour. Antique Alley runs September 18–20 and turns the whole stretch of road into one long market — go early, bring cash, and enjoy.
Check out the website to see the other towns that take part in Antique Alley, and find yourself somewhere you never expected.
- Redeeming Winds · 8 min drive
- Antique Alley · Distance varies by location | Sept 18-20
Spooky Stuff
Haunted Mead Manor and the Munster Mansion
Haunted Mead Manor runs weekends only and is seventeen minutes away. Hellbilly Hallow is twenty-two minutes and leans rural-gothic. The Munster Mansion, forty-seven minutes out, is a lovingly built full-scale replica of the house from the show — the most charming stop on this list.
- Haunted Mead Manor · 17 min drive | weekends only
- Hellbilly Hallow · 22 min drive
- Munster Mansion · 47 min drive
Fall Festivals
Day trip: the State Fair, and 90,000 pumpkins
For anyone staying more than a couple of nights, Dallas is an hour out. The State Fair of Texas runs through late October, and Autumn at the Arboretum puts 90,000 pumpkins across the grounds — a sight you have to see to believe.
- State Fair of Texas · 1 hr drive
- Autumn at the Arboretum · 1 hr drive | 90,000 pumpkins
Back at Camp
Cool Texas nights were made for the hot tub
Picture this: the sun goes down, the prairie cools off, and the hot tub and sauna are more relaxing than ever.
Fire pits, real beds, hot showers, and a sky painted with stars. Most of what is on this page is dog-friendly, and so are we.