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Key Points
An afternoon in a corn maze takes a different plan than a quick trip for pumpkins. Around Apopka, fall outings range from free stops downtown to farm festivals that require tickets before you leave home.
Here are five options in Apopka and nearby Eustis and Clermont, with dates and admission details from the organizers. Pumpkin purchases, food and some activities can add to the cost.
1. Club Lake Fall Festival
Club Lake, 3403 Rock Springs Road in Apopka, offers two ways to visit. Entry to the pumpkin patch and Country Store is free. Admission to the activity area costs $18.95 per person and includes hayrides, a corn maze and a toddler maze. Parking is free.
The festival runs Fridays through Sundays through Nov. 1, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Activities close at 5 p.m., while the patch and store stay open another hour. Friday hayrides follow scheduled times. Infants enter free, but the organizer asks families to pay for children who can walk and play.
2. Santa’s Pumpkin Patch
Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest, 35317 Huff Road in Eustis, opens its pumpkin patch Oct. 12. The farm lists October weekend admission at $20 online or $23 at the gate, with children 2 and younger entering free. Weekday and November prices vary by date.
The farm’s October calendar lists 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 12; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 16, 18, 23 and 25; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 17 and 24; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 26, 30 and 31. Admission ends one hour before closing.
Hayrides, a petting zoo and the Jolly Acres play area give families more to do after choosing a pumpkin. The farm sells pumpkins separately by size and type. Reserve a visit online to guarantee entry.
3. Southern Hill Farms Fall Festival
Southern Hill Farms, 16651 Schofield Road in Clermont, combines a corn maze, farm wagon rides and a petting zoo with its pumpkin barn and flower fields. The festival continues through Nov. 22 on select Thursdays and Fridays through Sundays, plus Monday, Oct. 12.
Admission costs $29.94 plus tax and processing fees when purchased by the night before a visit. Same-day tickets cost $1 more, and the farm sells all admission tickets online. Children 2 and younger enter free but must appear on an adult’s ticket order. Weekend visitors choose an arrival time. Pumpkins and picked flowers cost extra, and some rides have height or weight limits.
4. Apopka’s free Halloween stops
The city’s Halloween in the Park offers trick-or-treating from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 24, at Kit Land Nelson Park, 10 S. Forest Ave. Families can wear costumes for the free morning event.
For a visit from the car, Apopka police host Halloween Highway from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, on East Station Street in front of True Coffee. Officers hand out candy while families remain in their vehicles. Admission is free, and police caution that candy may run out before the event ends.
5. Rotary’s Fall Family Festival
Apopka’s Fall Family Festival brings carnival rides, vendors and live music to Kit Land Nelson Park from Nov. 5-8. Admission is free, parking costs $5, and rides cost extra.
Hours run from 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 2 to 11 p.m. Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. The organizer lists $25 ride wristbands for Thursday evening and Sunday. Sunday wristbands sell from noon to 2 p.m. and work until 4 p.m., so families planning to ride should watch that earlier cutoff.
Check the organizer’s event page before leaving, especially after rain or a change in plans.
