Autumn has arrived. Here's your Northern Colorado fall bucket list

Erin Udell, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·7 min read

Ready to fall?

Autumn officially started Sept. 22, and Northern Colorado is ready for the new season, with area orchards and pumpkin patches opening up and annual fall events gearing up for another year.

Take a fall colors drive, pick your pumpkins and venture onto Fort Collins' darker side with spooky tours of historical haunts.

Here are 11 Northern Colorado items to cross off your fall bucket list this year.

Go apple picking

Northern Colorado isn't quite as flush with apple orchards as it is with pumpkin patches, meaning fall apple picking opportunities are a little harder to come by here. Adam's Apple Orchard & Country Store in Ault, however, has you covered with weekend apple picking that started back in August. Apple picking typically takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sundays, with no reservations required. For up-to-date information on the weekend's apple picking status, be sure to follow Adam's Apple Orchard on Facebook or Instagram. Apples range in price from $15 for a half peck to $85 for a full bushel. The orchard also sells apple cider and other goodies at its country store, with those hours running from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

Hit up a pumpkin patch

Pumpkins grow throughout the pumpkin patch at Bartels Farm in Fort Collins in this photo from 2020.
Pumpkins grow throughout the pumpkin patch at Bartels Farm in Fort Collins in this photo from 2020.

Ready to take your pick from Northern Colorado pumpkin patches? Try any of these farms, orchards and patches in Fort Collins and beyond.

For our full pumpkin patch list with all the details, head here.

Adam's Apple Orchard & Country Store,42135 Weld County Road 43, Ault. Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays (pumpkins available starting in late-September).

The Bartels Farm, 3424 E. Douglas Road, Fort Collins. Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Nov. 1.

Fritzler Farm Park,20861 County Road 33, La Salle. Hours: 4-10 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 30.

Jack Lantern's corn maze and pumpkin patch, 2318 S. County Road 5, Fort Collins. Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October.

Osborn Farm, 1230 S. Boise Ave., Loveland. Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily in October (weather and crop permitting).

Something From the Farm, 8020 S. Timberline Road, Fort Collins. Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays from Sept. 30 through Halloween (weather permitting).

Tigges Farm,12404 WCR 64½, Greeley. Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays through October (weather permitting).

Fall colors, anyone?

Aspen trees turn yellow on a mountainside along the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway as pictured south of Estes Park on Sept. 25, 2021.
Aspen trees turn yellow on a mountainside along the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway as pictured south of Estes Park on Sept. 25, 2021.

Prime aspen viewing time is here, with peak fall color season likely stretching into late-September for the northern mountains, now through the second week of October for the central mountains and late-September to mid-October for the southern mountains, according to a Coloradoan report from earlier this month. So where can you see the best fall colors near Fort Collins? Try...

  • Buckhorn Canyon/Pingree Park loop

  • Upper Poudre Canyon

  • Rocky Mountain National Park

  • Peak to Peak Highway

For more details, and a full list of the best Colorado spots for fall color viewing, check out this Coloradoan story.

Feeling another day trip?Your guide to watching the elk rut in Rocky Mountain National Park this year

Go on a ghost tour (if you dare)

While Fort Collins Tours hosts haunted and history tours year round, fall is truly its season. Reserve a spot on the company's Fort Collins ghost tour, kid-friendly ghosts and goodies tour or its haunted pub tour. Book a tour online at fortcollinstours.com.

Ready for some spooky stories?Delve into these real-life stories behind Fort Collins hauntings

Try some trick-or-treating

Trick-or-treaters wait patiently before entering The Farm at Lee Martinez Park for Treatsylvania in this file photo. Kids were given treat bags, enjoyed a hay bale maze and got to walk through the event's not-so-spooky barn.
Trick-or-treaters wait patiently before entering The Farm at Lee Martinez Park for Treatsylvania in this file photo. Kids were given treat bags, enjoyed a hay bale maze and got to walk through the event's not-so-spooky barn.

Treatsylvania 5:30-7 p.m. Oct. 28, 5-7 p.m. Oct. 29 and 1-3 and 5-7 p.m. Oct. 30 at The Farm at Lee Martinez Park, 600 N. Sherwood St. Take a tour through The Farm's not-so-spooky barn at this annual kid-friendly trick-or-treating event. Children 10 years old and younger are welcome to participate in the city-sponsored event, which also features hayrides and photo opportunities. Tickets for Treatsylvania are $7 and go on sale at fcgov.com/recreation on Oct. 5.

Candy Crawl at Fort Collins Marketplace: Noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 23 at Fort Collins Market Place, 3601 S. College Ave. Enjoy some open-air fall fun with Fort Collins Marketplace's annual candy crawl. The family-friendly fall event features safe trick-or-treating, face painting, balloon and caricature artists, spooky kids crafts, a pumpkin decorating station, carnival games, live entertainment and more.

Treat Street: 2-4 p.m. Oct. 22 at Front Range Village Shopping Center, 2720 Council Tree Ave. Get in costume and head to Front Range Village, where kids can enjoy some trick-or-treating, festive music, face painting and more at this free community event.

Peruse a fall market

Bottles of Horsetooth Hot Sauce sit at the "Buy Local for Your Love" winter farmer's market at Opera Galleria in Fort Collins.
Bottles of Horsetooth Hot Sauce sit at the "Buy Local for Your Love" winter farmer's market at Opera Galleria in Fort Collins.

Fall Makers Market at Intersect Brewing: Intersect Brewing, 2160 W. Drake Road, Suite A-1. Noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 1.

Maxline Brewing Fall Market: Maxline Brewing, 2724 McClelland Drive, Suite 190. Noon to 6 p.m. Oct. 16.

Family Band Fall Makers Market: The Lyric, 1209 N. College Ave. Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24.

Fort Collins Winter Farmers Market: Foothills Mall, 215 E. Foothills Parkway. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every other Saturday starting Oct. 22.

Cheering on the rams this season?Here's what to know before you go to a CSU game at Canvas Stadium

Try out these other fall favorites

Bianca Neal of Fort Collins holds her corgi Toby during registration for the annual Tour de Corgi event at Civic Center Park in Old Town Fort Collins on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021.
Bianca Neal of Fort Collins holds her corgi Toby during registration for the annual Tour de Corgi event at Civic Center Park in Old Town Fort Collins on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021.

The Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 8. Fort Collins Nursery, 2121 E. Mulberry St. Don't miss out on Fort Collins Nursery's annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off and fall jamboree this year. Growers will come from far and wide to get their giant gourds officially weighed as they compete for cash prizes. Spectators are encouraged to bring lawn chairs so they can watch as the weighing commences at 10 a.m. Then, of course, enjoy all the fall jamboree has to offer until 3 p.m., including hot dogs and hayrides to pumpkin bowling and face painting. Admission to the weigh-off and jamboree is free.

Tour de Corgi: 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 1. Civic Center Park. In one of Fort Collins' now-famous fall traditions, costumed corgis are set to once again descend on Old Town for Tour de Corgi this October. The annual corgi festival and parade will start at Civic Center Park, where corgis, their owners and dog-friendly vendors will gather to kick off the day's offerings. Following a 10 a.m. costume contest, the main event − the Tour de Corgi parade − will set off from the park at noon. To register for the costume contest, corgi parade or get more parade information, head to tourdecorgi.org.

More:Tour de Corgi adds Queen Elizabeth category to honor the late corgi lover

Pumpkins on Parade: The Gardens on Spring Creek, 2145 Centre Ave. 6-9 p.m. nightly Oct. 20-23. Take a walk through the gourd-ens for The Gardens on Spring Creek's annual Pumpkins on Parade event. The city-run botanic gardens will be lined with hundreds of pumpkins and gourds arranged in artistic displays. Costumes are encouraged for this family-friendly event, which includes festive activities like nightly pumpkin bowling and live music. Tickets are $10 for adults (12-plus), $5 for children ages 5-11 and free for children 4 and younger. The Gardens on Spring Creek encourages buying tickets in advance online at fcgov.com/gardens/pumpkins.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show comes to the Lyric: The Lyric, 1209 N. College Ave. 11 p.m. Oct. 28. The Lyric is planning its latest showing of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and just in time for Halloween weekend. The cult classic will start at 11 p.m. Tickets are $10 and available at lyriccinema.com.

A Mash Lab Oktoberfest: Mash Lab Brewing & Kitchen, 4487 Highland Meadows Parkway, Windsor. Noon Saturday, Oct. 1. Wait, there are two Oktoberfest events in Windsor? Well, it's only right seeing as the town was home to a large population of German-Russian immigrants in the early 1900s and, later, paid tribute to those roots in the 1960s when several Main Street storefronts were renovated with a German village motif. To celebrate Windsor's German heritage, head to Mash Lab Brewing & Kitchen's Oktoberfest, featuring live music, German food and a special beer release starting at noon. Tickets are $25 and include one Mash Lab beer stein, one bratwurst plate and $5 beers throughout the event.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fall things to do near Fort Collins: Scenic drives, harvesting and more