Highland Park-Area Halloween 2020: Pumpkin Patches, Corn Mazes

Jonah Meadows
·3 min read

HIGHLAND PARK-HIGHWOOD, IL — Coronavirus has taken its toll on Illinois, canceling events and postponing sports, graduations and even weddings, but there's one thing it hasn't taken from us: Fall fun.

From pumpkin patches to apple orchards to corn mazes and fall events, there's plenty to keep us busy as the weather turns cool and crisp.

Here's a roundup of the places around Highland Park and Highwood where you can pick a pumpkin, gather up fall apples, wind your way through a corn maze or attend a safe and socially distanced fall event.

Pumpkin Patches, Corn Mazes Around Highland Park

Pumpkin Patch: Didier Farms
Address: 16678 W. Aptakisic Rd., Lincolnshire
Season ends: Oct. 31
Hours: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Phone: 847-634-3291
Attractions: Pumpkinfest offers hayrides, pony rides, camel rides, kiddie rides, craft area, and have an animal land to explore.
Pricing: No admission fee. Tickets can be purchased for rides and activities.
Website: https://didierfarms.com/

Pumpkin Patch: Patch 22
Address: 15900 Kelly Road, Wadsworth
Season ends: Oct. 31
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday-Sunday
Phone: 847-336-0120
Attractions: Hayrides, pony rides, hayloft, petting zoo
Pricing: $10 per car, more for some activities
Website: https://patch22.biz/pumpkinsfall.html

Pumpkin Patch: Kroll's Fall Harvest Farm
Address: 13236 W. Townline Road, Waukegan
Season ends: Nov. 1
Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (Monday), Noon-8 p.m. (Tuesday, Wednesday), 10 a.m-8 p.m. (Thursday), 10 a.m.-10 p.m. (Friday, Saturday) and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. (Sunday)
Phone: 847-662-5733
Attractions: Maze and hayride.
Pricing: $7 adults, $5 children (12 and under), Free (2 and under) for maze; $4 per person for hayride, Free (2 and under); $1-$50 for pumpkins, priced by size. Weekends during timed entry for all guests = $10 per person includes hayride, corn maze and animal area.
Website: https://www.krollsfarm.com/

Pumpkin Patch: Goebbert's Farm and Garden Center - South Barrington
Address: 40. W. Higgins Road, South Barrington
Season ends: Oct. 31
Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, last entry at 5 p.m.
Phone: 847-428-6727
Attractions: Pumpkin-eating dinosaur, giraffe barn, pumpkin-eating dino, pig racing, pony rides, camel rides, wagon ride, little farmer's play yard, corn stalk maze, pumpkin tunnel, climbing trucks, corn hole game, ring toss game and more.
Pricing: $16.99 for fall festival on weekends, free on weekdays with fees for some activities
Website: https://www.goebbertsgardencenter.com/

Halloween Events In Highland Park-Highwood

Highland Park Hauntings
The park district is holding a drive-by tour of haunted sites between Debbie Gottlieb Beitler Dog Park to Deer Creek Racquet club. Tickets and facemasks are required. Zombie-themed scenes will be comparable to a PG-13 movie, so parental discretion is advised.

Halloween Costume Contest
Submit photos via email before Oct. 28 to be entered into a contest to win a cauldron full of Halloween categories. Winners will be chosen in each of 10 categories.

Highland Park and Highwood have set trick-or-treating hours between 3 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. Groups should keep apart from one another, avoid homemade items and consider leaving candy on the porch or otherwise avoiding close contact with visitors. Public health experts suggest hanging treats from a clothesline for trick-or-treaters to grab or using chalk to mark an area sufficiently distant from the front door to hand out candy.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends against wearing a costume mask over a protective cloth face mask due to the potential breathing risk. Wearing a Halloween-themed cloth face covering is preferred, according the guidelines.

More fall fun:

If we missed your favorite pumpkin patch or Halloween event, be sure to share it with readers in the replies below.

This article originally appeared on the Highland Park Patch