Now that the season of pumpkin beers, trick-or-treating, and bonfire weather is officially here, St. Louis becomes host to a lot of wonderful holiday festivities. If you’re looking to celebrate Halloween with your children, check out the best family friendly fall activities in St. Louis!
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Fright Fest at Six Flags St. Louis
Residents of Eureka can can easily hear the swoosh of the Batman ride and whir of the train whistle at the neighboring Six Flags St. Louis until end of October each year. As children begin to go to school and the park closes Hurricane Harbor, the water park, the park transforms into Fright Fest, whose slogan is ‘Thrills by Day, Fright by Night.’
The festivities during the day are perfect for costumed kids who want to hang with super heroes and G-rated monsters. In the evening, the atmosphere changes for the creepier! Ghouls and monsters start to roam the theme park streets and there are several haunted houses for park goers to visit. I would recommend parental supervision for the evening as the characters and foggy (dry ice) atmosphere can make the park quite scary. Find a list of activities and showtimes at Six Flags St. Louis website.
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Chesterfield Valley Pumpkin Patch
Located in Chesterfield Valley, next to the old Rombach Pumpkin Patch (who sadly closed this year), is a new Chesterfield Pumpkin Patch that emphasizes kid-friendly activities, and of course lots of orange colored fruits! While it’s open 7 days a week, the activities are only on the weekends so I recommend you check it out on your days off!
Activities for children include hay rides, pony rides, train rides, petting zoo, duck pond, pumpkin painting, face painting, inflatables, corn pool, haunted tunnel, bungee trampoline, and zipline. They haven’t forgotten the adults either with a beer & wine garden including plenty of fall appropriate craft beers!
Visit the Chesterfield Pumpkin Patch website
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Corn Maze at Brookdale Farms
The City of Eureka is a bit spoiled with their holiday attractions as they make the list twice with the fun that can be had at Brookdale Farms. The farm has so many things to offer including pumpkins, pumpkin slingshots, hayrides, but most importantly Brookdale Farms is famous for their haunted corn maze. The maze is family friendly during the day, however, at night it gets a bit spookier. The evening maze attraction, Red’s Corn Maze Massacre, isn’t suggested for young children.
Visit the Brookdale Farms website
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Boo at the Zoo
USA Today recently ranked the St. Louis Zoo as the best free attraction in America. The publication notes: “The 90-acre St. Louis Zoo exhibits 600 species of animals representing every continent and major biome on the planet. It’s also one of the nation’s few zoos that offers free entry, though some exhibits and shows charge smaller admission fees.”
It’s also one of my top 4 favorite Fall activities here in St. Louis. Known as “Boo at the Zoo,” kids can (and are encouraged to) wear costumes as they meander through the park, discovering the wonderful animals that call St. Louis home. The Zoo offers many wonderful holiday surprises including fireside stories, spooky animal encounters, decorations throughout the park, and a “not-so-spooky Scare-ou-sel.”
Visit the Boo at the Zoo website
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Halloween Nights at Grant’s Farm
All the things you love about Grant’s Farm but after hours and with some Halloween flair! Activities include Dark Deer Park Rides (bring you flashlight to spot the animals), Halloween Themed Show, a DJ in the Courtyard to show off your zombie two-step, and lights and decorations! Events are date specific, though there are plenty of days throughout October.
Find more info here on the Grant’s Farm website.
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Science Spooktacular at the Science Center
Mark your calendars for this event as it is a one-day-only event on:
Thursday, October 26 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm.
Take in a spooktacular science lesson at the St. Louis Science Center with hands-on activities, live demonstrations, spooky storytime. The OMNIMAX® Theater will be projecting Halloween-themed shows. Also, in the spirit of Halloween you can check out an accurate recreation of the tomb of King Tutankhamun (King Tut) as it was discovered by Egyptian researchers!
Find out more at the St. Louis Science Center’s website and more on the King Tut exhibit here.
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The Not-So-Haunted House at the Magic House
You can bring your children dressed in their Ghoulish-Finest for a ‘trick or treating’ event where instead of candy, they can get autographs from their favorite characters during the last two weekends in October.
Check out the Magic House’s Events Page for details.
Also Read: Stay Safe this Halloween
Check out these Halloween safety tips to keep your family our of harm’s way this fall.