By October, we’re fully in fall mode, accepting pumpkin flavor in everything and breaking out the sweaters in anticipation of autumnal outings.
This month, there are plenty of things to do in the Lehigh Valley to celebrate the season, whether you’re channeling the Halloween spirit (or other spirits) on a ghost walk or admiring peak fall foliage.
Here are the October festivals, day trips, and programs you should know about in the Lehigh Valley.
1. Go on a spooky walking tour
This month, lean into the spooky atmosphere of October with a Lehigh Valley ghost tour. Several tours focused on ghost stories, folktales, and eerie history unique to the Lehigh Valley will take place throughout the area.
- Historic Bethlehem is hosting 90-minute Mystery & History Walking Tours on October Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, sharing unsettling legends as well as tales about real crimes in the historic district.
- The Moravian Historical Society will lead Spooky Nazareth Walking Tours in the town of Nazareth on select October weekends. The tours, led by guides in costume, will combine the history of Nazareth with some of its best ghost stories.
- Eerie Easton Walking Tours are specifically described as being different from typical ghost tours or Halloween-themed events, as the two-hour walking tours—brought to you by the Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society—are firmly rooted in documented history. So you can expect true stories about dark events in Easton’s past, from grizzly disasters to murders of old.
2. Chase fall fun at an area farm
October means it’s time for some quintessential fall activities: getting lost in a corn maze and picking the perfect pumpkin. You have several options for such seasonal fun in the Lehigh Valley.
Grim’s Orchard & Family Farm in Lehigh County’s Breinigsville has a wide variety of fall activities, including apple picking, a pumpkin patch, and a corn maze. The family farm’s fall festival runs through Nov. 1 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Seiple Farms in Northampton County’s Bath is a multigenerational family farm that celebrates fall each weekend in October with a 22-acre corn maze, free hayrides to the 40-acre pick-your-own pumpkin patch, carnival rides, farm animals, and more.
Just south of Easton, Olde Stone Farm is hosting nighttime fall fun on Friday and Saturday evenings throughout October. During its Harvest Nights, you can take a hayride by moonlight, make your way through a corn maze by flashlight, get glow-in-the-dark face paint, or just sit by the fire with s’mores.
3. Raise a stein at SteelStacks’ Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest, the famous fall festival in Munich, Germany, has inspired many smaller Oktoberfest celebrations on this side of the Atlantic, including in the Lehigh Valley. In Bethlehem, Oktoberfest at SteelStacks will be held one more weekend this month: Friday, Oct. 9, through Sunday, Oct. 11. Like its German counterpart, the free festival emphasizes enjoying quality beer and hearty food.
But there is plenty of other fun, from events with an Oktoberfest bent—like live German music and the Pennsylvania State Steinholding Championship—to those that are distinctly SteelStacks, like a glassmaking experience.
4. Head to a Halloween parade
Many Lehigh Valley communities don’t just celebrate Halloween with trick-or-treating; they also host events with free candy: parades! Halloween parades are a longstanding tradition in more than a dozen Lehigh Valley cities and towns and a great option for families looking for free things to do with kids. Here are three to consider attending, though your community may also be hosting a Halloween parade!
- Bethlehem’s Halloween parade has been marching every year for more than a century, and the tradition continues with the 105th Annual City of Bethlehem Halloween Parade on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. The roughly 1.5-mile route through Bethlehem’s historic downtown will be filled with fun floats and costumed community members tossing candy to spectators (and giving kids a leg up on trick-or-treating).
- The Phillipsburg–Easton Halloween Parade connects the two communities on a route crossing the Delaware River and will roll at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25.
- The Northern Lehigh Halloween Parade is marking its 117th year in 2026. The parade starts in Slatington on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 5 p.m. This year’s parade theme, “Halloween through the decades,” celebrates Halloween through different eras.
5. Check out fall foliage
October is the best time to see the stunning show of changing leaves that nature puts on each fall. In the Lehigh Valley, fall color typically peaks in mid- to late October—the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources publishes weekly fall foliage reports that you can check closer to peak dates to get the best timing estimate.
Trees will explode in a palette of red, orange, and gold all across the Lehigh Valley, but some of the best ways to see the changing leaves are on hikes, driving tours, and from scenic overlooks. You might take a hike through fall foliage on one of the trails at Trexler Nature Preserve or follow the rocky path to Bake Oven Knob for sweeping views of the surrounding landscape. If you’d prefer a driving tour, check out the Lehigh Valley Covered Bridge Tour to take in seven charming covered bridges set against a backdrop of fall color.
6. Visit Dorney Park for two different Halloween events
Each fall, Dorney Park amusement park offers two different Halloween events for park visitors to enjoy: Tricks and Treats and Halloween Haunt. Tricks and Treats is the daytime event geared toward families, while Halloween Haunt is the scarier evening event. Tricks and Treats runs through Nov. 1, while Halloween Haunt ends Oct. 31.
Besides the rides, Tricks and Treats features a costume contest, a “Skelebration” dance party, pumpkin decorating and mask-making stations, live entertainment, and more. The family-friendly event explicitly excludes scares.
After the sun goes down, Dorney Park’s Halloween Haunt begins. In addition to select rides, this event’s hallmark is its haunted houses, which the park calls haunted mazes (this year, there’s a new one with a “Blair Witch Project” theme), and “scare zones” populated by actors ready to make you think you’re in a horror movie. These are truly scary and not recommended for kids under 13. Haunted Haunt also offers live entertainment, from stunt shows to live music.
7. Explore Easton at its Witches’ Walk
After a successful inaugural festival last year, the Easton Witches’ Walk is back for its second year. Set for Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, the free Halloween festival will take over downtown Easton with all sorts of fun in a different location each day. During the two-day festival, you can expect an artisan market, tarot readers, magicians, fire dancers, kid-friendly activities, costume contests, and in-store celebrations and promotions from different downtown businesses.
The Friday evening events will take place in Centre Square while the Saturday festival will be held in Scott Park.
8. Explore the natural world during Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center’s October programs
Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center is a Pennsylvania state park with miles of trails to explore, but it also regularly hosts programs and events to help visitors connect with nature. The center’s October calendar is dotted with nature walks and programs about wildlife. Here are the park events you can join this month.
- Nutty History: Walnuts: This program on Saturday, Oct. 10, is about the many ways walnuts have been used by generations past and is geared toward ages 8 and up.
- Bird Walk for Adults: This moderate bird identification hike for adults takes place on Wednesday, Oct. 14. Binoculars will be provided for participants to use.
- All About Autumn Hike: This moderately challenging hike on Saturday, Oct. 24, will allow participants to learn about the natural signs of the changing season. Registration is required.
- Who Gives a Hoot?: This program on Saturday, Oct. 24, is geared toward ages 8 and up and will bring visitors on an easy walk through the woods to listen and look for owls. Registration is required.
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Related: 10 free things to do with kids in the Lehigh Valley
