Douglas County, Colorado
Fall & Halloween in Douglas County
Fall festivals, pumpkin patches and corn mazes, Oktoberfest, Halloween tentpoles — and the coffee shops that put fall on the menu in early August.
By Connor Tien, DougCo Social · Updated August 2026
The 2026 fall calendar at a glance
Fall Festivals
Hunting handmade gifts? Fall is when the craft-fair season kicks off — the HRCA Fall Craft Fair, Chaparral’s Autumn Artisan Market, and the Craft Show Extraordinaire all land before the December markets. See our full Craft Fairs & Holiday Markets guide.
- Castle Rock Artfest — Sep 12–13, Festival Park (Castle Rock): The downtown fine-arts festival kicks off the fall season with juried artists, live music, and food.
- HRCA Fall Craft Fair — Sat Sep 12, Eastridge Rec Center (Highlands Ranch): 9 a.m.–5 p.m., free — handmade goods and crafters ahead of the holidays.
- Fall Fest at Mission Hills Castle Rock — Sun Sep 13, 1100 Caprice Dr (Castle Rock): 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. and completely free — no tickets, no registration. Inflatables, a balloon artist, face painting, yard games, a photo booth, a flower bar and permanent jewelry, plus free burgers, hot dogs and dessert. Castle Rock firefighters bring a truck 11–11:30 a.m.
- Parker Fall Fest — Sat Sep 26, O'Brien Park (Parker): 4–7:30 p.m., part of Parker's “Back to Our Roots” 45th-anniversary programming.
- Douglas County Fall Festival at Sandstone Ranch — Sat Sep 26, Larkspur: 10 a.m.–3 p.m., free, all ages, no registration. Hay rides through the historic parts of the ranch, guided hikes with Open Space Rangers, food trucks and family games, plus a Fire Safety Showcase with the County's firefighting helicopter on display alongside wildland firefighters and Sheriff's deputies. One thing worth knowing before you drive out: the festival is on the guided side at 8309 S Perry Park Rd, which is a different entrance from the public trailhead at 9605. Parking is free but limited, so carpool, and leave extra time: the roads out there are narrow and rural.
- Colorado Highland Games — Sep 26–27, Denver Polo Club (Sedalia): Formerly the Colorado Scottish Festival, the 62nd annual celebration of Scottish culture returns to the polo grounds south of Castle Rock. Seven Nations headlines Saturday night with Old Blind Dogs opening. Adults $25/day, kids 7-17, seniors and military $20, under 7 free — and parking bought at the gate is cash only. Full schedule, tickets and tips.
- Castle Rock Trail Festival & liveBIG Adventure Run — Sat Oct 3, Miller Park (Castle Rock): Five races on the Ridgeline trails: a 50K ultra (7:30 a.m.), half marathon (8:30 a.m.), 10K (9 a.m.), 5K (9:30 a.m.), and the liveBIG Family Adventure Run obstacle course for ages 5–12 (10:30 a.m.). $33.42–$113.75 all-in; online registration closes Sept. 28 and race-day signup costs $15 more. liveBIG proceeds fund the Town’s Therapeutic Recreation Program.
- City of Lone Tree Fall Festival at Schweiger Ranch — Sun Oct 4: Lone Tree's fall celebration at the historic Schweiger Ranch.
- Glow Dance Party — Sat Oct 10, Miller Park Amphitheater (Castle Rock): A Therapeutic Recreation fundraiser dance night under the lights.
- Fall Festival featuring Creepy Crawlies Around the Rock — Sun Oct 18, Festival Park (Castle Rock): 10 a.m.–3 p.m. of family fall fun downtown.
Chasing the leaves too? See where to find fall colors in Douglas County. Running it instead of watching? Here is every race and run club in Douglas County.
Pumpkin Patches & Corn Mazes
- Lone Creek Farms Fall Festival & Pumpkin Patch — Sep 25 – Nov 1, Franktown: A ticketed agritainment farm just east of Castle Rock with a corn maze, hayrides, and a pumpkin patch, open weekends through the season.
- Gilly's Pumpkin Patch — Sep 25 – Oct 10, Castle Rock: A family-run patch on one of Castle Rock's original 1889 homesteads, open Fridays and Saturdays only across three weekends (Sept 25–26, Oct 2–3, Oct 9–10), 10 a.m. to dark. Specialty pumpkins, family activities, and fall treats, with cottonwoods turning gold overhead. $5 per person / $20 per family; kids 3 and under free.
- Other area patches (The Patch and more): Additional pumpkin patches and corn mazes open around the county each fall. Specific 2026 dates and hours are announced seasonally — confirm with each farm.
Halloween Events
The two family tentpoles anchor the month, with a long tail of parties, haunted trails, and trunk-or-treats returning across the county.
- Halloween Characters Brick Painting — Sun Sep 27, Max Taps Co. (Highlands Ranch): 2–5 p.m., $50 — paint Halloween characters on a 12"x5" scalloped porch brick with step-by-step guidance from Emma Paints Colorado, in association with DougCo Social. All supplies included; grab a Colorado craft beer from the 54 taps while you paint.
- Spooktacular — Sat Oct 17, Miller Park (Castle Rock): 1–4 p.m. — Castle Rock's big family Halloween tentpole.
- HRCA Haunted Forest — Fri Oct 23 & Sat Oct 24, Backcountry Wilderness Area: a three-quarter-mile creep through the woods, recommended for ages 10+. The two nights run different hours — Fri Oct 23 is 6:30–9:30 p.m. and Sat Oct 24 is 7–10 p.m. $15 general / $25 fast pass. Note there are flashing lights.
- Haunted Forest Fright Lite — Sat Oct 24, 5–7 p.m.: $10, and the one to pick if jump scares are a hard no. Same lights, music, decorations and themed scenes on the trail, but the scare actors are not performing. (This is the event HRCA used to run as Haunted Forest Jr.)
- Haunted Forest Fall Fest — Sat Oct 24, 1–4 p.m.: $10 per kid, $5 per adult — the daytime, family version: a bounce house, crafts, food trucks and a not-as-scary walk down the decorated trail.
- Getting to all three: park at Rocky Heights Middle School, 11033 Monarch Blvd, Lone Tree, then walk south on the trail past the school to the Community Area — music and lights mark the way. The Backcountry Wilderness Area itself has no separate event parking.
- The Great Pumpkin: A Storybook Holiday — Sat Oct 24, Douglas County Libraries (Parker): A family storybook Halloween event.
- Fangtastic Festival — Fri Oct 30, Festival Park, downtown Castle Rock: 11 a.m.–2 p.m. — the downtown Halloween tentpole.
- The Last Stop — Halloween at the Mansion — Sat Oct 31, Highlands Ranch Mansion: 6:30–9 p.m., free — DJ, a trick-or-treat stop, and a cash bar at the historic mansion.
- Ghostly Stories & Tragic Tales Walking Tours — Oct 1, 7, 8, 14, 21, 22, 28 & 29 at 7 p.m., plus Oct 17 & 31 at 1 p.m., Castle Rock Museum: free downtown ghost-story walking tours (donations encouraged) — stories of The Rock, the Old Stone Church, and the B&B Café. Reservations required: 303-814-3164.
Returns each October (2026 dates announced closer to Halloween): Big Jack's Boo Bash at the Outlets at Castle Rock, the Wild Rumpus Halloween Bash at Lost Canyon Ranch, and neighborhood trunk-or-treats across Sterling Ranch, Castle Pines, and Parker. [Annual — 2026 dates not yet posted.]
Oktoberfest
- Castle Rock Oktoberfest — Sat Sep 19, 1–9pm: German beer, brats, and live music at Wilcox Square in historic downtown Castle Rock. New for 2026: a commemorative stein goes on sale at 12:30pm, before the gates — $40, and it includes one beer token. Day-of only; there is no pre-sale.
- Oktoberfest Highlands Ranch — Sat Sep 26: A week later at the Highlands Ranch Town Center.
- The brewery Oktoberfests: Lone Tree Brewing (Sat Sep 12) and Living The Dream (Sat Sep 19) are free to attend, plus 105 West has announced its own at the brewery for Sat Sep 26 — details to come. The full rundown lives on our Oktoberfest in Douglas County guide.
Both also live on our full guide to food and drink events across Douglas County — alongside the fall tastings, brewfests, and wine walks.
Coming up next
Live from our events calendar — the next fall and Halloween events, updating automatically as dates are posted.
Keep the season going
Craft Fairs & Markets
Every craft fair, Christmas market, and shop-local night, fall through December.
Food & Drink Events
Tastings, brewfests, wine walks, and Oktoberfest all season.
Fall Colors
Where to catch the best foliage across the county.
Camping Nearby
Where to camp near Douglas County for a fall weekend outdoors.
Holiday Events
Tree lightings, markets, and winter fun once fall wraps.
Cozy Winter Drinks
We taste-tested Castle Rock’s seasonal coffee menus. The winners, shop by shop.
Love a great night out? So do we.
Fall is the season for a good dinner with good company — and we host our own. Pull up a chair:
Frequently asked
The confirmed 2026 fall festival lineup includes Castle Rock Artfest at Festival Park (Sep 12–13), the HRCA Fall Craft Fair in Highlands Ranch (Sep 12), the free Fall Fest at Mission Hills Castle Rock (Sep 13), Oktoberfest in downtown Castle Rock (Sep 19), Parker Fall Fest at O'Brien Park, Oktoberfest Highlands Ranch and the free Douglas County Fall Festival at Sandstone Ranch in Larkspur (all Sep 26), the Colorado Highland Games at the Denver Polo Club in Sedalia (Sep 26–27), the Castle Rock Trail Festival at Miller Park (Oct 3), the City of Lone Tree Fall Festival at Schweiger Ranch (Oct 4), the Glow Dance Party (Oct 10), and the Fall Festival featuring Creepy Crawlies Around the Rock at Festival Park (Oct 18).
The two family tentpoles are Spooktacular at Miller Park (Sat Oct 17) and the Fangtastic Festival at Festival Park in downtown Castle Rock (Fri Oct 30). Parker adds The Great Pumpkin: A Storybook Holiday at the Douglas County Libraries (Sat Oct 24), and the Highlands Ranch Mansion hosts The Last Stop — Halloween at the Mansion (Sat Oct 31). HRCA runs three Haunted Forest events in the Backcountry Wilderness Area: the full Haunted Forest on Oct 23 (6:30–9:30 p.m.) and Oct 24 (7–10 p.m.), the daytime Fall Fest on Oct 24 (1–4 p.m.), and Fright Lite on Oct 24 (5–7 p.m.) for anyone who wants the trail without the scare actors — all parking at Rocky Heights Middle School in Lone Tree. Several more Halloween parties, haunted trails, and trunk-or-treats return each October across the county.
Two easy options: Lone Creek Farms in Franktown runs a Fall Festival and Pumpkin Patch from late September through early November (Sep 25 – Nov 1 in 2026) — a ticketed agritainment farm with a corn maze, hayrides, and pumpkins — and Gilly's Pumpkin Patch in Castle Rock opens Fridays and Saturdays for three weekends (Sep 25 – Oct 10, 10 a.m. to dark) on an original 1889 homestead. Other area patches open seasonally each fall; check individual farms for their current dates and hours.
Seven and counting across five communities: Lone Tree Brewing's Parker (Sep 5) and Lone Tree (Sep 12) taproom fests, Living The Dream in Highlands Ranch and downtown Castle Rock's Oktoberfest at Wilcox Square (both Sep 19), HRCA's Oktoberfest at Highlands Ranch Town Center and Sterling Ranch's at Providence Park (both Sep 26), and the City of Lone Tree's Oktoberfest at Schweiger Ranch (Oct 3, 2:30–6:30 p.m., free to attend with a separate beer-tasting package). Every date, organizer-verified, is on our Oktoberfest in Douglas County guide.
Several local shops, not just the chains. Oo•de•Lally Coffee on Crystal Valley Parkway runs pumpkin across its whole fall menu and cans a Pumpkin Spice Iced Coffee to go. LaLa's Coffee & Boba downtown has a Spiced Pumpkin Latte. Griddled at the Outlets has both a Pumpkin Patch Latte and a straight Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Plenty, and not just in Castle Rock. In Castle Rock: Apres Coffee on Perry Street (PRESEASON, their pumpkin spice latte, and TIMBERLINE with maple, pecan and cinnamon), Oo•de•Lally, LaLa's Coffee & Boba, and COFF33 downtown, which announced a new fall menu on Sept. 14. In Highlands Ranch, Nixon's Coffee House posted a September lineup with a Pumpkin Spice Latte, a Lemonade Matcha and a Hazelnutty Mocha. In Parker, Marvin's Place added a seasonal caramel latte. In Lone Tree, Peaky Peak brought back its pumpkin spice, coconut pandan, pistachio and banana cold foams, and The Groove at Lyric put a fall margarita on its weekly specials.
Early August, well before the weather turns. In 2026 Oo•de•Lally dropped its fall menu Friday, Aug. 7, and LaLa's followed on Monday, Aug. 24 — both during a heat wave, which the shops themselves joked about.