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Ryan Robinson takes you for a ride in the passenger seat of his RV, off the grid, deep among the dramatic rock formations of the Utah Desert. Robinson and friends chill by the fire, tell stories, and of course, rig a one of a kind highline over the Looking Glass Arch in Moab, UT.
Fall is fast approaching and many campgrounds have awesome activities planned! Jeff Crider shares campgrounds across the country with fun fall activities for the whole family.
People used to think of summer as being the “camping season.” But campgrounds these days offer so many fun activities that many families take their kids camping through September and October. Fall festivals and pre-Halloween-themed weekends are some of the busiest camping weekends of the year, with everything from costume and campsite decorating contests to costumed pet parades, haunted trails, haunted houses and Monster Mash dances. But fall activities aren’t limited to activities for kids. You’ll also find Oktoberfest-themed weekends with carnival-type activities, live music and various culinary events, from potlucks to barbecue, chili and gumbo-making competitions. Here’s a sampling of some of the fall activities that will take place at more than 30 campgrounds across the country:
Acres of Wildlife Campground in Steep Falls, Maine: This campground’s Halloween-themed weekends take place during the last two weekends of September with campsite decorating and trick-or-treating throughout the campground. There will also be firetruck rides for children in costumes and a children’s costume dance.
Buckeye Lake / Columbus East KOA Holiday in Buckeye Lake, Ohio: This park’s fall activities include a chili and soup cooking competition Sept. 29-Oct. 1. The park will offer four consecutive Halloween themed weekends beginning Oct. 6-8 with campsite decorating and costume contests, best dressed pet contests, pumpkin decorating and trick or treating.
Colorado Springs KOA in Fountain, Colorado: This park will have five consecutive Halloween-themed weekends starting Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Activities include arts and crafts, pumpkin carving, costume contests, campsite and cabin decorating contests and trick or treating.
Covert / South Haven KOA in Covert, Michigan: This campground will have three consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Oct. 6-8. Activities will include barrel rides, pumpkin painting, caramel apples, haunted hay rides, as well as costume and campsite decorating contests.
Great Escapes Branson in Forsyth, Missouri: This park’s fall activities include a smoked barbecue competition Sept. 15-17. The park also has five consecutive Halloween themed weekends starting Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Activities include arts and crafts, pumpkin carving, costume contests, campsite and cabin decorating contests and trick or treating. There will also be a chili cooking competition the weekend of Oct. 13-15.
Great Escapes Chestnut Bay in Leesburg, Alabama: This campground will have five consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Activities in addition to arts and crafts and pumpkin carving include costume contests, campsite and cabin decorating contests and trick or treating.
Hagerstown / Antietam Battlefield KOA Holiday in Williamsport, Maryland:This park’s fall activities include a Chile cooking competition on the weekend of Sept. 22-24, with additional activities including crafts and ceramics, a magic show and train rides. This park also offers five consecutive Halloween-themed weekends that include pumpkin carving and costume parade contests, campsite and cabin decorating contests, trick or treating and haunted house tours.
Houghton / Letchworth KOA Holiday in Houghton, New York: This park will have Halloween-themed weekends Sept. 20-Oct. 1 and Oct. 6-8. Activities include Halloween games, campsite decorating, a flashlight candy hunt, and trick-or-treating.
Inn Town Campground in Nevada City, California: This campground celebrates Halloween the entire month of October with a haunted pathway, which it has expanded to include several Halloween-themed installations throughout the park. Guests are also encouraged to decorate their campsites, RVs or glamping tents for Halloween throughout October.
(Photo courtesy of Inn Town Campground)
Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Bremen, Georgia: This park will have five consecutive Halloween-themed weekends starting Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Activities include arts and crafts, pumpkin carving, costume contests, campsite and cabin decorating contests and trick or treating.
Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Caledonia, Wisconsin: This campground has five consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 8-10. While a costume parade, campsite decorating contest, trick or treating and a haunted trail are planned for each weekend, other activities vary. The weekend of Sept. 15-17 includes games of wrap the mummy and pumpkin chucking, while Sept. 22-24 includes games of “Fun Factor,” roll a Frankenstein and Halloween feel box. The weekend of Sept. 29-Oct. 1 has a zombie theme with games of zombie doctor and zombie brain relay. This weekend also includes a pet costume parade. The weekend of Oct. 6-8 includes Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) crafts and activities. Kids can enjoy creating a sugar skull mask, make a Day of the Dead marshmallow skull, participate in a Mexican hat dance, a sugar skull relay race and compete to put the head back on the skeleton.
Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Big Prairie, Ohio: This park’s fall activities include an “Apple Dumpling Weekend” Sept. 23-25 with a kiddie tractor pull, horse-drawn buggy rides, and an 8-acre corn maze. Mrs. Saurer’s famous apple dumplings will also be available for purchase.
(Photo courtesy of Camp Jellystone)
Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Carsonville, Michigan: This park will have two consecutive Halloween-themed weekends, Oct. 6-8 and 13-15. Arts and crafts and pumpkin carving will complement costume, camping and cabin decorating contests and trick or treating.
Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Hocking Hills, Ohio: This park is planning a “Route Riders Weekend and Boo Boo Birthday Celebration” Sept. 8-10. Motorcyclists are invited to camp at the park and to ride the beautiful routes surrounding the campground, including the "Windy 9," a series of nine motorcycle routes with lots of curves and elevation changes. A birthday party for Boo Boo will take place on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 9. Four consecutive Halloween-themed weekends are planned beginning Sept. 22-24 with a magic pumpkin patch, pumpkin painting, a campsite decorating contest and trick or treating. The weekend of Oct. 6-8 will also include the park’s 18th annual “Hog Roast” and Karaoke on Saturday night.
Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Lincoln, Delaware: This campground will have a “Fall Fest” Sept. 22-24 with apple bobbing, pumpkin decorating, an apple cider social and a “Hey Ride.” Four Halloween-themed weekends are planned starting Oct. 6-8. Activities vary a bit each weekend but include a haunted barn, pumpkin decorating and trick or treating. The weekend of Oct. 20-22 will include a black light costume party.
Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Grayling, Michigan:This park will have an “All Things Apples” weekend Sept. 8-10 with an applesauce eating contest, an apple smear game, apple artwork, apple trivia and, of course, caramel apples. Three consecutive Halloween-themed weekends are planned beginning Sept. 22-24 with a pumpkin patch, a campsite decorating contest and a Monster Mash dance. The weekend of Sept. 29-Oct. 1 will include Halloween crafts, scarecrow decorating and a “best duo” costume contest. The weekend of Oct. 6-8 will include a pumpkin carving contest, a spooky movie and a trail of terror.
Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Lodi, California: This park has six consecutive Halloween themed weekends beginning Sept. 22-24. Activities include a magic pumpkin patch, campsite decorating and costume contests, and trick or treating.
Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in South Haven, Michigan: This park has a “Fall Festival” weekend Sept. 8-10 with a scarecrow decorating contest, a bale of hay throwing contest, and a scarecrow family relay race in which the participants dress up like scarecrows. There will also be a pie eating contest and a corn maze. The park’s onsite cafe will also have pumpkin spice lattes and apple cider donuts. This park will also have seven consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 15-17. Activities include pumpkin decorating and carving, scarecrow decorating, campsite decorating, all age and pet costume contests, a “Lucky Pumpkin Patch,” a corn maze, trick or treating and a Monster Mash Dance. The park is also planning either a haunted house or a haunted campgrounds. Guests will find out when they get there!
(Photo courtesy of Camp Jellystone)
Lake Arrowhead Campground in Montello, Wisconsin: This campground has a state-sanctioned barbecue competition called the Puckaway Pigfest Sept. 8-10 and four Halloween-themed weekends including the last three weekends of September and Oct. 13-15. Activities include a magic pumpkin patch, a haunted walk, a costume dance and trick-or-treating. Halloween-themed weekends will also include a Candy Corn Carnival where you can play games, win prizes, make a caramel apple, or tie dye a shirt.
(Photo courtesy of Lake Arrowhead Campground)
Lakeside Fire Campground in Nekoosa, Wisconsin: Two Halloween-themed weekends are planned at this campground Sept. 15-17 and Sept. 22-24. Activities each weekend include a visit to the pumpkin patch, face painting, a campsite decorating contest, a haunted walk, a movie and trick or treating for children and adults. A football and chili weekend is planned for Oct. 6-8 with a campsite decorating contest, a football-themed golf cart parade, a chili cookoff and a bonfire. Sunday’s activities include a potluck brunch.
Little Creek Family Campground in Fairchild, Wisconsin: This campground will have its third annual “Church Lady’s Potluck Dinner” on the weekend of Sept. 22-24. Guests are invited to bring their favorite comfort dish to share. The park will have a Halloween-themed weekend Oct. 6-8 with games and crafts, a costume parade, and trick or treating.
Land-O-Pines Family Campground in Covington, Louisiana: This park’s fall activities include a gumbo cooking competition Sept. 22-24. The park will also have trick or treating on five consecutive weekends beginning Sept. 29-Oct. 1, but with different kinds of additional activities each weekend. The weekend of Sept. 29-Oct. 1 will include a pumpkin patch, a coloring contest and a kids craft workshop. The weekend of Oct. 6-8 will include a scavenger hunt, bike and obstacle course races, and an Eggo-eating contest. The weekend of Oct. 13-15 will feature the band “Cold Shot” and include a Star Wars-themed campsite contest as well as a best Star Wars-themed pumpkin contest. The last two weekends of October will feature a haunted house, dancing to live music, and a find the hidden “Great Pumpkin” contest.
(Photo courtesy of the Land-O-Pines Family Campground)
Medina / Wildwood Lake KOA Holiday in Medina, New York:This campground will have an Oktoberfest celebration the weekend of Sept. 8-10 at the park’s onsite winery/tavern, which will also have live music. The park will also celebrate Halloween the last two weekends of September with costume contests and trick or treating. Live music will also be provided the last weekend of September.
Normandy Farms Family Camping Resort in Foxboro, Massachusetts: This campground will have an Oktoberfest celebration the last weekend of September with food trucks, a brewfest cornhole tournament, and live entertainment featuring the Hofbrau Spieker German Band. The park will offer three consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Oct. 13-15. Activities will include a carved/decorated pumpkin contest; a children’s Halloween parade; a scary movie; creepy crawlies with Matt from Animal World Experience; a haunted walk; a campsite decorating contest; trick or treating; an adult costume party; and dancing to a DJ or live music, depending on the weekend.
Shelby Mansfield KOA Resort in Shelby, Ohio: This park will have a fall festival weekend Sept. 14-16 when campers will be able to help make apple cider and participate in pumpkin glow carving contests. There will also be caramel apples, apple dumplings, Dutch oven donuts and bonfires with s’mores. Starting the weekend of Sept. 23-25, the park will offer four consecutive Halloween-themed weekends with pumpkin painting, campsite decorating contests and trick-or-treating. There will also be a haunted barn on every weekend except Oct. 7-9. Proceeds from the haunted barn will be donated to KOA Care Camps.
(Photo courtesy of Shelby Mansfield KOA Resort)
Tall Pines Campground in Bainbridge, New York:This park will have two consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 30-Oct. 2, the first of which will feature Halloween activities for pets, including a pet parade and pet slate painting. Other activities include a flashlight pumpkin hunt and Halloween plaster crafts. Halloween-themed activities for Oct. 7-10 include a costume parade, zombie laser tag, candy dish painting, a grim reaper’s candy hunt, tie dye t-shirts featuring pumpkins and ghosts and a spookiest campsite contest.
Temecula KOA at Vail Lake in Temecula, California: This park will have five consecutive Halloween-themed events beginning Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Activities will include a pumpkin patch; pumpkin carving and painting; costume contests by age; pet costume contests; campsite decorating contests; golf cart decorating contests; and Halloween crafts for the kids. The campground’s onsite bar will also offer Halloween-themed cocktails and live entertainment.
Tree Farm Campground in Springfield, Vermont: On the weekend of Oct. 7-8 this campground will have a Halloween-themed weekend with kids arts and crafts, Halloween bingo, a costume contest for children and adults, separate pie eating contests for children and adults, and a campsite decorating contest with pries for best site decoration and best haunted site. A $50 prize will also be award to the winner of the hunt for the “hidden camper femur.” The park will also host a seasonal craft fair on Sunday.
Wilderness Campground in Montello, Wisconsin: This campground is planning two Halloween-themed weekends, Sept. 15-17 and 22-24, with a magic pumpkin patch, a pumpkin decorating contest, a kid’s costume jam, a Halloween costume party, a campsite decorating contest and an outdoor movie. The weekend of Sept. 29-Oct. 1 will have a Camptoberfest theme with German-inspired activities, including kids hammerschlagen (hammering a nail into a wooden beam) and schokoladenessen (chocolate eating) competitions. There will also be an adult hammerschlagen and a stein holding contest for men and women. The winner keeps the steins and gets a 12-pack of beer.
Jeff Crider, President and CEO of Crider Public Relations, has been involved in covering the campground industry for over 25 years. Jeff has worked as a freelance writer for publications such as RV Business, Motor Home Magazine, Trailer Life, Highways and other Affinity Group Inc. publications since 1995. He has also successfully pitched many of the nation's top tier media outlets, including CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Financial Times, Reuters, The Associated Press and National Public Radio. In addition to writing, Jeff is also a talented photographer and humanitarian.
