Fall Things To Do Around The Corridor
Fall is here, and we want to make sure you are ready for all the fun festivities to come! If you’re wondering what there is to do around the Heritage Corridor in the fall, well here’s a list of things you can do as a family, solo, or with friends.
FAMILY FARMS
Dollinger Family Farm is the best place to celebrate fall. In the early years, the farm served as a place to rest the mules pulling barges down the I&M Canal. Today, the farm comes alive in the fall with pumpkins, hayrides, a corn maze, train rides, farm animals and fall fun for the entire family.
- Heap’s Giant Pumpkin Farm
This place to challenge yourself in the corn maze or bean maze, catch a hay ride out to the 25-acre pumpkin patch to pick your perfect pumpkin off the vine, or play in Milo’s Castle Playground. Don’t forget to grab a tasty caramel apple and pumpkin cookie or try one of Heap’s famous pork burgers.
Bronkberry Farm has been in the family for 5 generations growing corn and soybeans. It started as a roadside stand with a small greenhouse, a ¼ acre vegetable garden and a pumpkin patch. Now they are growing vegetables and fruit including over 600 apple trees on 25+ acres.
FALL HIKES
Take a guided fall colors hike through the beautiful Starved Rock State Park with various overlooks and canyons to discover the park’s rich history, geology, and ecology. Discuss the various tree species and their fall foliage along the way.
Join a naturalist on a stroll through the trails at Hammel Woods to see all of the fall colors as the sun sets over the preserve.
Hike through the trails of the preserve with your pup and see all the magical fall colors of Hammel Woods.
- Four Rivers Environmental Center
Explore off trail in the woods with a naturalist and look for signs of fall.
FESTIVALS
- LaSalle County Burgoo Festival - Utica
Join LaSalle County Historical Society for our 55th Annual Burgoo! Burgoo is a traditional pioneer dish, a kind of stew that gives the festival its name. For the LCHS Burgoo the ingredients are beef, carrots, potatoes, hominy, celery, tomatoes, cabbage, onions, peppers, and other vegetables carefully blended with special spices and herbs. It is cooked outdoors Saturday night for between 12 and 18 hours over a wood-burning fire that gives it a special taste. Squads of volunteer vegetable choppers and kettle stirrers spend the night preparing this pioneer dish. The Burgoo Stew is always ready to serve at 9am Sunday morning!
Established in 1969, the Burgoo Festival is one of the longest-running and largest fall festivals in northern Illinois. The Burgoo Festival is an annual village street party featuring flea marketers, craftsmen, musicians, and other entertainment. More than 350 vendors will present their wares at this craft show and flea market.
- Autumn Festival of Crafts – Wilmington
Each Sunday during Indigenous Peoples' Day weekend visitors gather to the riverside North Island Park in Wilmington to enjoy the Autumn Festival of Crafts. The festival features a juried craft show welcoming artisans from all over to exhibit their handcrafted products and services. There’s more to it than shopping. Listen to live music, grab some delectable food from our food vendors, and discover a new drink at the wine garden. ADMISSION IS FREE and there is something for everyone. Mark your calendars for October 13, we’ll see you there!
- 18th Annual Autumn Colors Craft Show – Romeoville
Dedicate a full day of shopping at the 18th Annual Autumn Colors Craft Show. There will be many booths with hand crafts, candles, jewelry, crochet, embroidery, florals arrangements and more! There will be 100 booths, indoor and outdoor, with free admission and parking. Pancake Breakfast - 8am-11am
Celebrating Halloween Lemont-style! Over a month of fun events in Lemont for the whole family.
FREE VISITORS GUIDE
FREE VISITORS GUIDE
