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LANE COUNTY – October in the southern Willamette Valley means corn mazes, pumpkin patches, and harvest days. The fall season welcomes traditional family activities like hayrides, pumpkin picking, and Halloween-themed haunted houses.
Harvest Days at the Northern Lights Christmas Tree Farm has been open for the season since Sept. 29 and runs through the end of October. Here, you can find a variety of corn mazes, farm activities, and a Sweet Salvage Event.
Lynn Schutte has been running the scene for 30 years and knows a thing or two about an interactive corn maze. The family-friendly corn maze at 36777 Wheeler Rd., in Pleasant Hill, is molded around the classic board game “Clue,” and uniquely called “The Farm Monster Mystery.” This maze is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Little detectives can navigate the twists and turns of the maze to find six checkpoints in order to solve the mystery of what monster kidnapped the farmer’s dog, Boots.
“They’re very, very silly monsters,” Schutte said.
Prices range from $10-$12, or $40 for a family pass that includes two adults and two children.
When the sun goes down on Friday and Saturday nights, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., the maze transforms into a spooky setting. Rather than look for clues, the goal is to navigate the way out of the maze and find six monsters that might be lurking behind every other turn or dead-end.
The Farm Monster Mystery maze at night ranges from $10-$15, or $45 for the family pass.
There is plenty else to check out on the farm. Check out the view from a hayride tour on the weekends for $2. Count the cows and meet resident goats Tiny and Little Bit.
Pick your own pumpkins at the pumpkin patch or sunflowers for some fresh fall decor. Grab a treat from the farm store with options ranging from gifts, costume pieces, home decorations, and cider. The farm hosts food vendors every weekend with a covered picnic area to eat your grub under.
Lynn Schutte, a co-owner of North Lights Tree Farm and operator of Harvest Days, offers a friendly smile at the corn maze. … The Harvest Days market and gift shop is busy. … A family navigates through the corn field. ALL PHOTOS BY BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE
Cottage Grove residents also have a harvest festival nearby, at the Row River Grange. The annual Harvest Festival Fundraiser at 34360 Row River Rd., raises money to heat the grange building.
Activities start at 10:30 a.m. and last until 6 p.m., providing a variety of options for folks to explore. Start the day with yoga at the Grange before vendors open for business at 11:30 a.m. When vendors open, so does the apple cider press.
Chili, corn bread, and crepes, along with other concessions, will be available at the kitchen. Live music from KT & the Love Notes and Axon will be playing as a fundraising raffle occurs.
Pets and pet-friendly events
Furry friends can get in on the Halloween festivities, too, with Lane County Pug Playgroup’s Pug a Boo event at Lively Park Swim Center and Park. On Oct. 18 at 3 p.m., dogs and their handlers are welcome to join an annual event that is not exclusive to only pug breeds.
“The more the merrier!” reads their invitation, and a reminder that costumes are not required – but they do add to the Halloween experience.
Interested participants should meet at the small dog side of the dog park at Splash at 6100 Thurston Rd., in Springfield.
To showcase a furry friend’s outfit closer to town, the Springfield History Museum will have a Canine Costume Contest the same day, at 5 p.m.
This contest is also a free event and sponsored by Pup’s Place Grooming and Pet Supplies. They will start judging at 5:15 p.m. and determine which pup has the most creative, spooky, or adorable costume for Halloween. They are also providing the grand prize for the winner. Other prizes come from the Springfield History Museum.
As a reminder, all dogs must be on leashes, and their costumes should be safe and comfortable for the pup. There will be a crowd as well as live music, so any anxious pups are recommended to stay home.
The event is part of the fourth annual Fright at the Springfield History Museum, where 590 Main St. in Springfield gets transformed into a scary journey through local history.
Furry friends can still participate in the Halloween festivities next weekend with Suds ‘Em Springfield at 1402 Mohawk Blvd. in Springfield. Grab the pups on Oct. 24 from 4-7 p.m. for an event featuring Lucky Paws Rescue, and you might go home with another companion.
Suds ‘Em will have a dog photo booth, free treat bags, and $5 off self-service dog washes. Adoptable dogs from Lucky Paws Rescue will be there with an opportunity to add a friend to your spooky crew. Folks can also enter a raffle basket giveaway that includes a $50 Suds ‘Em gift card. Costumes are encouraged for either pups or their owners, but not required.
Trunk or Treats
Lane County is revving with trunk or treat events for everyone in the family. As a play on regular trick or treating, these events are typically in an open space, like a parking lot, and instead of houses, folks hand out candy from the decked-out trunks of their vehicles.
Starting this weekend at the Eugene Masonic Lodge #11 at 2777 Martin Luther King Way, folks can jump in the bounce house, listen to music, play games, and sip on some warm cocoa, all for free, from 6:30-10 p.m.
The Springfield Faith Center is kicking things off at 4:30 p.m. with its annual bash at 600 Hayden Bridge Way in Springfield.
This free, community-wide event is offered to families in the community as a safer and more convenient alternative to experience trick or treating, according to its website.
Folks who register their household to hand out candy ahead of time get a free gift. Register online at tinyurl.com/y2p8p7c8.
The Hooligans Car Club is hosting its fifth annual trunk or treat event at the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot at 1600 Centennial Blvd., starting at 6 p.m. next Saturday. An award will be handed out to the vehicle with the scariest trunk.
Next Tuesday, Oct. 28, Our Community Birth Center is having a trunk or treat event of its own. At 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot of 188 W. B St., in Springfield, a classic Halloween activity will be a part of a resource sharing night where folks can learn about local resources that can support a journey through parenthood.
Representatives from Our Community Birth Center, Relief Nursery, Parenting now, Team Ducking, and Imagination Library will be there to provide information about how their businesses and organizations serve and support families.
Snacks and games are available for little ones, making this a kid-friendly event that is open to all community members. It is also free to attend. Plus, for the adults who might be spooked about sexually transmitted infections, they can pop into the birth center during the event for free, on-site STI testing.
Halloween Day will surely call for more trunk or treat events, like Thurston’s sixth annual event hosted by Conway’s Restaurant and Lounge, at 5658 Main St.
The whole family is invited to trick or treat from different themed trunks. Anyone is welcome to display their trunks and pass out candy starting at 4:30 p.m.
Even Creswell has a trunk or treat event or two to check out. Hillside Church at 635 Holbrook Ln. is having its annual event at 6 p.m. outside the church.
Folks in the Eugene area can head over to Oakway Center for Kendall Eugene’s trunk or treat. Staff from the auto company, as well as other local businesses and organizations, will be there from 4-6 p.m. handing out treats.
