Nothing says fall in New Jersey like a seasonal festival or fair. From classic Oktoberfest celebrations to family-friendly happenings at farms and orchards, the Garden State offers loads of fun events all autumn long.
[RELATED: The Best Fall Day Trips in New Jersey]
NORTH JERSEY
Fall Festival at Wightman Farms
📅: Weekends now through fall (times vary)
📍: Wightman Farms • Morristown
ℹ️: This farm hosts fun-filled fall festivities on weekends throughout the season. A ticket includes hayrides, a giant corn maze, apple picking (does not include apples), a pumpkin, games and parking.
💸: $25; kids 3 and under free
Great Pumpkin Festival
📅: Saturday, September 14-Sunday, November 3 (times vary)
📍: Heaven Hill Farm • Vernon
ℹ️: Enjoy hayrides, pig races, carnival rides, a corn maze and more.
💸: $11.99 and up
Tranquility Farms Fall Festival
📅: Monday, September 23-Tuesday, October 29 (times vary)
📍: Tranquility Farms • Green Township
ℹ️: A bounty of family-friendly fun includes hayrides, pumpkin launchers, farm animals and a giant hay slide. Don’t leave without trying the farm’s famous ice cream.
💸: $11 and up
Chester Lions Club Oktoberfests
📅: Saturday, September 28-Sunday, September 29 (noon-9 pm & noon-6 pm)
📍: Chubb Park • Chester
ℹ️: Enjoy music, German food and more fun in the charming town of Chester.
💸: $7 admission; kids 12 and under free
Hackettstown Oktoberfest
📅: Saturday, September 28-Sunday, September 29 (noon-6 pm)
📍: Main Street, Valentine Street and Grand Avenue • Hackettstown
ℹ️: The Hackettstown BID, Czig Meister Brewing Company, Man Skirt Brewing and Grand Avenue Tavern are hosting a plethora of events for this street festival-style celebration. Expect lots of drinks, food, family-friendly activities, vendors and more.
💸: Free admission
Jersey City Harvest Festival
There will be plenty of pumpkin fun at the Jersey City Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 5. Photo: Courtesy of JCFamilies
📅: Saturday, October 5 (10 am-2 pm)
📍: Hamilton Park • Jersey City
ℹ️: Pumpkin decorating, arts and crafts, performances, food vendors and more are on tap at this event, hosted by the community organization JCFamilies.
💸: Free admission
Mendham Fest
📅: Saturday, October 5 (noon-5 pm)
📍: Borough Park • Mendham
ℹ️: Food, beer, live music, local crafters and more are on hand for this day of outdoor community fun.
💸: Free admission
Grand Harvest Wine Festival
📅: Saturday, October 5-Sunday, October 6 (noon-5 pm)
📍: Fosterfields Living Historical Farm • Morristown
ℹ️: Sample Jersey wines at the farm alongside food trucks, craft vendors, live music and more.
💸: $5-$25; those under 21 free
Whippany Railway Museum Pumpkin Patch Train
All aboard the Whippany Railway Museum’s Pumpkin Patch Train this autumn! Photo: Courtesy of Whippany Railway Museum
📅: Saturday, October 5, Sunday, October 6, Saturday October 12 & Sunday October 13 (1-4 pm)
📍: 1 Railroad Plaza • Whippany
ℹ️: Departing from Whippany, families take a round-trip train ride to pick pumpkins and receive a pumpkin-decorating kit. Wear your costume!
💸: $13-$26
Ridgewood’s West Side Oktoberfest
📅: Sunday, October 13 (11 am-4 pm)
📍: Wilsey Square • Ridgewood
ℹ️: The Ridgewood Y hosts this celebration with live music, West Side hayrides to the Heights, pumpkin painting, a kids’ corner, food, a biergarten and more.
💸: Free admission
Oasis Oktoberfest
📅: Friday, October 18 (7 pm)
📍: McBride Field • Franklin Lakes
ℹ️: This celebration features German food, beer, live music, raffles, games and contests. Proceeds benefit Oasis, a Paterson-based nonprofit supporting women and children.
💸: $150 per person
Harvest, Honey & Garlic Festival
📅: Saturday, October 19 (10 am-4 pm)
📍: Sussex County Fairgrounds • Augusta
ℹ️: Savor the flavors of fall at this Sussex County event with fresh food and produce vendors, local artisans, hayrides and more.
💸: Free admission
Blairstown Fall Festival & Bed Races
📅: Saturday, October 19 (11 am-4 pm)
📍: Footbridge Park • Blairstown
ℹ️: Join the fun with a full day of vendors, food trucks, live music, activities and a beer garden. Don’t miss out on the annual iconic bed races, where a four-person team pushes a fifth person in a wheeled bed to victory across the finish line.
💸: Free admission
CENTRAL JERSEY
Fall Family Fun Weekends at Terhune Orchards
Kids will love the hay bale maze at Terhune Orchards. Photo courtesy of Terhune Orchards/Catherine Stroud
📅: Weekends Saturday, September 14 through Sunday, October 27 (10 am-5 pm)
📍: Terhune Orchards • Princeton
ℹ️: A spectacular variety of farm activities, including pony rides, scavenger hunts and wine tastings.
💸: $15-$18
Mountain Creek Oktoberfest
📅: Saturday, September 21-Sunday, September 22 (noon-7 pm)
📍: Mountain Creek Resort • Vernon Township
ℹ️: This festival features fun for the whole family, including live music, German cuisine, lawn games, petting zoos, bounce houses and face painting. Sky rides on the Mountain Creek lift are included with ticket price, and Mountain Coaster rides are an additional $15.
💸: $25; kids 6 and under free
Highlands Oktoberfest
📅: Saturday, October 5 (1-7 pm)
📍: Veterans Park • Highlands
ℹ️: Highlights of the celebration include authentic German food and beer, plus costume and beer-stein-holding contests throughout the day.
💸: Free admission
Dunellen HarvestFest
📅: Sunday, October 13 (11 am-4 pm)
📍: Washington Park • Dunellen
ℹ️: This festival features local artists and crafters, plus food, pumpkin and scarecrow contests, activities for kids, and live entertainment.
💸: Free admission
Middlesex College HarvestFest
📅: Thursday, October 17 (5-8 pm)
📍: Middlesex College • Edison
ℹ️: Enjoy hayrides, inflatables, food trucks, a car show and more.
💸: Free admission
Hamilton Township Oktoberfest
📅: Sunday, October 20 (11 am-5 pm)
📍: Veterans Park South • Hamilton Township
ℹ️: Enjoy hay rides, a pumpkin patch, music, food, a corn maze and more.
💸: Free admission
The Bazaar Fall Festival
Check out a plethora of art and craft vendors at the Bazaar Fall Festival in Long Branch on Sunday, October 27. Photo: Visuwills; Courtesy of Asbury Park Bazaar
📅: Sunday, October 27 (noon-5 pm)
📍: Whitechapel Projects • Long Branch
ℹ️: The popular Asbury Park Bazaar—a seasonal art and food festival—is heading to Long Branch for a day of live music, food and libation vendors, workshops and more.
💸: Free admission
SOUTH JERSEY
Oktoberfest at Morey’s Piers
Enjoy German entertainment and food at Wildwood’s Oktoberfest. Photo: Courtesy of Wildwoods NJ
📅: Weekends through Sunday, October 13 (times vary)
📍: 3501 Boardwalk • Wildwood
ℹ️: This annual celebration boasts a grand selection of beers and German fare at an outdoor biergarten with live entertainment every night.
💸: Free admission
Harvest Brew Fest
📅: Saturday, September 14 (10 am-5 pm)
📍: Emlen Physick Estate • Cape May
ℹ️: Presented by Cape May MAC, this early fall festival features eight local breweries, food vendors, craft vendors and live music.
💸: Free admission
Elmer Harvest Day Festival
📅: Saturday, October 5 (10 am-4 pm)
📍: State and Main streets • Elmer
ℹ️: Expect live entertainment and kids’ activities, plus special deals and treats from local crafters and restaurants. Don’t miss the car show.
💸: Free admission
Woodbury Fall Festival Parade
📅: Saturday, October 5 (6 pm)
📍: North and South Broad streets • Woodbury
ℹ️: This year’s annual fall festival and parade is Halloween-themed and costumes are part of the fun. There will be food, crafts and musical performances.
💸: Free
Blackwood Pumpkin Festival
📅: Sunday, October 6 (11 am-4 pm)
📍: 27 South Black Horse Pike • Blackwood
ℹ️: Presented by Mainstage Center of the Arts, this fest including live performances, pumpkin painting, craft vendors and food.
💸: Free admission
Fall Festival and Living History Weekend
📅: Saturday, October 12-Sunday, October 13 (10 am)
📍: Main Street • Mullica Hill
ℹ️: At this 52nd annual fall festival, expect live music, entertainment, crafts, ghost tours and food. The living history portion features Civil War camps and battle reenactments.
💸: $8
Allentown Fall Festival
📅: Saturday, October 12-Sunday, October 13 (10 am-5 pm)
📍: Main Street • Allentown
ℹ️: Allentown’s annual fall festival has plenty of family fun to offer, with handmade crafts, food, wine tastings, a craft beer garden, live music, activities for kids including a petting zoo, and much more.
💸: Free admission
Stafford Fall Harvest & Wine Festival
Sample Jersey wines at the Stafford Fall Harvest and Wine Festival on Saturday, October 12 and Sunday, October 13. Photo: Kim Simon; Courtesy of GPS, Inc
📅: Saturday, October 12-Sunday, October 13 (noon-5 pm)
📍: Heritage Park • Manahawkin
ℹ️: Enjoy beverages from local wineries, food trucks, craft vendors, live music and more.
💸: $20-$25; non-samplers and those under 21 free
Fall Harvest + Plant Swap
📅: Sunday, October 13 (10 am-3 pm)
📍: Rancocas Woods • Mount Laurel
ℹ️: In the final plant swap of the season, bring an old plant and swap it out for a new one. There will also be plenty of fall market and craft vendors, plus a free Halloween-costume swap and a fall pup strut.
💸: Free admission
Oktoberfest Food Truck Festival
📅: Saturday, October 19-Sunday, October 20 (11 am-9 pm & 11 am-7 pm)
📍: Laurita Winery • New Egypt
ℹ️: Celebrate Oktoberfest with glasses of wine rather than beer, plus food trucks, live music, vineyard wagon rides, face painting and more.
💸: $13-$15; those under 21 free
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