The short version: Rowley's Red Barn in Santaquin is our family's favorite every year, and Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point is the Lehi classic. For little kids, go to Hee Haw Farms in Pleasant Grove. For a real scare, Haunted Forest in American Fork is the biggest haunt in the county, and Halloween on Lehi Main Street on Oct 31 is free.
Halloween is our family's biggest holiday by a mile, so I've done the corn mazes, the haunts and the pumpkin patches the hard way. Here's where I'd actually take my kids this year, and how to skip the hour-long lines everyone else waits in.
So when people ask me what to do around here in October, I have opinions. Utah County is honestly one of the best places in the country to do Halloween with kids. You've got a corn maze fifteen minutes from basically everyone, one of the biggest haunted attractions in the U.S. out past American Fork, and a city event almost every night of the last two weeks.
Here's the catch. Everybody else knows that too. Fall break weekends get packed, the good haunts sell out, and the weather can go from sweater to snow in one night. So this guide isn't just a list. It's where I'd actually take my family, who each spot is right for, and how to do it without waiting in line for an hour.
Quick picks
| If you want... | Go here | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Our family's favorite every year | Rowley's Red Barn, Santaquin | Everyone |
| The classic, close to home | Cornbelly's Lehi | Everyone |
| Pumpkin picking and animals | Hee Haw Farms, Pleasant Grove | Little kids |
| A cheaper, quieter corn maze | Glen Ray's, Spanish Fork | Whole family |
| Petting zoo and a smaller patch | Gordo's Fun Farm, Spanish Fork | Little kids |
| A fall garden walk, this week only | Scarecrow Festival, Lehi | Little kids |
| The cheapest farm ticket around | Jaker's Jack-O-Lanterns, Springville | Little kids |
| Free trick-or-treating | Halloween on Lehi Main Street | Little kids |
| A real scare, still in Lehi | Frightbelly's | Ages 12+ |
| The biggest haunt in the county | Haunted Forest, American Fork | Teens and adults |
Our family pick: Rowley's Red Barn, Santaquin
If you only do one fall farm with your kids, this is the one we'd send you to. We go every single year. It's the big red barn you see off I-15 in Santaquin, and it's worth the drive from anywhere in the county.
You ride a tractor-pulled wagon through the orchard out to what they call the Back 40, and then it's a free-for-all: apple cannons, a corn pit with something like 40 million kernels, three corn mazes (including a short one for short attention spans), jump pillows, zip lines, giant slides, a petting barnyard and fire pits. Everything out there is included with admission, which I love. No nickel-and-diming every five minutes. Check site for current ticket prices.
The non-negotiable: make sure you get their apple cider donuts. I'm serious. Go back to the barn on your way out and get a bag. Get two. Nobody in your car will regret it.
Heads up: the festival wraps up Oct 30, so it's not a Halloween-night option, and it's closed Sundays. Fall break days fill up, so a weekday after school is the sweet spot.
Cornbelly's: the Lehi classic
If you live in Lehi and haven't done Cornbelly's, I don't know what to tell you. Go. It's Utah's original corn maze and pumpkin fest, with 60-plus attractions, a 10-acre maze, hayrides, campfires, and this year a Dolly Parton maze and rotating light shows.
The details: Most Monday through Thursday nights run 4 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays run 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. It's closed Sundays. Oct 15, 19 and 22 open early at 10 a.m. for fall break. Halloween itself runs 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission closes an hour before closing. Weekday tickets are $19.99 and Friday/Saturday tickets are $27.99 (check site for current pricing). Ages 2 and under get in free. Thanksgiving Point members get 25% off at the booth.
My honest take: I love Cornbelly's, and it's in our backyard. But it gets crowded. It's also the spot a lot of parents drop off middle schoolers for the night, so depending on when you go, especially Friday and Saturday nights, it can get a little crazy with packs of unsupervised teens running the maze. That's not a knock. Those kids are having the time of their lives. It's just not the vibe you want with a four-year-old on your shoulders.
If I were you: with little kids, go on a weekday afternoon or grab one of the early 10 a.m. openings over fall break. Buy weekday tickets online and go on a Monday or Tuesday after school. Same corn, half the crowd. The site lists a code, BELLY, for $2 off each ticket online.
Frightbelly's: the scary side of Cornbelly's (formerly Insanity Point)
Insanity Point got a new name this year. Same corn, new name, and Cornbelly's says some new scares. It's 23 haunted scenes on a 30-minute trail through the corn, and it bills itself as one of Utah County's longest-running haunts.
The details: Your ticket includes regular Cornbelly's admission, so you get the hayrides, campfires and the non-haunted 10-acre maze too. Show up whenever Cornbelly's is open, then pick your Frightbelly's entry time at the ticket window. You can't pick it online. Slots start at 7 p.m. and run every half hour until 9:30 on Mondays (plus Thursday, Oct 15 and 22) and until 10:30 on Fridays and Saturdays. The BELLY code takes $2 off each ticket online. Age guidance and which nights it runs, especially Halloween night: check site.
If I were you: get there early and grab your time slot first thing, then do the rest of Cornbelly's while you wait. The time slot meter online shows how tonight's slots are filling, which is the closest thing you'll get to skipping the line. And be honest with yourself about your youngest. If they're still sleeping with the hall light on, this one can wait a year.
Little kids (and the grownups who love them)
Hee Haw Farms, Pleasant Grove
This is the one for toddlers through about age 9. Petting farm, slides, a zipline, the corn box, and a hayride out to an actual pumpkin patch. Their 18th annual Giant Pumpkin Drop is Saturday, Oct 24, starting at noon: pumpkins dropped from 14 stories onto targets including a car. Kids lose their minds. They also run a Halloween festival with face painting and costume contests (check their events page for the date and time).
Gordo's Fun Farm (Gordon's Family Farm), Spanish Fork
A smaller, low key family farm that's been selling produce for over 50 years. In the fall it turns into a pumpkin patch with a corn maze, a corn pit, train rides, a playground, yard games and a petting zoo with over 30 different animals. Grab a seasonal drink and let the kids run. Opening at noon on weekdays makes it one of the easier ones to do before nap time falls apart. Check their site for current ticket prices.
Jaker's Jack-O-Lanterns, Springville
The bargain pick on this list. Eight bucks gets you a hay ride, a corn maze, a straw maze, a petting zoo, a giant corn pit, big and small tube slides, a slippery slide and a kid friendly haunted cave. Pumpkins, decor and snacks cost extra. No outside food, no pets, and no rain checks, so check the weather before you load up the car.
Scarecrow Festival at Ashton Gardens, Lehi
Fifty acres of gardens in full fall color, filled with dozens of scarecrows and carved pumpkins made by people from the community. It's a slow, pretty walk, nothing jumps out at you, and the kids get to judge which scarecrow is the weirdest. From Thursday through Saturday, Oct 15 to 17, there's a Festival Market at the Waterfall Amphitheater with local vendors and fall treats, open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Check site for current garden admission prices.
Heads up: it's only one week, and it ends Saturday, Oct 17. If you're reading this when it goes up, go this week.
Thanksgiving Point: Spooktober
Spooktober runs through October with pumpkin activities, scavenger hunts, dance parties and creepy crawly animal encounters, all on the not scary end.
Creatures of the Night, Lehi Legacy Center
Indoor trick-or-treating, crafts, games, a black-light maze, Lenny the Lion with local firefighters, and a family movie. Indoors matters. If it snows on the 30th, and it might, this is your plan. Tickets are at the Legacy Center registration office.
Halloween on Lehi Main Street
A costume parade and trunk-or-treat at Allred's, then businesses up and down Main Street hand out treats. Old Lehi plus a hundred tiny Spider-Men. It's a great warm-up before neighborhood trick-or-treating.
Sensory-friendly options
If loud and crowded doesn't work for your kid, the city indoor events and early weekday hours at the farms are your friends. ABS Kids held a free sensory-friendly trunk-or-treat in American Fork on Oct 6 this year. Watch for it next year.
The whole family
Villains and Heroes Halloween Carnival, Provo
Trick or Treat Street with characters, carnival games and live entertainment. Pick a side, hero or villain, and dress the part.
Night of Fright, University Place, Orem
Photos with villains like the Sanderson Sisters and Jack and Sally, a Halloween market, fire dancers at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30, bounce house, mechanical bull and fire pits. Pretty wild for a mall parking lot. Free to walk around; food and some activities cost extra.
Glen Ray's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch, Spanish Fork
A little farther south and a little cheaper. Online tickets are $11.95 on weekdays and $13.95 on weekends, plus taxes and fees, and ages 2 and under are free. That gets you everything: a USA 250 corn maze with short, medium and long routes plus a scavenger hunt, giant slides, a cow train, a corn pit, a jump pad, farm animals and a U-pick patch with more than 60 pumpkin varieties (pumpkins cost extra). It's a seventh-generation family farm, and it feels like it.
The regular maze is not haunted. If your teens want scares, Field of Fright runs on the same farm after dark, so the family can split up and meet back up. Buy online, since it's cheaper than the gate.
Cornbelly's Spanish Fork
Same idea as Lehi, south county. Check their calendar for hours.
HAUNTED Provo races
A Friday night 5K on Oct 30, then a downhill half marathon through Provo Canyon, a 5K and a kids' run on Halloween morning. Search "HAUNTED Provo" for registration. I couldn't reach the official page to confirm, so verify before you sign up.
Teens and brave adults
Haunted Forest, American Fork
Started in 1990 and now one of the largest haunted attractions in the country. Over a million square feet of trails, a Graveyard midway with bonfires, and new this year: Mine Shaft Mayhem, Field of Screams, Wolf Creek Nightmares and a sideshow with fire-eating and walking on broken glass. There's no box office. You buy a timed entry online and they text you when it's your turn. Open on Halloween night; check their calendar for exact hours.
If I were you: Pick a Monday through Thursday. Weekends in late October get long waits even with timed tickets.
Field of Fright, Spanish Fork
Fridays and Saturdays dark to 11 p.m., fall break Oct 14 to 17, plus special weeknights Oct 20 to 22 and 27 to 29 (dark to 10 p.m.). Uneven ground, fog, loud noises. Wear real shoes.
Worth the drive north
Castle of Chaos in Midvale is about 30 minutes up I-15. It's indoors and underground, and you choose your fear level from 1 (the monsters are scared of you) to 5 (contact, 18+). Opens 7 p.m., with prices varying by night on their calendar. Not recommended under 13.
Black Island Farms in Syracuse is a haul, but it's still going strong after 60 years: an 8-acre maze, pig races, and Nightmare Acres, a haunted corn maze with zombie laser tag, Thursday through Saturday nights. Season runs through Oct 31.
Halloween night: trick-or-treat tips
Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, and there are no official trick-or-treat hours anywhere in Utah County. Most neighborhoods go from about dusk until 8:30 or so. Here's what works for us:
- Eat a real dinner first. Trust me.
- Layers under the costume. It's Utah in late October. A costume that fits over a hoodie beats a cute one that doesn't.
- Light them up. Glow sticks or a headlamp on every kid. Lots of our neighborhoods don't have sidewalks or streetlights on every block.
- Porch light on means yes. Porch light off means skip it. Teach the kids before you leave.
- Check the candy at home, and keep a teal pumpkin or a small stash of non-food treats for kids with allergies.
Insider tips for the whole season
- Go on weeknights. Every place on this list is calmer Monday through Thursday, and weekday tickets are usually cheaper.
- Buy online. Several haunts sell online only now (Haunted Forest, Field of Fright), and the popular nights sell out.
- Fall break is the busiest week of the year. Oct 15, 16 and 19 at the farms will be packed. Go early in the day.
- Dress warmer than you think. It'll feel fine at 5 p.m. and miserable at 9 in a cornfield.
- Parking: Cornbelly's Lehi shares Thanksgiving Point traffic, so Saturday afternoons back up on Thanksgiving Way. Haunted Forest says look for the searchlights.
- Bring cash and a card. Pumpkins, food and add-ons are usually extra.
See you out there
That's our October. We'll be out at a few of these. If you see us, say hi.
And if you know a great event I missed, send it my way. I'll add it to next year's list.
Franco Preston
Olympus Real Estate · Lehi, Utah