Denver's 2009 Halloween Events & Pumpkin Patches050

It's that time of year again: There's a chill in the air, the leaves are a-turnin', and kids are jonesing for pumpkins, Halloween haunts, and corn maze adventures. Where to head if you're a Denver-Front Range resident in need of great kids' seasonal and Halloween activities?

Pumpkin patches are plenty, thanks to our close proximity to agricultural communities all along the Front Range. Some of our favorite places to find pumpkins (and all kinds of festive seasonal goodies and events) include Berry Patch Farms (and its October-weekends event, Country Harvest Days); Cottonwood Farms, which also offers visitors a corn maze and visits with farm animals; Hill's Harvest Pumpkin Patch in Thornton; May Farms in Byers and its Halloween Harvest Festival; Anderson Farms's Fall Fest 2009; Rock Creek Farm in Broomfield; and Rocky Mountain Pumpkin Ranch in Longmont and its fabulous October Pumpkin Festival.

The first weekend of October brings Four Mile Historic Park's Great Pumpkin Harvest Festival and, at Lakewood Heritage Center, the annual Lakewood Cider Days. October 3 also marks the opening of BooTown at Heritage Square.

The Festival Playhouse gets a good laugh from the season with its family-friendly production of Curse of the Werewolf, which runs between October 9-25.

On the weekend of October 10-11, families can attend the Annual Pumpkin Festival at Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield; the Harvest Fest at the Littleton Historical Museum; or, in Olde Town Arvada, the 13th annual Festival of Scarecrows.

On the weekend of October 17-18, Lookout Mountain Nature Center hosts Halloween Tales & Trails; advance reservations are required.

Later in the month, check out Trick or Treat Train & Railroad Halloween Town at the Colorado Railroad Museum and Victorian Halloween at the Littleton Historical Museum. On October 29, Boulder's Pearl Street Mall hosts its annual Munchkin Masquerade.

The weekend of Halloween itself has numerous activities, including Boo at the Zoo, the Children's Museum's Trick or Treat Street, Trick or Treat OFF the Street at The Wildlife Experience Museum, the Great Broomfield Pumpkin Festival at Broomfield Community Center; Garden of Goodies Halloween at Hudson Garden, Forney Transportation Museum's Fall Fest, the Downtown Aquarium's Halloween Kids' Fest, Trick or Treat Street within Historic Downtown Littleton, and, finally, Halloween Hike at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.

For the not-faint-of-heart, several extreme attractions can be found around town. Those on our older kids' and teens' radars: The Asylum Haunted House in Broomfield, Haunted Field of Screams & Dead Man's Night Maze in Thornton, Spider Mansion at Heritage Square, Westminster's Frightmare Haunted House, and Littleton's Reinke Brothers Haunted Mansion.

What holiday activities are your family's favorites in the Denver/Front Range area? Let us know by sending an email to denver@parentsconnect.com and we'll add it to our list here!