Fall Fun Activities in Huntersville
Fall in Huntersville brings cooler mornings, changing leaves, and a calendar full of things to do close to home. This guide covers fall fun activities for 2026, from corn mazes and pumpkin patches to festivals, trick-or-treat events, and Thanksgiving morning traditions.
The first section covers fall things to do that run for weeks at a time, so you can fit them in whenever your schedule allows. After that, fall events are listed by date through Thanksgiving.
We’re adding events as they’re announced, and photos after we attend, so check back as the season goes on.
Autumn Activities, Organized by Month
Find the month you’re planning for, then jump down to a full entry below for the details.
Things to Do in September
- Rural Hill Corn Maze: Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, starting September 5
- Pumpkin Patch at Sweetwater Farms: Wednesdays through Sundays, starting September 23
Things to Do in October
- Rural Hill Corn Maze: Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, through October 31
- Pumpkin Patch at Sweetwater Farms: Wednesdays through Sundays, all month
- Carolina Renaissance Festival: Saturdays and Sundays, starting October 3
- Fall Foliage Hikes: late October
- Huntersville United Methodist Church Fall Festival: Saturday, October 17
- Lake Norman Diwali: Saturday, October 17
- Samhain at the Hugh Torance House and Store: Sunday, October 25
- Halloween in Huntersville: Sunday, October 25
- Boo Bash Trunk or Treat at The Little Gym: Friday, October 30
Things to Do in November
- Pumpkin Patch at Sweetwater Farms: through November 1
- Carolina Renaissance Festival: Saturdays and Sundays, through November 22
- Fall Foliage Hikes: early to mid-November
- Birds & Brews at Carolina Raptor Center: Saturday, November 7
- Symphony Park Fall Festival & Pumpkin Patch: Saturday, November 7
- Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony: Saturday, November 14
- Sheepdog Trials and Dog Festival at Rural Hill: Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15
- Angels & Sparrows Turkey Trot: Thursday, November 26
Fall Things To Do
There are a lot of options for fall activities to choose from. The ones in this section run for weeks at a time, so you can go whenever it suits you. Looking for festivals, Halloween events, or Thanksgiving plans on a specific date? Those are in Fall Events, further down the page.
Rural Hill Corn Maze
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays, September 5 through October 31, 2026
Corn Maze | Historic Rural Hill, 4431 Neck Road | Tickets required
Every fall, Rural Hill Nature Preserve, the historic Davidson family homestead, turns part of its farmland into a corn maze. The maze has game stations to find along the way, and staff are on hand to help if you get turned around. Beyond the maze, there are hayrides, a pumpkin patch, bounce houses for kids, and food trucks. Night maze sessions run on select October evenings, so bring a flashlight or headlamp. Pets aren’t allowed in the maze. Set your GPS to Neck Road, since there’s no public entrance from Jim Kidd Road.
More About the Rural Hill Corn Maze
Pumpkin Patch at Sweetwater Farms
Wednesdays through Sundays, September 23 through November 1, 2026
Pumpkin Patch & Family Farm | 14412 Beatties Ford Road | Free to shop pumpkins; admission for the farm
Sweetwater Farms offers the kind of unstructured outdoor play that’s getting harder to find. Kids have a chance to dig in the dirt, splash in a water play area, and meet farm animals. Owner Susan Lurz, a children’s book author, opened it in 2017 as a real-life version of the farm in her book, The Sweetwater Animal Society, and she has kept shaping it around what visiting families need. In the fall, the farm adds a pumpkin patch with pumpkins in a range of colors and sizes, plus gourds for decorating. Shopping the patch is free. A farm ticket covers everything else, so if you’re staying, dress kids in clothes that can get dirty. On weekdays, the farm closes at 2 pm.
More About the Sweetwater Farms Pumpkin Patch
Carolina Renaissance Festival
Saturdays & Sundays, October 3 through November 22, 2026, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm
Ren Faire | 16445 Poplar Tent Road | Date-specific tickets required; kids 4 and under free
The Carolina Renaissance Festival turns a wooded stretch off Poplar Tent Road into a 16th-century village for eight weekends each fall, with jousting, falconry, 16 stages of music and comedy, and more than 140 artisan shops. Costumes (often called “garb”) are welcome but not required. Whatever you wear, dress for the weather and wear comfortable shoes. Most weekends have themes, and several offer free child admission with conditions. Tickets are date-specific and can sell out, so buy them online before you go. The food stands take cards, but many artisans prefer cash. Parking is free, and pets aren’t allowed. Thousands of people drive hours to visit this Huntersville attraction, so welcome them to our little town. Huzzah!
More About the Carolina Renaissance Festival
Fall Foliage Hikes
Late October through mid-November
Hiking Trails & Greenways | Latta Nature Preserve, Buckeye Cove Nature Preserve, Torrence Creek Greenway | Free
Cooler weather and changing leaves make late fall a good time to try one of Huntersville’s easy hiking trails. At Latta Nature Preserve, the short Buzzard Rock Trail ends at a wide view of Mountain Island Lake and the tree line around it, and the nearby Waterfront Trail is a shaded 0.8-mile loop with lake views. The Buckeye Loop at Buckeye Cove Nature Preserve is a quiet two-mile walk through beech and magnolia trees. If you’d rather stay on pavement, Torrence Creek Greenway is the shadier of the two greenways at the Gilead Road trailhead.
More About Easy Hikes in Huntersville
Fall Events
Unlike the activities above, these events happen on a single day or weekend, listed in date order. If one catches your eye, put it on the calendar, since most won’t come around again until next fall.
Huntersville United Methodist Church Fall Festival
Saturday, October 17, 2026, 10 am to 2 pm
Fall Festival | Huntersville United Methodist Church, 14005 Stumptown Rd | Free admission
Huntersville United Methodist Church’s Fall Festival brings local vendors selling goods and food to the church grounds, along with a bake sale and barbecue. Kids can climb on trucks at Touch-a-Truck, take a hayride, trick-or-treat, and play in the bounce houses, with games and music throughout. Admission is free, but bring money for the vendors and food. The festival draws all ages, mostly families, and moves indoors if it rains.
More About the Huntersville United Methodist Church Fall Festival
Lake Norman Diwali
Saturday, October 17, 2026, 1:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Cultural Festival | Veterans Park, 201 Huntersville-Concord Road | Free admission and parking
Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is one of the biggest holidays celebrated in India. Lake Norman Diwali, which started in 2025, brings the celebration to Veterans Park each fall. The afternoon includes music and dance performances, food trucks, a rangoli competition (colorful designs traditionally made with powder), and vendors selling clothing, jewelry, crafts, and more. The festival is organized by Heart2Harmony, a nonprofit focused on cultural awareness, with support from Huntersville Parks & Recreation. Whether it’s your first Diwali celebration or your fiftieth, you’ll be welcome here.
More About Lake Norman Diwali
Samhain at the Hugh Torance House and Store
Sunday, October 25, 2026, 1 pm to 4 pm
Living History Festival | Hugh Torance House and Store, 8231 Gilead Road | Free; RSVP online
Long before trick-or-treating, Celtic communities marked the end of the harvest with Samhain (pronounced SOW-in), the festival behind many Halloween traditions. The Hugh Torance House and Store celebrates it with a free living history afternoon. Re-enactors and artisans give hands-on demonstrations, there are lawn and folk games, and stories about where Halloween traditions came from are told by the cauldron. Costumes are welcome, whether colonial or Halloween. The store sells crafts, local honey, and treats, and the site’s StoryWalk trail is open to explore.
More About Samhain at the Store
Halloween in Huntersville
Sunday, October 25, 2026, 4 pm to 7 pm
Community Halloween Event | Huntersville Athletic Park, 11720 Verhoeff Drive | Free
Halloween in Huntersville is the Town of Huntersville’s free Halloween celebration at Huntersville Athletic Park, with trick-or-treat booths, live music, a costume contest with prizes, and activities for all ages. Food and drinks are available for purchase. Stay until the end for a drone show that lights up the sky over the park. Parking is at Lake Norman Charter High School and Central Piedmont Community College, with a trolley shuttle running from Lake Norman Charter.
More About Halloween in Huntersville
Boo Bash Trunk or Treat at The Little Gym
Friday, October 30, 2026, 5:30 pm to 7 pm
Trunk or Treat | The Park Medical Plaza, 9735 Kincey Avenue | Free; costumes welcome
The Little Gym of Huntersville-Lake Norman, a kids’ gymnastics and enrichment gym, hosts its Boo Bash Trunk or Treat in The Park Medical Plaza parking lot next to the gym. Kids in costume can trick-or-treat from decorated car trunks, play games, and enter raffles, and there are local vendors and food trucks on site. It’s free and open to everyone, and it’s an easy early-evening stop with younger kids to kick off Halloween weekend. Families and local businesses can sign up to decorate a trunk and hand out candy by contacting The Little Gym.
Birds & Brews at Carolina Raptor Center
Saturday, November 7, 2026, 1 pm to 4 pm (VIP entry at noon)
Beer Tasting Fundraiser | Carolina Raptor Center, 6000 Sample Road | 21+; advance tickets required
Birds & Brews is a 21+ fundraiser for Carolina Raptor Center, the nonprofit raptor hospital and education center at Latta Nature Preserve. Guests walk the Raptor Trail with a souvenir tasting glass, sampling beer, cider, and coffee from Charlotte-area vendors, including Huntersville’s own Primal Brewery, and see more than 30 birds of prey along the way. There’s live music, light bites, and a silent auction, with bird programs during the afternoon. Tickets are sold in advance only, in limited quantities, so it’s worth booking early.
Symphony Park Fall Festival & Pumpkin Patch
Saturday, November 7, 2026, 2 pm to 5 pm
Fall Festival | Symphony Park, 12221 Sam Furr Road | Free admission; RSVP requested
Symphony Park, an independent living community for seniors off Sam Furr Road, opens its grounds to the public for a free fall festival. There’s a pumpkin patch, live music, a caramel apple station, fall cider and beer, and local crafts. Admission is free, and food, drinks, and crafts are paid for with tickets you buy at the event with cash or card. It’s an easy fall outing to share with grandparents. The community asks guests to RSVP on its website.
More About the Symphony Park Fall Festival
Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony
Saturday, November 14, 2026, parade at 9:30 am, ceremony at 11 am
Parade & Ceremony | Downtown Huntersville and Veterans Park | Free
The Town of Huntersville, American Legion Post 321, and American Legion Auxiliary Unit 321 host a Veterans Day parade through downtown each November, followed by a ceremony at Veterans Park honoring local veterans. The parade steps off at 9:30 am, and the ceremony begins at 11am. Arrive early for a spot along the route, and bring a chair if you plan to stay for both. Local groups and businesses can apply to march in the parade through the Town’s website, or pick up a paper application at Town Hall.
More About the Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony
Sheepdog Trials and Dog Festival at Rural Hill
Saturday & Sunday, November 14 and 15, 2026, 10 am to 5 pm
Dog Festival | Historic Rural Hill, 4431 Neck Road | Tickets required; leashed dogs welcome
At the Sheepdog Trials and Dog Festival, herding dogs guide sheep through a course across the fields of Rural Hill Nature Preserve, working from nothing but a handler’s whistle and voice commands. Around the trials, there are dog sports and demos like agility, obedience, and trick performances, plus pet-friendly vendors and food trucks. Well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome, and Saturday afternoon includes Huntersville’s Next Top Dog Show, open to entries. The festival runs rain or shine. Set your GPS to Neck Road, since there’s no public entrance from Jim Kidd Road.
More About the Sheepdog Trials and Dog Festival
Angels & Sparrows Turkey Trot
Thursday, November 26, 2026, 7 am (trot starts at 8 am)
Family 5K | Fleet Feet, Birkdale Village | Registration required; kids under 6 free
The Angels & Sparrows Turkey Trot has been a Thanksgiving morning tradition at Birkdale Village since 2011, raising money for Angels & Sparrows, a nonprofit that supports local families in need. Music, coffee, hot chocolate, and donuts start at 7 am outside Fleet Feet, and the 5K kicks off at 8 am. The trot is untimed, but there’s a clock if you want to know your time. Walkers, strollers, and dogs are all welcome and start at the back of the pack. Park in the movie theater lot. Other local businesses supporting the trot include Huntersville Family Fitness & Aquatics, Movement Matters, HydraLive Therapy, and 760 Craft Works.
More About the Angels & Sparrows Turkey Trot
Final Thoughts on Fall in Huntersville
Most of what’s on this list happens within a few miles of home, and much of it is free. Pick a weekend, grab a jacket, and enjoy the season.
Thank you to Carolina Raptor Center for sharing photos, and to the organizers, businesses, and nonprofits who answered our questions.
Events change, and new ones get announced all season. If something here has changed or you know of an event we should add, let us know.
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