Fall Things to Do in Orange County With Kids (2026 Guide)

Hey there! Fall is my FAVORITE season around here, and not just because the pumpkin spice shows up in August. The best fall things to do in Orange County with kids are packed into about eight weeks, from mid September through Halloween, and a lot of them need to be booked ahead. So I put every date in one place for you. Two free air shows, a pile of pumpkin patches, apple picking about ninety minutes away, Oktoberfest, the Redo Market in Dana Point, and the community stuff right here in Ladera Ranch. Screenshot it, send it to your group chat, and go have a good fall!

If you like these local roundups, I have a bunch more over on the blog.

The Best Fall Things to Do in Orange County With Kids, All in One Place

Here is the whole fall at a glance, in date order, so you can see what overlaps before you plan anything.

Event	Dates (2026)	Where	Cost	Book ahead?
Redo Market	Sunday, Aug 30, 9am to 5pm	Del Prado Ave, Dana Point	Free	No
Dana Point Maritime Festival (Tall Ships)	Sept 11 to 13	Ocean Institute, Dana Point Harbor	Free and ticketed options	For sails and tours, yes
Irvine Park Railroad Pumpkin Patch	Sept 12 to Oct 31	Orange	$8 per activity ticket, $3 to $7 park entry	Weekends Sept 26 on, YES
Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze	Sept 12 to Nov 1	Irvine	Ticketed	Yes
Oktoberfest at Old World	Sept 12 to Nov 8, Wed through Sun	Huntington Beach	Free to $35	For evenings, yes
Miramar Air Show	Sept 25 to 27	MCAS Miramar, San Diego	FREE, parking free too	No, but bring ID
Redo Market at the OC Fairgrounds	Sept 25 to 26	Costa Mesa	Ticketed	Recommended
Zoomars pumpkin patch	Open daily 10am to 4pm, pumpkin dates TBA	Los Rios St, San Juan Capistrano	$13 to $16	Weekends, yes
Pumpkin City	Oct 1 to 31	Laguna Hills	Free entry, rides ticketed	No
Pacific Airshow	Oct 2 to 4, about 10:30am to 4:30pm	Huntington City Beach	Free from the sand, tickets from $10	Only for reserved seating
Hana Field Pumpkin Patch	Oct 3 to Nov 1, Wed through Sun	Costa Mesa	$23 to $27, parking $12 weekends	YES, required
Ladera Ranch Harvest Festival	Saturday, Oct 17, 12pm to 3pm	Ladera Ranch	Free for residents	No
Apple picking in Oak Glen	Labor Day weekend to Thanksgiving	Oak Glen, about 90 min away	About $3 to $3.50 per pound	Some farms yes

Dates and prices do shift, so click through and confirm before you drive. I checked everything here in late August 2026, but farms and festivals update all the time.

Miramar Air Show: September 25 to 27

The Miramar Air Show is the biggest military air show in the country and it is completely FREE, including parking.

It is at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, so figure about an hour and fifteen from Ladera Ranch without traffic. The Blue Angels and Fat Albert are on the 2026 lineup. There are static aircraft you can walk right up to, an expo inside an F-18 hangar, and civilian aerobatic performers between the military demos.

Two things that trip people up. Anyone 18 and over needs a valid government issued ID to get on base. And "free parking" still means a long walk, so bring a wagon for little kids, plus sunscreen and way more water than you think you need.

Pacific Airshow Huntington Beach: October 2 to 4

The Pacific Airshow runs Friday through Sunday, roughly 10:30am to 4:30pm each day, with show center on PCH between Twin Dolphin and Beach Blvd.

This one is a totally different vibe than Miramar. Sand, beach chairs, the whole coastline packed with people looking up. Huntington Beach is about 45 minutes up the 405 from South County on a good day, and airshow weekend is not a good day, so leave early.

Let us clear this up: you do NOT need a ticket to watch the Pacific Airshow. Big stretches of Huntington City Beach are free viewing. Tickets start around $10 and go all the way up past $3,800 for cabanas and RV packages, but those buy you a reserved spot, shade and bathrooms, not access to the show itself. If you have a big group and small kids, the paid option can be worth it. If you have older kids and a beach cart, the free sand is great.

Details from the Pacific Airshow and Visit Huntington Beach.

Pumpkin Patches in Orange County

Go the second or third week the patches open, not the last weekend before Halloween. The pumpkins are better, the lines are shorter, and it is usually 15 degrees cooler.

South Orange County pumpkin patches

• Pumpkin City's Pumpkin Farm in Laguna Hills, October 1 to 31, at 24203 Avenida de la Carlota. Rides, games, festival food, a beer garden for the grownups, and live entertainment every day. This is the closest one to Ladera Ranch and it is a classic.

• Zoomars at River Street Ranch in San Juan Capistrano, 31791 Los Rios St, open daily 10am to 4pm with last entry at 3:30. Admission runs $16 for ages 13 to 59, $13 for kids 3 to 12 and seniors, $11 per person for military families, and free for babies under 3. The petting zoo, pony rides and gem mining carry the whole morning, and they add pumpkins in the fall. Their 2026 pumpkin dates were not posted yet when I wrote this, so check their site first.

Worth the drive north

• Tanaka Farms in Irvine is one of the only real u-pick patches in OC, and this year it runs September 12 through November 1. Wagon rides out to the field, a corn maze, a barnyard exhibit, and the PUMPKIN CANNON, which my kids would watch for an hour. Tickets sell out, so book the day they release.

• Hana Field in Costa Mesa is the same Tanaka family, different feel. Opens Friday, October 3 and runs Wednesday through Sunday, 10am to 6pm, through November 1, at 427 Anton Blvd. Admission is $23 midweek and $27 Friday through Sunday, and military rates are half that. Reservations are REQUIRED and the whole place is cashless. Go October 3 to 10 and you get the midweek price any day plus free parking, otherwise weekend parking is $12.

• Irvine Park Railroad Pumpkin Patch in Orange runs September 12 through October 31. Reservations are required for weekends from September 26 on, and online booking opens September 9 at 10am. Weekdays and the first two weekends do not need a reservation, which is my favorite hack for this one. Activity tickets are $8 each and Orange County charges $3 to $7 per car to enter the park.

Apple Picking Near Orange County

There is no apple picking in Orange County itself, but Oak Glen is about ninety minutes away and it feels like a different state.

Apple season runs from Labor Day weekend through Thanksgiving weekend, and earlier is better. Different varieties ripen week to week, so the orchard you pick in September is not the same one in November. Expect around $3.00 to $3.50 per pound.

The Oak Glen apple picking guide is a good starting point, but here is the short version:

• Los Rios Rancho is the biggest apple farm in Southern California, over 100 acres and 30 plus varieties. No reservation and no entry fee. They give you the bags and the picking poles, and you need closed toe shoes.

• Riley's Farm has 30 plus varieties on century old trees plus colonial themed activities. Apples sold by weight.

• Snow-Line Orchard is where you go for the mini cider donuts. Just trust me on this one.

The whole thing sits on a five mile loop, so you can hit two or three farms in a day. Go on a Thursday if you can swing it, weekends in October are BUSY. And Julian is the other option if you would rather drive southeast, though Oak Glen is closer for most of South County.

Redo Market in Dana Point

The Redo Vintage & Makers Market takes over Del Prado Avenue in the Lantern District, it is free to walk, and the next one is Sunday, August 30, from 9am to 5pm.

Over 200 vendors, live music, food and drinks, and the whole street closed down. Vintage clothing, surf stuff, home decor, antiques, jewelry. It is one of my favorite ways to spend a Sunday morning in Dana Point even if I buy nothing.

Parking is the thing people stress about and they should not. There is free parking at Dana Hills High School with a trolley running 9am to 8pm, plus free lots around town and e-bike corrals. Park at the high school, ride the trolley in, done.

Redo also does an indoor version at the OC Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa on September 25 and 26, Friday 4pm to 9pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm, with 130 plus vendors across three buildings. A fall Dana Point date has been teased but not announced yet, so follow @redo_market if you want the heads up.

Oktoberfest at Old World in Huntington Beach

Oktoberfest at Old World runs September 12 through November 8, Wednesday through Sunday, at 7561 Center Ave in Huntington Beach, and it is the longest running fall event on this whole list.

Here is the part most people do not realize. It is TWO different events depending on when you go. The evening sessions Friday and Saturday are 21 and over, and those are the beer hall, chicken dance, live band, $10 to $35 kind of nights. But midweek and Saturday daytime, 11am to 4pm, are all ages, and

Sunday is family day with kids 12 and under free.

So if you want the pretzels and the oompah band with your kids, go Saturday afternoon or Sunday. If you want the actual German beer fest, get a sitter and go Friday night. Wednesday and Thursday are free online.

Fall Events Close to Home in Ladera Ranch and South OC

You do not have to leave a five mile radius to have a great fall, and honestly some of the best stuff is right here.

Ladera Ranch (full calendar at Laderalife):

• Harvest Festival, Saturday, October 17, 12pm to 3pm. Music, games, crafts, food trucks, photo ops and a costume contest.

• Halloween Home Decorating Contest, October 15 to 28. Some of these houses go ALL OUT.

• Ladera Run for Hope, Saturday, October 24, 7am to 9am.

• Teen Movie Night and Haunted Maze, Saturday, October 24, 7pm to 10pm. Finally something for the big kids!

Dana Point: the Maritime Festival at the Ocean Institute runs September 11 to 13, and 2026 is the 42nd year. Tall ship deck tours, cannon battle reenactments, pirate and mermaid experiences, touch tanks, and a Sails 'n Ales beer tasting for the adults on Friday night. The live music, beer gardens and vendor village are free Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm, and the ship access and cannon battles are ticketed. Heads up, there is NO on site festival parking. Ride the free Dana Point Trolley in.

More South OC ideas live in my Ladera Ranch blog posts.

A Few Local Things I Have Learned the Hard Way

October in South Orange County is not sweater weather. It is 88 degrees and Santa Ana winds. Every year I see families show up to a pumpkin patch in flannel and regret it by 11am. Dress for summer, bring the flannel for the photos, change into it for thirty seconds, take the picture, take it off.

The second thing: the two air show weekends and the pumpkin patch weekends stack right on top of each other. Miramar is September 25 to 27, the Redo Market at the fairgrounds is September 25 to 26, and Irvine Park Railroad weekend reservations open September 9. If you want all three you have to plan in early September, not late.

And if you are new to the area and still figuring out which town puts you closest to all of this, I wrote about the best South OC neighborhoods for families.

Why a Local Agent Is Worth Having in Your Corner

I am not just the person who knows what is for sale. I am the person who knows which pumpkin patch is worth the drive and which street in Ladera goes big for Halloween.

I live here, my kids go to school here, and I hand deliver a newsletter to my neighbors every month with the community calendar in it. That is the same reason I am useful when you are buying or selling. I know which villages get the good trick or treating, where the traffic backs up on airshow weekend, and what a home is actually worth on this street versus the one behind it. You can read more about me here.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far in advance should I book fall things to do in Orange County with kids?

Two to four weeks for anything ticketed. Irvine Park Railroad opens weekend reservations September 9 at 10am for the September 26 through October 31 weekends, Hana Field requires a reservation for every visit, and Tanaka Farms tickets go fast once they release. The air shows and the Redo Market need no booking at all, just an early start.

Is the Pacific Airshow in Huntington Beach free?

Yes, you can watch it for free from a lot of Huntington City Beach. Tickets start around $10 and buy you a reserved spot, shade and bathrooms rather than access. With small kids in a big group, the paid option is often worth it.

Is the Miramar Air Show really free?

It is. General admission and parking are both free at MCAS Miramar for September 25 to 27, 2026. Just remember that everyone 18 and over needs a government issued photo ID to get on base.

Where can you go apple picking near Orange County?

Oak Glen, about 90 minutes northeast, is the closest real apple country. Los Rios Rancho, Riley's Farm and Snow-Line Orchard all sit on the same five mile loop. Season runs Labor Day weekend through Thanksgiving and apples run about $3.00 to $3.50 per pound.

What is the best pumpkin patch in South Orange County?

For little ones, Zoomars at River Street Ranch in San Juan Capistrano, because the petting zoo and pony rides carry the whole morning. For a bigger classic carnival feel, Pumpkin City in Laguna Hills, open October 1 to 31. For actual u-pick, Tanaka Farms in Irvine is the one worth the drive.

Can you bring kids to Oktoberfest at Old World?

Yes, but only at the right times. Midweek sessions and Saturday daytime from 11am to 4pm are all ages, and Sunday is family day with kids 12 and under free. The Friday and Saturday evening sessions are 21 and over.

When is the Ladera Ranch Harvest Festival in 2026?

Saturday, October 17, from 12pm to 3pm. Expect music, crafts, games, food trucks and a costume contest. Check Laderalife for the location and any updates as it gets closer.

Have a Great Fall!

That is my whole list of fall things to do in Orange County with kids for 2026. Save it, share it with a neighbor, and go make some memories before it all turns into Christmas lights.

And if you find yourself driving through Ladera Ranch this fall thinking "could we live here?", or you are looking at your own house wondering what it is worth right now, I would love to help. Are you thinking of buying or selling? Reach out anytime through taylorannrealestate.com.

Thanks!

Taylor