From gourd displays to bumpy hayrides, fall means different things to different people. But it’s probably safe to say that at least one of your favorite autumnal activities will make an appearance at Lincoln Park Zoo’s Fall Fest.
If you go
Fall Fest at Lincoln Park Zoo
Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 30-Oct. 30 and Oct. 10
10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Free; per ride ticket, 10 for , 20 for
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The second annual celebration brings the traditions of fall into an urban setting every weekend, complete with a corn maze, hayrides through the Farm-in-the-Zoo, a hay mountain to scale and—most fun of all—a giant 60-foot burlap sack slide on the zoo’s Main Mall (hold on tight!).
Other fun includes a pumpkin carver, Ferris wheel, inflatables, educational activities and live entertainment. And if you don’t have time to make it out to one of the more traditionally scenic spots, you can pick your perfect jack-o-lantern in sight of the Hancock, thanks to a daily pumpkin patch in the middle of Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo.
And of course, while you’re there, you won’t want to miss the zoo’s main draw: those always adorable animals celebrating fall in their own ways. Because if you haven’t watched a dwarf mongoose play hide-and-seek in a jack-o-lantern, well, you haven’t really lived.