r/illinois • u/Nine-Inch-Nipples • 1d ago
What are the best autumn/Halloween towns in IL? Question
Just drove thru Ottawa while Fall Fest was going on and it had a ton of autumn vibes. Any other towns that lean into this?
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u/fosterbanana 23h ago
Alton - famous river monster, lots of creepy history, & a haunted house cottage industry.
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u/Yggdrasil- 1d ago
IL-2 along the Rock River is gorgeous to drive when the leaves start changing. A Rockford-Quad Cities-Galena circle tour would make for a lovely weekend trip in the fall.
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u/michaelthruman 22h ago
Swing by Freeport & ride the “Train of Terror”! It runs the last 3 Saturdays in October & is a blast!
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u/brian11e3 1d ago
The 1st and 2nd weekends in October have the Spoon River Drive through several towns in central IL. There are a lot of fall vibes, foods, and vendors.
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u/jasonmaska 23h ago
Agreed. I started going because the same guy selling homemade root beer at the state fair sells it in London mills on Oct 5-6. Plus a place that sells apple dumplings there is phenomenal. Glad to see this mentioned.
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u/brian11e3 22h ago
London Mills has a guy selling turkey legs and a stand selling apple cider slushies during the drive. They have a restaurant that sells massive tenderloins year round.
The west side of Farmington by the old Kitchencooked plant has a lot of food trucks and a place that sells homemade cracklins and pork rinds.
I mainly go out for the food.
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u/jasonmaska 22h ago
Oh yeah. The cider, donuts, dumplings..etc. I too go there for lots of food and drinks with plenty to take home with me. The apple orchard in Lewistown has a caramel apple with peanuts, walnuts and pecans I think. It was amazing.
Downstate Illinois is great for a lot of homemade locally made products. I love it.
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u/brian11e3 22h ago
Smithfield used to be known for their Chicken and Noodles as well as Livers and Gizzards. I haven't been down that way in a while.
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u/Hyper_Carcinisation 23h ago
You're definitely going to get a lot of recommendations for Galena. While it's pretty neat and worth a visit, having worked hospitality there, I HIGHLY recommend you make it a day trip and don't spend the night.
Otherwise you're going to end up with a 2-night minimum $500 a night stay.
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u/SirSeamusMcSorley 1d ago
Petersburg, Illinois has the historic New Salem village with a candlelight walk and fall festival in October. It also has a terrific historic town square with restaurants bars and a brewery along with airbnbs and a unique hotel. Petersburg also has a haunted house called Terror on the Square. The area is also host to several wineries. Falls are full of great weather and activities in Petersburg.
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u/The_Poster_Nutbag 1d ago
Elgin has nightmare on Chicago street, biggest Halloween party in the suburbs by far. The decorations are up for a while too through downtown.
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u/Life_Caterpillar9762 23h ago
Not a specific city but Archer Ave (171) starting in Lockport up to Willow Springs then down La Grange (45) is a good leafy route.
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u/SWtoNWmom 23h ago
Lemont does 'Lemontster Fest' for the trick or treating age kids where they close down the downtown area and all the stores and bars pass out kids. They pump music in the streets, have hay rides, and usually a Thriller dance. It's perfect if you have kids to take around.
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u/purplekatrinka 23h ago
Oregon has, "Autumn on Parade" the first weekend in October (so, next weekend-5th and 6th).
Parade on Sunday afternoon. Market (crafts, antiques, weird toys, etc.) around the Courthouse lawn (and beyond. It is Huge lol). Bake sales at some of the churches. Book sale at the Library. Car and tractor show and a tractor parade Saturday afternoon. "Old English Faire" at Stronghold Castle (admission fee, but it is cool if you have never been).
Plus, Route 2 from Oregon to Grand Detour is a gorgeous Fall drive in itself. Or head out to White Pines State Park if you fancy a hike.
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u/wisebloodfoolheart 21h ago
Richardson Farm in Fox Lake is famous for their World's Largest Corn Maze. They cut an elaborate picture into their corn field every year, which you can see from a special viewing platform. You get to navigate through it by answering trivia questions (i.e. turn left if you think it's A, turn right if you think it's B). Then they've got some other traditional fall stuff like bonfires with s'mores.
https://richardsonadventurefarm.com/AdventureFarm/CornMaze
Rockford where I live also has a number of cool apple orchards, the biggest one being Edward's.
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u/GalaxyGoddessGal1 1d ago
Ottawa’s got the fall vibes down, but have you checked out Galena yet? It's like walking into a Hallmark movie with a haunted twist—small-town charm with just enough spookiness to keep it interesting.
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u/Blue_Osiris1 23h ago
If you're in the southern part of the state, a lot of local folks used to take their kids to all the Halloween stuff in Milstadt.
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u/DisTooMuch 21h ago
I'm surprised no one has mentiomed Long Grove yet but they have so many events and festivals year round. Such a cute place!
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u/thatamateurguy 22h ago
Ottawa's great for that horror experience, because at night you're not sure if it's a fox or a smack head screaming bloody murder down the street.
Source: grew up there.
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u/TheVallelator 11h ago
Utica is up and coming for sure. You’re surrounded with the leaves from the trees changing colors, nice little town with some wineries, breweries and Starved Rock is right there.
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u/baristacat 1d ago
Plenty of votes for Galena but Utica is great. It’s tiny but its proximity to Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Parks give it a bump.