ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR – JORGE GUERRERO
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT 25, 2023
As the weather cools down and we transition to another season, rattlers look to explore the city and its extensive fall attractions. Looking into all of the crevices in and around the San Antonio area, The Rattler compiled a list of trending pumpkin patches and haunted houses for students to visit this autumn.
Starting off in the heart of downtown, the San Antonio Pumpkin festival at Town Square, adjacent to the historic Pearl, is one of the best autumn attractions near campus. With admission starting at $12, visitors to the attraction can choose from over 50 varieties of pumpkins for all fall decorating needs. Including a corn maze, modern pumpkin art exhibit, bouncy pumpkin, and instagram photo-ops galore, the San Antonio Pumpkin Festival will be open until October 29th.
Another local pumpkin patch is located a few miles south, further into downtown San Antonio. Here, the Tower of Americas is hosting their annual pumpkin patch at the base of the iconic skyscraper. Featuring photo-ops with pumpkins and other beautiful fall displays, their fall pumpkin patch is free to the public and open daily from 7 PM to 11 PM until November 19th.
Though 30 minutes east of San Antonio and in La Vernia, the Circle N Corn Maze is a San Antonio adjacent fall favorite from locals. Featuring a wide selection of pumpkins perfect for carving and decorating, their main attraction is their annual corn maze. This year, organizers at the Circle N Corn Maze selected their theme carefully to fit the occasion and made a “Hocus Pocus” themed corn maze after the memorable Disney movie. Open Fridays through Sundays from October 6th through the 29th, admission is $12 for anyone ages 3 and up.
Closing our list of pumpkin patch attractions. Another one that is a 30-minute drive from campus is the Jenschke Orchards. This farm in Fredericksburg has an extensive pumpkin patch full of autumnal vegetation worthy of multiple photo-ops, a Texas sized jumpy pillow, pony rides, and their main attraction this year, A corn maze paying homage to the Queen of Country – Reba McEntire. Graduate student Scout Mcann told The Rattler, “I’m an annual visitor to the Jenschke Orchards. Their corn maze theme has never been closer to my heart than this one. Even though I will probably get lost like last year, I will venture through the corn for Queen Reba”. Visitors can get in on the agritainment at Jenschke Orchards until the 29th of October and admission is $14 per person for anyone ages 3 and older.
Jumping into the spooky side of autumnal activities, the popular 13th Floor Haunted House is coming back for what they are saying is “their most terrifying season yet”, according to an announcement from their organizers. The 13th floor is introducing new areas to the multilevel haunted house called The Deadlands and The Rot Shop. Previews for the new areas on social media show the new rooms will include fungus monsters similar to this year’s popular HBO show and video game, The Last of Us. Open until October 31st and then opening briefly again November 3rd, 4th, and 11th, admission starts at $19. Closing out our list of spooky attractions, Fright Fest at Six Flags Fiesta Texas is one of San Antonio’s most popular haunted experiences. Six Flags’ annual Fright Fest sees the theme park get taken over by ghosts, ghouls, and zombies. The anticipated attraction returns with haunted houses inside the park like RockKill High School, SlaughterHouse 6 Xtreme, Buried Alive, as well as their newest haunted house Twisted Theatre of Torment. The new attraction takes place in the Twisted Twine Puppet Theater, where Mr. Tangles and his Puppets are dying to put on a show for visitors and thrill seekers. Open until October 31st, prices and hours for Fright Fest vary starting at $49 for daily passes. These fall attractions range from different pockets of the city but are all worthy of a visit. From aesthetically pleasing pumpkin patches and beautifully grown corn mazes to the screams and horrors of late October nights, all the autumn attractions listed are worthy of a visit no matter the distance or price.