things to do near you

Things to do in Salt Lake County this fall and Christmas

Okay so this is everything going on in Salt Lake County this fall and then Christmas, the big stuff like WitchFest and Wheeler Farm and Temple Square and the little town stuff in West Jordan and Riverton and Murray, all in one place. Tap anything you want to do and I'll put it on your bucket list for you, and if you want the addresses and the dates and all that, "make my plan" builds it and puts it on your calendar.

Last updated September 28, 2026. Dates come from each event's own page and I recheck them all season, but tap the link and double check before you load up the car.

Fall Christmas Any weekend More Utah areas
the big stuff

Fall in Salt Lake County9 things

The ones people drive in from other counties for. Most of them run the whole season, so you don't have to pick a weekend yet.

FreeLittle kidsDate night
WitchFest at Gardner VillageWest Jordan
Sept 18 to Oct 31
The whole village fills up with witch displays, and there's a free scavenger hunt (finish it and it's a $1 cookie at the bakery), and the live witches are out Thursdays through Saturdays in October.
Little kids
Pumpkin Days at Wheeler FarmMurray
Sept 25 to Oct 31
The not scary one, a hay maze and a corn pit and duck races, and the pumpkin patch itself is free to walk into.
Little kidsTeens
Cross E Ranch Fall FestivalSalt Lake City
late September to about Oct 30 · check the date
Salt Lake County's last working cattle ranch, with three corn mazes and a giant corn pit and pig races and pony rides, and the apple cider donuts people drive up for.
TeensDate night
The Crazy Corn MazeWest Jordan
fall evenings, open into early November · check the date
Two corn mazes, a Halloween light show set to music, and a haunted trail for the older kids.
Little kids
Schmidt's Farm and GreenhouseWest Jordan
through October · check the date
A mini corn maze that's perfect for little first timers, big slides, hayrides and a pumpkin patch.
Little kidsDate night
BooLights at Hogle ZooSalt Lake City
select October nights, 6:30 to 9:30 · check the date
The zoo after dark all lit up for Halloween, and it's not scary at all. Most of the animals are asleep, so go for the lights.
Little kids
Boo at the ZooSalt Lake City
a Saturday in late October (last year Oct 25, 9 to 3) · check the date
Daytime trick or treating all through the zoo in costume, so bring your own bucket.
Little kids
Little Haunts at This is the PlaceSalt Lake City
October weekends, 10 to 5 · check the date
Costumes on, trick or treating through the pioneer village, a storytelling witch, pony and train rides and the creepy crawly animal encounters.
Little kidsDate night
BOOtanical at Red Butte GardenSalt Lake City
the last two weeks of October (last year Oct 17 to 30) · check the date
Red Butte decorated for Halloween with day hours and night hours, and the nights are the ones to pick since you almost never get to see the garden in the dark.
town by town

The little stuff, by town5 things

The city Halloween parties and the trunk or treats and the free stuff. Cities post their 2026 dates late, so anything marked "check the date" gets fixed the second it's announced.

Fall in West Jordan

FreeLittle kids
Halloween movie Mondays at the library
Mondays in October at 7 (Oct 5, 12, 19, 26)
A family Halloween movie on the big screen every Monday night, bring your own dinner, and it's The Addams Family and Hotel Transylvania and Wallace and Gromit this year.
FreeLittle kids
County library costume swap
Sat Oct 17, 2 to 3 (drop off at any branch Oct 5 to 14)
Bring the costumes your kids outgrew and take home new to you ones, for free.
FreeTeens
Teen Halloween at the library
Fri Oct 23, 7:30 to 10
Games and music and a costume contest, made for younger teens.

Fall in Riverton

FreeLittle kidsTeens
Riverton Halloween Bash
Mon Oct 12 at 6
Games and candy for the little kids and the Scare Rodeo spook alley for the brave ones, and a photo station.

Fall in Murray

FreeDate night
Pumpkin Boo-tique at Wheeler Farm
a Friday in October (last year Oct 10, 4 to 8) · check the date
A free night market at the farm with local makers and small shops.
and the stuff at home

For the rest of your list

These don't need an address, tap them and they go on your list with everything else.

lights and trains

Christmas in Salt Lake County12 things

GENTRI is confirmed for Nov 27 and 28, and the rest show last year's windows until they post. Christkindlmarkt is only four days and Hale's Christmas Carol sells out, so those are the ones to plan first.

Date night
Pinners ConferenceSandy
early November (last year Nov 6 to 8) · check the date
Hundreds of boutiques and a hundred plus classes, and it's where everybody gets a jump on Christmas gifts.
This is how I start the season.
Date night
GENTRI ChristmasSalt Lake City
Nov 27 and 28
The tenor trio's Christmas show, and it kicks off the Christmas concert season downtown.
We see GENTRI every year.
Sells outDate night
A Christmas Carol at Hale Centre TheatreSandy
late Nov through December (shows start Nov 27) · check the date
Hale's version of the Dickens classic, and the good seats go fast so buy early.
One of our every year Christmas things.
Date night
Christmas with Millennial Choirs & OrchestrasSalt Lake area
early December, dates post on their site · check the date
Hundreds of kids and youth and adult voices with a full symphony orchestra, all Christmas music honoring the birth of Jesus Christ.
We go every year.
FreeLittle kidsDate night
Holiday Window Stroll at The Grand AmericaSalt Lake City
late November through New Year's, the 2026 theme posts in November · check the date
Fourteen decorated windows that tell a story all the way around the hotel, plus the giant gingerbread house inside.
We go see the windows every year.
FreeLittle kidsDate night
Temple Square Christmas lightsSalt Lake City
the day after Thanksgiving to New Year's (last year Nov 28 to Jan 1), 4:30 to 10 · check the date
The one everybody goes to, and it's free. Take TRAX in if you can, because parking downtown is the hard part.
FreeLittle kidsDate night
ChristkindlmarktSalt Lake City
starts Dec 2, four days, 11 to 8 · check the date
A German Christmas market with wooden booths and all the food and St. Nikolaus and a live nativity, and it's only four days so put it on the calendar now.
Little kidsDate night
ZooLights at Hogle ZooSalt Lake City
select nights late Nov to early Jan (last year Nov 28 to Jan 4), 5:30 to 9 · check the date
The zoo lit up for Christmas with Santa in the gift shop through the 23rd and the carousel running, and it happens snow or shine so bundle up.
Little kidsDate night
Lightwalk at Tracy AviarySalt Lake City
late Nov to Dec 31, closed Christmas (last year Nov 21 to Dec 31) · check the date
Eight acres of lights in Liberty Park with a walk through tunnel, and Santa is in a life size gingerbread house every night from 6 to 8.
Little kids
Christmas in Color South JordanSouth Jordan
mid November to New Year's (last year opened Nov 14) · check the date
A drive through light show synced to music on your car radio, so nobody has to get out in the cold.
Date night
Ballet West The NutcrackerSalt Lake City
late Nov to Dec 27 (last year Nov 28 to Dec 27) · check the date
This is the longest running Nutcracker in the country, right here in Salt Lake.
Little kidsDate night
Lantern Festival at the aquariumDraper
through Jan 10 · check the date
Giant lit up lanterns outside the aquarium, and yes it's cold, and yes it's worth it.
town by town

Town Christmas stuff

The town stuff, and I'll add the tree lightings as the cities post them in November.

Christmas in Salt Lake City

Date night
Brunch at The Grand America
Sundays, plus Saturdays through the holidays (last year Nov 29 to Dec 27) · check the date
The all you can eat brunch at Laurel inside the hotel, with cooking stations and the made to order stuff.
It's all you can eat and we go every year.
Little kidsDate night
Gallivan Center ice rink
late November through winter · check the date
Outdoor skating downtown with the Glow lights up around the plaza.
FreeLittle kids
Macy's candy windows at City Creek
late November through Christmas · check the date
The candy windows at Macy's and the big tree at City Creek, and it's free and right on the way to Temple Square.
We see these every year.

Christmas in Herriman

Little kidsDate night
Herriman Ice Ribbon
opens early December (last year Dec 2), reserve two weeks ahead · check the date
An ice ribbon that winds around the plaza with fire pits to warm up at, and they have walkers for the little skaters.
We go skating here every year.
and the stuff at home

For the rest of your Christmas list

This is the at-home stuff, tap them and they go on your list with the lights and the train.

put it on the wall

Turn your Christmas picks into a real bucket list

Tap the lights and the trains and the town stuff you want and pick the Christmas design you like, and I'll hold onto your picks. The Christmas lists are coming soon, and the second they're up your picks drop straight into the slots.

See the Christmas designs (coming soon)
no tickets, no dates

Good any weekend7 things

The stuff that doesn't need a date, for the Saturday when nothing's going on.

Little kids
Natural History Museum of UtahSalt Lake City
The dinosaur hall and the gems and the view of the whole valley from the top floor.
Little kids
Discovery Gateway Children's MuseumSalt Lake City
The children's museum at the Gateway, made for the littles.
FreeLittle kids
Clark PlanetariumSalt Lake City
The exhibits are free, and the dome shows are the ones worth buying tickets for.
Little kids
Utah's Hogle ZooSalt Lake City
The zoo, and the last Wednesday of the month is the cheap day.
Little kids
Tracy AviarySalt Lake City
Eight acres of birds in the corner of Liberty Park, and the park itself has the playground and the rides.
Little kids
Loveland Living Planet AquariumDraper
This is what we do when it rains, the penguins and the shark tunnel and the otters.
FreeLittle kids
Big Cottonwood Canyon leaf driveBig Cottonwood Canyon
Drive up to Silver Lake at Brighton and walk the boardwalk around the lake, it's flat and easy for little legs, and the leaves peak late September into early October.
people ask me

Salt Lake County fall and Christmas questions

When is WitchFest at Gardner Village in 2026?

WitchFest runs September 18 through October 31, 2026 at Gardner Village in West Jordan. Walking the witch displays and doing the scavenger hunt is free, and the breakfasts and dinner shows are ticketed and sell out.

What free fall things are there to do in Salt Lake County?

The Riverton Halloween Bash on October 12, the county library Halloween movies every Monday in October at the Viridian in West Jordan, the library costume swap on October 17, the WitchFest displays at Gardner Village, the Wheeler Farm pumpkin patch (free to walk in), and a leaf drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Silver Lake.

Where are the Christmas lights in Salt Lake County?

Temple Square downtown (free), ZooLights at Hogle Zoo, Lightwalk at Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park, Christmas in Color in South Jordan, and the Lantern Festival at the aquarium in Draper.

When is Christkindlmarkt in Salt Lake City in 2026?

It starts December 2, 2026 at This is the Place Heritage Park, runs four days from 11 to 8, and it is free to get in.

What is there to do in Salt Lake County on a rainy day?

The Natural History Museum of Utah, Discovery Gateway children's museum, Clark Planetarium (the exhibits are free), and the aquarium in Draper.

Amy
who's writing this

Hi, I'm Amy.

We roadschool six kids out of a van. I'm just a mom with a Ford Transit and a lot of opinions about corn mazes, so if something on here is wrong, or your town's party is missing, email me at hello@bellebucket.com and I'll fix it.

put it on the wall

Turn your picks into a real bucket list

Tap the ones you want and I'll drop them onto whichever fall design you pick, then you add your own stuff (birthdays, carving pumpkins, whatever your family does). It prints big, like 24x36 big, and it hangs on the wall all season.

See the fall designs

If you run one of these events and want it on here, or something's off, email hello@bellebucket.com. I'd love to have you.

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