The Best Fall Activities to Do in Western Germany
As the leaves turn brilliant shades of red and gold, and the air takes on a crisp, refreshing chill, autumn arrives in all its glory in Germany. Fall is a magical season, filled with warm drinks, cozy sweaters, and a sense of nostalgia that beckons us outdoors to savor the beauty of nature. Honestly, fall might be my favorite season in Germany when it starts to cool down, before the rain and wind arrives.
If you’re local to the KMC, there are many local festivities to do in the area, with some within a few hours. From pumpkin displays, to beer filled festivals, to wine festivals, Germany knows how to celebrate fall. Here’s a list of some of my favorite vibrant, fall activities to do in Western Germany to ensure your autumn adventure is nothing short of spectacular.
Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival
The Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival is the largest pumpkin festival in the world with over 400,000 pumpkins scattered throughout the palace grounds. Every year, the theme changes with towering pumpkin displays.
Like many other fall festivals, you’ll get to enjoy all the pumpkin flavored food and drink, such as pumpkin secco and beer, pumpkin waffles, and pumpkin pie.
The festival takes place from end of August until beginning of November. They offer a ton of events throughout the time frame such as the pumpkin regatta, Germany’s largest pumpkin soup, weighing the heaviest pumpkins, and more.
For more information, you can check out Ultimate Guide to Visiting the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival for all the details you need to plan your visit.
Pumpkin Paradise at Bauer Lipp
Bauer Lipp grows over 140 different varieties of pumpkins in their fields. They offer a 40,000 m² corn maze to adventure through, as well as pumpkin carving, different pumpkin food options, and a playground for the littles. Sadly, dogs are not allowed on site during pumpkin season.
Open from end of August until beginning of November, 10:00 am until 7:00 pm. Admission prices are €5.00 for adults and €4.00 for children. Bauer Lipp is about an hour from the KMC.
Gartenschau Kaiserslautern
In September and October, Gartenschau Kaiserslautern adds over 45,000 pumpkins in numerous pumpkin displays throughout their park. If you’ve traveled to other pumpkin events around Germany, you may notice some of the same displays from previous years!
In addition to visiting each pumpkin display and taking all the photographs, you can play mini golf, enjoy the skate park, visit their incredible Lego display, and wander through all the different gardens and find the dinosaurs.
Admission prices are €8.00 online/€9.50 in person for adults, €4.00 online/€4.50 in person for children 6-14, and below 6 free. They also offer family tickets for up to 3 children.
Erlebnisbauernhof Gertrudenhof
Another fall activity in Germany to check out is Gertrudenhof Adventure Farm. Located near Cologne, experience Germany’s most famous pumpkin patch.
From extensive pumpkin displays and statues, to bounce castles for the children, to delicious pumpkin food and drink and a farmer’s market, there is something for everyone.
Tip: Tickets are limited and they recommend purchasing tickets ahead of time, especially for weekends when they are usually fully booked. Purchase your tickets online directly from their website.
Open daily from the beginning of September until the beginning of November. Gertrudenhof Adventure Farm is located about 3 hours from the KMC.
Krewelshof Eifel
Located 30 minutes from Gertrudenhof Adventure Farm, Krewelshof Eifel offers an extensive pumpkin show with more than 100,000 pumpkins. There are numerous, large pumpkin figures surrounding their lake on site, as well as a restaurant and farm shop.
You can also visit Krewelshof Lohmar, that offers a corn maze, the iconic pumpkin pyramid, and see the pumpkin race across the lake with people actually rowing across in real, large sized pumpkins.
The pumpkin show takes place daily from the beginning of September until the beginning of November 11:00 am until 5:30 pm.
You can purchase tickets online in advance or on site, and it does cost slightly more on weekends compared to during the week. There is free parking available and dogs are allowed on leashes.
Maislabyrinth Wallau
Maislabyrinth Wallau has a huge corn maze with six hidden stations inside to solve the quiz on agriculture. There are also large pumpkin figures, pumpkin towers, and pumpkin carving on site.
They also offer on select nights going through the corn maze with flashlights and their pumpkin statues illuminated.
Open daily from beginning of September until October 31st. Admission for adults is €7.00 and €4.50 for children. Maislabryinth Wallau is about an hour from the KMC. Please note any weather related changes or closures on their social media and website before visiting.
Appel Happel
What’s more fall than apple picking? Appel Happel offers a selection of 15 different apple varieties on their property.
On weekends in September and the beginning of October, from 10:00am until 5:00pm, they offer a small “Mainzer Apfelfest” with coffee, cakes, and drinks. Shop around their Farmer’s Shop for regional fruit and vegetables, juices, jams, and wine.
They’re open from end of August until October, but I recommend going before the end of September incase all the apples have been picked. Appel Happel is about an hour away from the KMC.
Bernkastel-Kues Wine Festival
The first wine festival to kick off in Germany is the Bernkastel-Kues Weinfest. Located in the Moselle wine region, Bernkastel-Kues transforms into a wine lover’s paradise for 5 days in the beginning of September.
The whole Moselle area celebrates their rich winemaking heritage during the festival, offering numerous wine varieties and foods to divulge in, celebrating the Wine Queen, and enjoying a stunning fireworks show over the Moselle.
Bernkastel-Kues is located about 45 minutes away from the KMC. If you’re curious about all the details, check out my guide to the Bernkastel-Kues Weinfest. I consider this wine festival a bit more classy than the next wine festival on my list!
Bad Dürkheim Wurstmarkt
This second wine festival in Germany is a wild one to add to your list of fall festivals in Germany to attend. I swear the heavy-poured wine schorle glasses add up quick!
In mid September for two weekends, Bad Dürkheim hosts the world’s largest wine festival, dating all the way back to 1417. At the Bad Dürkheim Weinfest, you can enjoy all the wine tastings, live music, and carnival rides and games.
This is one of my favorite wine festivals in Germany with how wild and fun it can be. For more details and information for visiting, check out this guide to the Bad Dürkheim Wurstmarkt.
Oktoberfest & Volksfest
Although not technically in Western Germany, there are plenty of fall beer festivals to enjoy. For those in the KMC, I know you won’t want to miss the top beer festivals in Germany.
One of the biggest celebrations and beer festivals in Germany is Oktoberfest in Munich. Known as the biggest beer festival in the world, with over 5 million people in attendance each year, this is one bucket list experience you don’t want to miss.
Indulge in all the food and beer, ride all the carnival rides, and take in this once in a lifetime experience.
Oktoberfest takes place for about 2 weeks in late September. Although not technically in Western Germany, for those in the KMC, this is something to add to your fall to-do list.
There is also Stuttgart’s Cannstatter Volksfest. Similar to Oktoberfest, Stuttgart transforms for the beer festival with loads of beer and amusement rides, welcoming the title as the second largest beer festival. Cannstatter Volksfest takes place mid September until the beginning of October.
One more beer festival is the Gäubodenvolksfest, located in Straubing, Germany, 3 hours directly east of Stuttgart. Again, this isn’t technically western Germany, but I wanted to include this in the biggest beer festivals in Germany. Gäubodenvolksfest takes place for about 10 days mid August every year, and is known as the second largest folk festival in Bavaria.
Heidelberg Herbst
With over 200,000 visitors each year, the Heidelberg Herbst hosts a lovely weekend full of musical entertainment and a flea market filled with regional specialties.
This festival is held right in the heart of Heidelberg’s Old Town on the last weekend of September / beginning of October. Enjoy shopping, eating, drinking, music all with a beautiful view of Heidelberg Castle.
Kürbishof Hitscherhof
Hitscherhof is a beautiful family-ran farm with a corn maze, straw castle, and bounce house for the children, a store with homemade jams and pumpkin products, and of course, pumpkin delicacies such as pumpkin waffles and their famous pumpkin soup.
There is also a flower field to pick your own bouquets with seasonal flowers. If you need to purchase pumpkins, they offer a variety of sizes.
Honestly, you can spend so much money in their store. In previous years, I’d gotten their pumpkin soup they sell in glass jars, pumpkin secco, fall inspired jams, and their flavored pumpkin seeds! Food and store purchases can be made with a card, but I always recommend having euro on hand!
Parking is available on site for €3.00 and Hitscherhof is dog friendly, just not in the store. I always recommend wearing good shoes or boots in case of mud and rain during the fall season.
Open on Saturdays and Sundays in October, and Hitscherhof is about a 30 minute drive from the KMC.
Kaiserslautern Krewe
The Kaiserslautern Krewe is a traditional German fair that takes place twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall. During the fall Krewe, it’s usually held mid October for about 7-10 days.
This lively event features amusement rides, games, food stalls, and live music. It’s the perfect place to enjoy classic carnival treats like cotton candy and bratwurst and thrilling carnival rides.
The Kaiserslautern Krewe is weather dependent, and they also have fireworks on the opening and closing nights of the festival. You’ll find the Krewe located in the large Messeplatz next to Masons restaurant.
Parking is kind of limited in the surrounding area of the Krewe. I recommend either arriving early in the day for more parking options. Also, be cautious for paid parking areas. If you live outside of Kaiserslautern, you can take the train into Kaiserslautern Hbf and then it’s about a 20-25 minute walk to the grounds.
Sunshine Pumpkin Farm
Bauerhof Guhl Sunshine Pumpkin Farm offers a pumpkin patch for picking your own pumpkins, as well as a large corn maze with hidden stations inside to collect stamps for a raffle. You can walk up into town to explore their store with regional products, sample numerous flavored seccos, and visit the cows.
The farm also offers raw milk that they proudly make themselves. They have a raw milk vending machine, as well as other vending machines with homemade and regional products available.
If you’re hungry while visiting, try one of the many pumpkin food or drink options. The soup was delicious, but the apple cider was even better!
Open on Saturday and Sundays in October, 11:00 am-5:00 pm.
Sunshine Pumpkin Farm is about 30 minutes from the KMC. Depending on your day, you can easily pair this with visiting Hitscherhof, as they’re only about 20 minutes apart!
Again, I definitely recommend boots depending on when you visit due to all the mud in the pumpkin patch and corn maze if it rains. If there is too much mud, they will close down since they offer parking in a large field.
Fall in Germany is a time of celebration and natural beauty. From vibrant festivals to outdoor adventures, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Whether you choose to stay in Kaiserslautern and explore the local festivities or embark on a day trip to nearby gems, you’ll find that autumn’s charm is inescapable. So, grab your sweater, a warm drink, and your sense of wonder, and make the most of this enchanting season in Germany. How many fall activities in Germany can you do?
