Photo courtesy of Big Muddy Adventures
1. Gather your pandemic bubble and take Big Muddy Adventures’ Full Moon Float. October 1–3, guides will help you board a 29-foot canoe and sail the Mississippi River to an uninhabited island where you’ll dine around a campfire and stargaze. Then it’s back in the canoe for a moonlit return trip.
2. The Missouri Botanical Garden’s new Fest-of-Ale Beer Trail is a socially distanced beer-tasting event that brings participants directly to local breweries. The 12-brewery affair features some faves: 4 Hands, Alpha Brewing, Schlafly, and Urban Chestnut. Each participant gets a brewery pass and commemorative koozie by mail. The pass entitles imbibers to a special offer (often a free pint) at each partner location through November 30. We’ll toast to that.
3. It’s decorative gourd season, y’all. As of press time, Eckert’s farms were still masterminding their pick-your-own pumpkin plan (apples are a go, if you’re so inclined), but the Pumpkin Jamboree is on the calendar at the Grafton, Belleville, and Millstadt locations. The kiddos can ride a pony or feed a goat, but you’ll find us over by the funnel cakes. Also offered at the Millstadt farm: private bonfire rentals.
4. Two corn mazes, one location. The 17-acre Corn Maze at Brookdale Farms features both family-friendly daytime and haunted nighttime versions. (If you choose the former, look for the pumpkin slingshot, too.)
5. We cannot recommend this enough: Take a drive north on the Great River Road to peep leaves this month (keeping an eye out for the Piasa Bird painting on the bluff while you’re at it). Fall foliage here usually peaks in mid-October and fades late in the month. Plan to stop and explore nature up close at Pere Marquette State Park, near Grafton, which boasts 12 miles of trails for the novice and experienced hiker alike. Or bring a bike: The 20-mile Sam Vadalabene Bike Trail, beneath the bluffs, has plenty of places to stop for a peep break.
6. Earthday365’s Earth Day Half Birthday, in Tower Grove Park, is a no-go this year, but replacing the fest is the Green Curbside Hop, on October 15. A ticket gets you a treat from a series of Maplewood Green Dining Alliance restaurants, as well as a gift bag full of earth-friendly swag.
7. Comedian Chris Cyr is teaming up with St. Louis’ new food truck park for Tuesday Comedy Nights at 9 Mile Garden. While the weather’s still good, set up a lawn chair, grab a drink from the canteen and dinner from one of the venue’s 26 food trucks, then enjoy a few sets by local comedians.
8. Purveyors of produce, treats, flowers, jewelry, crafts, and more make MoBot’s Best of Missouri Market a must-visit event year after year. Mark your calendar for October 2–4.
9. Two ways to celebrate spooky season at The Saint Louis Zoo. First, Halloweekends, October 17 and 18, 24 and 25, and 31, where the draw is pumpkin enrichment treats for the animals. Also on the docket, Boo at the Zoo, October 16–30, replete with special food and drinks and entertainment. Don’t worry, though: The zoo promises no scary stuff, unlike the year 2020.
