Fall is here! Just because the days are becoming shorter and cooler does not mean the fun in Ottawa has come to an end! There are plenty of fun fall family activities in Ottawa happening in and around the city for your family to enjoy! We have put together a list of fall family activities in Ottawa you can attend this autumn!
FALL FAMILY ACTIVITIES IN OTTAWA 2025
Most attractions in Ottawa will require you to purchase your tickets in advance on their websites. Please make sure you check their websites before heading out!
Ottawa FALL EVENTS AND FESTIVALS
1. Ottawa International Animation Festival
September 24th – 28th, 2025
North America’s largest animation festival once again takes centre stage in the Nation’s Capital. This year the Festival will run virtually with film screenings, the animation conference, workshops, and more which will be available online.
Whether you love classic cartoons, mind-bending experiments, fantastic digital creations, dazzling effects, thought provoking observations, or pure belly-busting fun, there is something for everyone and anyone at the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF).
2. Fall Rhapsody in Ottawa and Gatineau
Get outside! Travel the trails through Ottawa and Gatineau Parks and discover the beauty of the changing of the seasons in our region! There is so much to see and learn. Families can make a day of your adventures while visiting the parks.
3. The Day of the Dead Festival
October 31st to November 2nd, 2025
The Day of the Dead Festival is a non-profit organization focused on promoting the richness of Mexican culture through art, gastronomy, music and dance that appeal to the senses of all ages. The festival is an opportunity to experience a piece of Mexico in the heart of Canada.
The 5th edition of the Day of the Dead Festival in Ottawa will take place at the historic ByWard Market. The event features a special program including outdoor exhibitions, Mariachi performances, folkloric dancers, authentic Mexican cuisine, Catrina contests, workshops, artisan market, and much more.
4. Carleton University Butterfly Show
October 4-5 and 11-12, 2025
The Carleton University Biology Department hosts its annual Butterfly Show. During the days leading into the Thanksgiving weekend, over 1300 live exotic butterflies are released into the Nesbitt Biology building greenhouses. The public can visit during weekends.
5. Tucker House Winter Fair
November 22rd, 2025 – 10 am to 3 pm
The annual Winter Fair at Tucker House is a highly anticipated dog friendly event, drawing crowds from across the Ottawa region to celebrate the season in style. You will discover a diverse array of vendors, each offering a unique selection of traditional handcrafted goods and holiday-themed treasures, fun activities for kids of all ages as well as delicious homemade holiday foods to bring home! Free admission.
6. Magic of Lights Ottawa
November 21st, 2025 to January 3rd, 2026- Evenings
The National Capital Region’s favourite holiday tradition is back! Magic of Lights Ottawa is a remarkable drive-through experience, offering guests the opportunity to enjoy festive and vibrant LED light displays from the comfort of their own car. The Wesley Clover Parks Campground will be opening its doors to invite guests to tour along a route stretching more than two kilometers and featuring over a million gleaming lights. The magical route will include fan favourite displays including the Enchanting Tunnel of Lights, Snowflake Forest and Candy Cane Lane, along with new festive displays!
7. Christmas Lights Across Canada
December 2025 – January 2026– On Parliament Hill, downtown Ottawa – Every evening, from 5:30 pm to 1 am
In Canada’s Capital, the winter landscape glows with over 300,000 multicoloured lights during the holiday season. The Christmas Lights Across Canada brighten Confederation Boulevard, Canada’s ceremonial route circling the heart of the Capital. The Boulevard encompasses Wellington Street, Mackenzie Street, Elgin Street, and Sussex Drive in downtown Ottawa, as well as Laurier Street in Gatineau and the Alexandra Bridge. A virtual version of the tour will also be available.
8. Jurassic Quest is ROARING at the EY Centre
November 28th – 30th, 2025
Jurassic Quest is the largest & most realistic traveling dinosaur experience in North America! Jurassic Quest is the ONLY place where your family can experience true-to-detail (and size!) dinosaurs, including a 60 foot long, sky-scraping Spinosaurus, our 80 foot long Apatosaurus, and our gigantic LIFESIZE T.rex.
Opportunities to meet and greet loveable baby Dinosaurs like Tyson the T.rex, Cammie the Camarasaurus, and Trixie the Triceratops – plus their Dino Trainers. Fossil digs, Jurassic Jeeps, Crafts & Coloring Station, Fossil Experience, “Tricera-tots” (a soft play space for our littlest dino lovers), and MORE!
HALLOWEEN-THEMED EVENTS AND FESTIVALS IN OTTAWA
9. Saunders Farm
Have a frightfully fun time as your family visits Saunders Farm this fall! They keeping the Halloween spirit alive with their world-famous FrightFest and Haunting Season. To control and limit the number of visitors on the Farm, visits must booked in advance. No walk-ups for either our day or night events.
FrightFest (fall nights)
Fridays and Saturdays (6pm – 11pm)
September 20th, 2025 – November 1st, 2025
Saturdays and Sundays (10am – 5pm)
September 20th, 2025 – October 26th, 2025
10. Pumpkin Fest at the Proulx Farm
September 20th, 2025 – October 26th, 2025
The Proulx Farm is transformed into a giant Halloween playground during Pumpkin Fest. Bring a picnic and come for a ghostly gathering in a country setting, just a few minutes from Orleans and 30 minutes east of downtown Ottawa.
11. Skreamers at the Proulx Farm
September 20th, 2025 – October 26th, 2025 – Friday and Saturday evenings
Proulx Farm is proud to support the Orleans Kiwanis club by providing a venue for Skreamers, the most haunted hayride in the east. Skreamers is night-time fun designed for more mature guests. Purchase tickets on their website.
Local residents and rival farmers have long suspected that something unnatural has been happening out at the Proulx Farm in Orleans, with reports of blood-curdling screams, a foul stench, unexplained power outages, and inexplicably lush & large crops…..
12. Stittsville Haunted Heritage Tours
September 26th to November 8th, 2025 – Friday and Saturday at 7 pm and 9 pm
A tour down the archives of legends and lore with Stittsville Haunted Heritage Tours. Mysteries, apparitions and tales of the unexplained at 6154 Abbott Street West, Stittsville, in the Old Barn- Stittsville Train Park. You will examine the many legends, folklore and strange tales of the area. Oh- and there will be a Scavenger Hunt with a $1000.00 Grand Prize! You can find out more on their Facebook page.
13. Cannamore Orchard Acres of Terror
Nights (6:30-9:30pm): September 26-27th (30% OFF),
October 3-4 (15% OFF), 10-11, 17-18-19, 24-25-26, 28-29-30-31
Days: (12-4pm): October 18-19th and 25-26th
Cannamore Orchard welcomes you their Acres of Terror, Eastern Ontario’s Most Terrifying Halloween attraction! Saturday and Sunday during the day are dedicated to families, younger children and those who get scared easily and don’t like it. Acres of Terror attractions will be toned down and made kid friendly.
14. Pumpkinferno at Upper Canada Village
October 3rd – November 1st, 2025 from 7 pm to 10 pm. October 18 to 31st, 2024 from 6:30 pm to 10 pm
Take the family for an evening stroll to see over 7 000 whimsically carved pumpkins at the Pumpkinferno. They are on display outdoors lighting your path across this dazzling display! Pumpkins of all different design and shapes will amaze all who attend. You may even pick up some tips for your family’s jack-o’-lanterns this year!
Museum Fun This Fall In Ottawa
There are also many fall family activities happening at some of the museums in the Ottawa and Outaouais region throughout the season.
15. Canadian Museum of History
16. Canadian Museum of Science and Technology
17. Canada Agriculture and Food Museum
19. Canadian Aviation and Space Museum
20. Cumberland Heritage Village Museum
21. Billings Estate National Historic Site
Your family can also enjoy visiting these places around Ottawa for a fun fall day:
22. Apple orchards
23. Pumpkin patches
There are so many things for families to enjoy and explore this fall around the city of Ottawa! We hope that you find an activity or event that will interest every member of your family! You can also visit these 23 Family Winter Events and Activities in Ottawa!
The super cheese festival sounds amazing. We love taking the kids to pumpkin farms in the fall.
Oh do I wish I was still in Ottawa, so much to do.
Love fall and going to farms for hay rides is amazing.
I love Fall! Apple picking and pumpkin patches are my fav. So many fun places to visit.
Vanderlann Zoo
Winchester Springs
1 hour and 15 minutes from Ottawa
You can book private tours of the farm with hands on with bunnies and many more animals.
5 $ a person under 2 free
Thanks for sharing!
The Magic of Lights Ottawa sounds amazing and the Stittsville Haunted Heritage Tours sounds like so much fun.