Autumn in western Montana has a plethora of ways to experience the season and celebrate harvest time. Whether you’re leaf peeping on a scenic road trip, hiking a trail, or participating in a bounty of different fall festivals, your weekends in October are sure to be full this year.

Over in the Nine Mile Valley, on Saturday, October 11, bring your apples from your yard, or even a bag of store-bought apples, to the Nine Mile Community Center for their Apple Cider Festival. From 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., enjoy a bite to eat of our homemade chili for lunch and watch the cider pressing process. If you bring your own apples and quart-sized containers, you can pack your apple goodness to go. Even without a fruit contribution, a taste of the fresh apple cider is free for all. Be there, rain or shine, at 25620 Nine Mile Road in Huson. 

On Saturday, Oct. 18, the Clark Fork Fellowship Church in Superior will host a Fall Festival from 2 to 5 p.m. The church is located near Eva Horning Park at 502 Pike Street. Grab a cup of hot cider, a bowl of chili, and homemade pumpkin cookies, and enjoy the fun! With games, crafts, a photobooth, food, and more. Your kids will be entertained, and memories will be made.

The PEAK Foundation in Alberton is hosting its annual Fall Carnival at the Alberton School Cafeteria on Sunday, Oct. 26, from 2 to 4 p.m. Come for the candy, prizes, photo opportunities, apple cider donuts for sale, cotton candy, popcorn, hot apple cider, games, cake walk, costume contest, and the middle school Haunted Hallway. 

In neighboring Sanders County, the Waterway Ranch in Thompson Falls is having its fourth annual Fall Festival on Oct. 11 and 12. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, come enjoy a bouncy house, pumpkin patch, train ride, homemade baked goods, and much more. Admission is free, but bring cash to buy delicious treats. Waterway Ranch is located at 12 Fruitland Lane near Thompson Falls. 

On Oct. 25, Sunleit Farms in Saint Regis is putting on its first-ever Festival on the Farm. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., everyone is invited to this free family-friendly event. Come sip hot cocoa and apple cider, get your face painted, and admire the pumpkins while cozying around a bonfire. There will be costume contests, a donut-eating contest, fun games for kids, and a haunted walk through the woods for children to search for hidden candy. Local vendors will also be around with handmade goods and treats. Sunleit Farms is located at 142 Sloway Frontage Road West, in St. Regis. 

Later the same day, on Oct. 25, at St. Regis is the fourth annual Harvest Festival and Dinner on Tiger Street next to the high school.  From 3 to 5 p.m., Tiger Street is shut down and converted into a harvest street party with carnival games, trunk or treating, and snacks and drinks. Judging of the traditional Scarecrow Row in St. Regis along Highway 135 will begin at 5 p.m., and dinner will also commence at that time in the St. Regis School Cafeteria.