Are you ready for some spooky Halloween fun for the whole family? If you answered yes, then buckle up because we have a lot to talk about! Hands down the best place to go this year for a Halloween-themed fun-filled day for the whole family is Knotts Berry Farm for their Spooky Farm extravaganza! With decorations, shows, hands-on experiences and so much more, you will have your work cut out for you trying to do everything in one day!

Let’s jump right into things. As soon as you walk through the gates, children 3-12 are handed a goodie bag that they will use to go trick or treating around the park! We saw so many kids light up with excitement as they traveled from station to station to collect their goodies. All of the employees were dressed up as scarecrows and all of their booths were decorated with cute Halloween characters. One thing that we will say is that we miss the variety that the employee costumes used to have. We recall years past where the employees had a wider variety of costume designs (some even looked like ghostly members of calico). The characters that roamed Calico were a nice introduction to things slightly spookier than what they’d find at an event down the road. While the scarecrow costumes this year were cute, it seemed kind of one note. The kids sure didn’t seem to mind, though! Additionally, each treat stand had a uniquely designed spooky character on the front which we loved. There was even one that seemed to be a reference to the Tricksters from the Trick or Treat maze at Scary Farm. Being Scary Farm nerds, we loved it!

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After the candy bags have been sufficiently filled, it may be time for some hands on experiences! You can head on over to the Livery Stable to get up close to some of the Creepy Critters of Calico! From a skeleton horse, to spiders and lizards, and even turtles! There is definitely a lot to see and learn in the Livery Stable this year. 

One major aspect of Spooky Farm that we’ve always loved was the hands on aspect of some of its entertainment. It really creates unique experiences and engages kids on a level stage shows just don’t do. Spending some time petting horses, lizards or turtles will make for some fun memories for families visiting!

Also be on the lookout for pumpkin cookie decorating and a costume parade! Of course, theres just so much to do we simply didn’t have time to do it all! You could easily spend all day in Ghost Town!

Rides

There are so many rides to experience at Knotts Berry Farm, but if you are looking to stay in the Halloween spirit then you just can’t miss the Calico Mine Ride, The Timber Mountain Log Ride, and the Grand Sierra Railroad.

The Calico Candy Mine Ride

This year the Calico Mine Ride has been transformed into the Calico Candy Mine Ride! This Halloween layover was quite the nice surprise! The story goes that this year for Halloween, the Calico Mining Company switches from mining gold, to mining candy! With fun added lighting and props, and a catchy tune that you will find yourself humming long after you exit the ride, we highly recommend a trip on the Calico Candy Mine Ride this year! We love the addition of The Mine Ride in the spooky festivities at the Farm. In the past, only Log Ride gets a nice makeover. But it’s about time the Mine Ride got the spooky love too.

Beware, this family friendly attraction keeps it’s prestine exterior for Scary Farm…but it’s a different monster entirely.

Timber Mountain Log Ride

Once again the Timber Mountain Log Ride has received it’s Halloween Hootenanny layover! We simply love this ride at Halloween time because it is so darn fun! The added decorations and the soundtrack by Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies really add a fun vibrancy to the ride. And let’s not forget about the return of the iconic skull at the top of the drop! 

The Duo of the Mine Ride and Log Ride layovers for Halloween conjure up images of Halloweens past. With catchy tunes and its traditional halloween flare, both of these are destined to become season classics at Knott’s!

Grand Sierra Railroad

It is always so much fun to take a Trip to Camp Spooky on the Grand Sierra Railroad. Located in Camp Snoopy, this quaint train ride puts you right in the Halloween spirit as you see all your favorite Peanuts Characters dressed up for Halloween and waiting to meet the Great Pumpkin! As adults, we love reminiscing about watching The Great Pumpkin as kids and we like seeing the easter eggs to Scary Farms past! Knott’s uses some props from older Scary Farm experiences that aren’t too intense for the kids, like the big rock monster!

Shows

If you need to take a load off and sit down for a while, we would highly recommend taking in one of the several show offerings! 

Bob Baker Marionettes

Head on over to the Birdcage Theater for what we can honestly say is a can’t-miss treat at this year’s Spooky Farm! These amazing puppeteers put on a wonderfully spooky Halloween themed puppet show! There are so many cute characters and catchy songs, we for one were sad when it ended!

At times, it even gets spooky for the kids. But its all in good fun and by all the cheering, the kids loved it! Make sure to get in line for this show a bit early because it always gets a large turnout and Bird Cage isn’t that big.

Great Pumpkin Palooza

If you find yourself over in Camp Snoopy, you should definitely head to the Camp Snoopy Theater to check out all your favorite peanuts characters pay tribute to Halloween in this rockin’ musical show! We unfortunately missed this show when at the park, but it’s even more of an incentive to go back and enjoy it.

KNOT Radio

Boardwalk just wouldn’t be the same without the funny duo over at KNOT radio. They can be heard all throughout boardwalk, but it’s really worth it to go watch them for a minute. The writing is incredibly pun-y and rather witty and gives a sense of energy to the entire area of the park. Through the difference seasons, Knott’s has introduced KNOT Radio in different ways. But they are our favorite new addition to the line up of entertainment at the park. We hope to see different iterations of KNOT Radio for years to come!

Calico Main Stage

We were lucky enough to catch Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies over on the Calico Main stage! We particularly liked their rendition of ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia’. They engaged the whole crowd with their high energy music acts even on a very hot day! Snag a drink, some food, find an umbrella and watch a great musical act!

Food

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Knott’s event without some delicious themed treats! From a Petrified Pizza Burger to a Candy Corn Trifle and everything in between, be sure to check out some of the exclusive Spooky Farm food offerings while you can!

Personally, we indulged in the It’s Alive Rice Crispies treat! It was delicious, but beware, the monster’s hair will turn your mouth black! It made for some good laughs! We also tried The Hollows Chorizo Pizza, although both of these options are available during Spooky and Scary Farm; we split up the options over day and night because there are so many options. Take a look back at our preview of the food and drink for this season to get a better look at this years offerings!

MERCH

We sound like a broken record at this point, but Knott’s is hands down the most affordable park. This extends to its merchandise for special seasonal events.

For only $16.99, you can get yourself a limited edition Knott’s Spooky Farm shirt for 2021. Karl Busche and the team at Knott’s are always creating fun new merchandise offerings for each season and they are always affordable. Compared, when we went to Disneyland we saw shirts for $35 and it wasn’t limited and just had Mickey. For a little less than half the price, you can snag yourself a cute Vampire Snoopy shirt at Spooky Farm. We know what we would choose!

OVERALL

Overall, I don’t think we can say enough good stuff about Spooky Farm 2021. It’s so nice to see a theme park Halloween event that feels so immersive and well executed. No matter where you go in Knotts, you know it is Halloween time. The decorations are on every building and literally every space in between put you right into the Halloween spirit. Even the music was spooky and played literally everywhere! We saw so many smiling faces as we walked around the park and we have to attribute that to the fantastic job that the people at Knott’s Berry Farm do to put on these events throughout the year. Funny enough, we spent a whole day at the ”other” park down the street a few days before our visit to Spooky Farm. And although they have fireworks, The Haunted Mansion, and Nightmare Before Christmas; we much prefer Spooky Farm. The halloween spirit was much more present and lively throughout the park compared to Disneyland. For tickets that cost an arm and a leg, you’d expect to get a full experience for Halloween. Save your money and go to Knott’s for quality, quantity, and full on family friendly spooky fun!

TO BUY TICKETS TO KNOTT’S SPOOKY FARM, CLICK HERE!