Fall for Families

If you’re looking for autumn activities to share with your children, you’ll get lots of ideas for fun on Long Island on these pages. From hayrides to gardens, there’s something for all.

The Rinx
Hidden Pond Park,
660 Terry Rd., Hauppauge
631-232-3222
www.therinx.com

Take your child to the only twin, full-size, all-season ice skating facility on Long Island — come to The Rinx. Enjoy daily public skating sessions with your child or join one of their Learn to Skate programs or House League Hockey Teams open to all levels. Arrange a lesson with one of their certified professional hockey or figure skating instructors. Half-hour group lessons are also available. You can also have your birthday party at the Rinx. Packages include a two-hour party with 75 minutes of skating, skate rentals, a free pass for the guest of honor and free admission and skate rentals for the parents of the birthday child. So call today for more information on how to have a special day at The Rinx.


New York Party Zone
1270 Broad Hollow Rd. (Rte. 110), Farmingdale
888-538-7586
www.NYPARTYZONE.com

The fun doesn’t end just because summer is over. Come to the New York Party Zone and experience the most unique indoor party facility on the Island. Bounce houses and obstacle courses are just the beginning. The New York Party Zone has an incredible selection of rides, entertainment and licensed themes (Sponge Bob, Disney, Dora, super heroes, sports and more). Kids of all ages can enjoy the 28-foot volcano (simulated rock wall), giant slides, floating baseball and tennis. There’s jousting and bouncy boxing, a bungee run and sneaker shootout. All of the action is fully supervised, and safety is the priority. They do all the set up and clean up so you can enjoy the party too. Call today. Everyone has an unforgettably amazing time at the New York Party Zone.


Girl Scouts of Suffolk County
1500 Lakeview Ave., Bayport
631-472-1625
www.gssc.us

Enjoy the Island’s longest-running outdoor Halloween event and its best trick-or-treat experience, all at one location this fall. At the Horrible Haunted Trail of Terror, Oct. 25 – 28, frightful family fun awaits along an eerie trail through the forests on Sans Souci Lakes. There are ghosts, ghouls and terrifying thrills as well as food and a Halloween store. Buy tickets through Oct. 15 for $6 per person (after Oct. 15 and at the gate, tickets are $10). The time is 6:30 – 8:30 pm, Thu. – Sat.; 5:30 – 7:30 pm, Sun. On Oct. 20, 21, 27 and 28 (10 am – 3 pm), you can come in costume for exciting activities in a safe and comfortable environment. Great for kids in grades K – 4. There are hay rides, hourly costume parades, games and food for $10 per child; adults are free. See you there.


Rocking Horse Ranch
600 Rte. 44-55, Highland, NY
800-647-2624
www.RockingHorseResort.com

Rocking Horse is celebrating 50 winters of family fun. Rocking Horse, a year-round resort and dude ranch with the largest trail horse operation in the East, is also an excellent learn-toski Winter Fun Park for families. Guests enjoy free equipment rentals, free instruction and free access to a dedicated snow tube lift line. We’ll be making snow as soon as the temperatures drop. Our horses also love trail rides in the snow. And indoors you’ll find a fire crackling in a fireplace, an indoor heated pool, entertainment and indoor activities for all ages. In celebration of the 50th anniversary, visitors to the Web site, www. RockingHorseResort.com, can enter to win one of 50 one-day getaways for four people. For more information visit the site or call 800-647-2624.


Albert H. Schmitt Family Farm
6 Bagatelle Rd, Dix Hills (LIE, Exit 50, 1 D4 mile north)
631-549-1159
www.schmittsfamilyfarms.com

Treat your family to a delightful day at Albert H. Schmitt Family Farm. During October, the farm features a Haunted Maze with ghosts, skeletons and other seasonal characters, providing gentle scares for the younger set (under 14). Cornstalks, hay and gourds are on display, and the kids will get a free hayride to the pumpkin patch. Albert H. Schmitt Family Farm is also a great place to stock up on pumpkins. The whole family can go hunting in a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. Mums, flowering cabbage and kale, cornstalks, bales of hay, cider and apples are also available. Albert H. Schmitt Family Farm is also the place for bedding plants, annuals and perennials. The farm is open through the end of October, daily from 9 am – 6 pm.


Benner’s Farm
56 Gnarled Hollow Rd., Setauket
631-689-8172
www.bennersfarm.com

Benner’s Farm offers family activities such as pumpkin picking and hay rides on weekends from Sept. 29 to Oct. 28 from 12 – 4 pm. We’re hosting an evening benefit concert on Oct. 6 from 5:30 – 10 pm. Our annual harvest festival is scheduled for Oct. 14 from noon – 4 pm. This year we’re offering a new Halloween farmyard on Halloween from 5:30 – 8 pm where we’ll be running haunted hay rides. Benner’s Farm offers weekday courses and Saturday programs in the spring and fall. During the week we also host thousands of visiting school children participating in a wide range of educational programming centered around our historic 1700s organic homestead. Visit our Web site and we’ll see you soon.


Jaclyn’s Garden, Inc.
705 Merrick Rd., Copiague
jaclynsgarden@gmail.com

Looking for the most beautiful selection at the best prices? Look no further than Jaclyn’s Garden. In an 8,000-square-foot lot adjacent to The Dollar Tree, you’ll find the hardiest mums and all the decorative accents you want for the season — cornstalks, pumpkins, hay bales and more. Open 8 am – sundown, Jaclyn’s Garden has the best products at fair prices. Come see for yourself.


Old Westbury Gardens
71 Old Westbury Rd., Old Westbury
516-333-0048
www.oldwestburygardens.org

In early autumn, some of the finest foliage anywhere covers the 200 sprawling acres of Old Westbury Gardens. Within weeks there are newly discovered vantage points through now leafless trees, offering unobstructed views of the house, thatched cottage, lakes and pathways. The grounds exude a stark, almost haunting beauty. In late autumn, everything seems to have been taken back by nature, as gardens, landscaped grounds and wild forests alike are blanketed in ice and snow. In early December, Westbury House is aglow with lights and decorations, dazzling visitors with unique and enchanting horticultural holiday displays in every elegant room. While children craft tree ornaments, carolers sing, musicians play, and the temping aroma of hot cider permeates the air in the West Porch.


Sagtikos Manor Historical Society
Montauk Hwy. at Gardiner Dr. & Manor Ln.,
West Bay Shore
631-661-8348
www.sagtikosmanor.org

Come enjoy the third annual fall festival at Sagtikos Manor, the oldest house in the Town of Islip. (George Washington really slept here.) On Oct. 20 (rain date Oct. 21), 11 am – 4 pm, your family can spend a day of fun at the haunted house, watch a haunted Halloween dance, take ghostly tours of the manor, play games and enjoy Colonial dancers and music. There will be food and pumpkins, of course. A special highlight is colonial storytelling by Jonathan Kruk. All-inclusive admission is $10 adults, $8 seniors and $5 children. The event is appropriate for all ages (even the little ones), but no strollers are allowed. Sponsored by Suffolk County Parks and Sagtikos Manor Historical Society, this is sure to be a highlight of your family fun this season.


Shawnee Mountain
I-80, Exit 309, Shawnee on Delaware, PA
570-421-7231. Snow Reports: 800-233-4218
Lodging: 800-742-9633
www.shawneemt.com

With $2 million in improvements for 2007-08, we’re the Poconos’ favorite ski resort. It’s not just the spectacular skiing on our 23 slopes or the tremendous lift capacity, featuring our Quad and Double-Double Chairlifts or even our commitment to excellence in snow making/grooming. It’s our people who make Shawnee so special. Service and hospitality are top priority. Shawnee is very family friendly. Our children’s SKIwee program is ranked nationally. Beginners are welcome at our all-new Learning Center. Our rental shop outfits 4,000 skiers and our Ski School makes learning fun and easy. Check out our huge 3,000-foot Terrain Park and fun Snow Tubing Park.


The Garden Spot
366 Railroad Ave., Center Moriches
631-878-5662
www.thegardenspot.com

Get out your calendars and be sure to attend the fourth annual fall festival at The Garden Spot. A full-service, familyowned and operated garden center that’s open year-round, The Garden Spot welcomes you each weekend in October (including Columbus Day) for special fall fun. Your family can spend the entire day enjoying an alpine slide, petting zoo, corn maze, 3D maze and haunted hay ride and mining tunnel. Younger kids love the face painters, pumpkin painting and jumping in a huge straw pile. Shop for costumes and all your accessories at the expanded Halloween shop and buy your mums and hay bales for the garden. The Garden Spot is your one-stop destination for fall fun and festivities.


Woodloch Pines
Rr1 Box 280, Hawley, Pa
800-WOODLOCH
www.woodloch.com

Voted one of America’s best family resorts, Woodloch, nestled in the pristine Northeast Pocono Mountains lake region, offers an award-winning resort, championship golf and luxury spa. Like a “cruise on land” Woodloch’s all-inclusive packages provide three delicious and abundant meals daily, endless activities, entertainment, amenities and a variety of accommodation choices from classic standard rooms to waterfront suites with private balconies. The Country Club at Woodloch Springs is a spectacular course winding its challenging way over 6,579 yards of forests, wetlands and meadows, rated 4.5 stars in Golf Digest’s Best Places to Play. Enjoy privileged access to The Lodge at Woodloch, a worldclass luxury spa. Family-owned and operated since 1958, Woodloch is an ideal destination for “togethering” with family and friends, all ages, all year-round.