Fall is festival season. When you think about typical fall festivals, you likely picture pumpkin celebrations or Oktoberfests. Perhaps you think about corn mazes or apple picking.
Well, forget about the typical fall festivities! I’ve found five unlikely festivals that are very different from the ones we usually visit. They might be quirky, but you can still expect great food, friendly people, and fantastic fall fun all around!
Junkstock®. Waterloo, Nebraska
What to expect: Think huge outdoor maker and antique markets, themed photo ops, food trucks, and live music. There will also be vendor booths stacked with vintage, upcycled, and handmade décor. Junkstock® has a treasure-hunting vibe. It’s great for grabbing furniture or quirky decor for an RV-friendly makeover.
Dates & hours: Just west of Omaha is where you’ll find Junkstock. Fall Junkstock runs two weekends in October. This year’s dates are October 3–5 and October 10–12. There are early-bird hours on Fridays and general-admission hours through Saturday and Sunday. The festival posts an hour-by-hour breakdown on its official website.
Where to park the RV: Junkstock takes place at Sycamore Farms (1150 River Road Drive, Waterloo, NE). For RVers, Two Rivers State Recreation Area (Waterloo) is a logical public option with pads and hookups. It’s also the closest state park to the festival grounds. If you want full-service private parks within a short drive of Omaha, look at Pine Grove RV Park (Greenwood area) and other west-Omaha campgrounds listed on Good Sam and RoverPass.
Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta. Santa Fe, New Mexico
What to expect: This festival is a food-and-wine celebration with a New Mexico twist: chile! There will be chef demos featuring local chiles, guided wine tastings, multi-course winemaker dinners, and a big public tasting where dozens of wineries and chefs converge. It’s gourmet-focused but still accessible for casual visitors.
Dates & highlights: The 2025 Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta is scheduled for Wednesday–Sunday, September 24–28, 2025. The Grand Tasting is held on Saturday. The festival posts a full schedule on its official site.
Where to park the RV: Santa Fe Skies RV Park and Santa Fe KOA Holiday are both popular with visiting RVers for Fiesta week. Both advertise easy access to downtown Santa Fe and festival venues. Other private campgrounds and state/NM Forest sites sit within a 20–40 minute drive.
Warrens Cranberry Festival (Cranfest). Warrens, Wisconsin
What to expect: This is a true celebration of cranberry agriculture. Visitors can experience historic demonstrations, cranberry harvest shows, and food vendors. There is a big marketplace of craft and food booths, family activities, and of course lots of cranberry-themed eats. It draws big crowds, so expect festival traffic and vendor lines.
Dates & hours: The Warrens Cranberry Festival traditionally takes place in late September. This year’s festival is listed for September 26–28, 2025. Daytime hours are 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Check the official site for vendor lists and final schedule details.
Where to park the RV: CranFest runs in the Warrens/McMullin Park area and lists on-site camping at the Warrens Lions Club Campground on festival grounds. This is a first-come, first-served camp during festival week. Local county park sites (McMullen Memorial County Park) and nearby private parks (like family-friendly Jellystone Park™ Warrens) are also options if the on-site spots are full.
North Carolina Pecan Festival. Whiteville/Columbus County, North Carolina
What to expect: Expect a small-town harvest celebration with live music, pecan-focused foods, and craft vendors. There’ll also be kids’ activities and community parades and demonstrations. It’s a low-key, family-friendly fall fair with Southern food culture front-and-center.
Dates & hours: The North Carolina Pecan Festivals (also known as the N.C. Pecan Music Festival) are centered on the town of Whiteville. Listings show the craft/food festival and the music festival day on Saturday, November 1, 2025. Note that craft, food and entertainment hours vary. You can confirm times on the festival site or the local event calendar as the date approaches.
Where to park the RV: Lake Waccamaw State Park is a short drive from Whiteville and offers campground sites that are convenient for festival-going RVers. Other nearby private parks (CarrollWoods RV Campground and Vineyard, Jellystone Park™ at Tabor City) and KOA locations along the coastal corridor provide full hookups and family amenities. Those are good options if local state park sites are full. Check each campground’s availability for the festival weekend.
Trailing of the Sheep. Wood River Valley (Ketchum, Sun Valley, Hailey), Idaho
What to expect: This is one of the most unique fall spectacles in the U.S. Festival-goers will see herded flocks of sheep, Basque/Scottish/Peruvian folklife performances, and a Sheep Folklife Fair. There are also lamb-focused dining events, wool and fiber programming, and National Qualifying Sheepdog Trials. If you want one “I can’t believe I saw that” moment of the season, the Big Sheep Parade is it. Thousands of sheep wind through town under expert handler control.
Dates & schedule: The Trailing of the Sheep Festival celebrates the annual sheep migration. You can witness the migration across multiple towns in the Wood River Valley. The 2025 festival is scheduled for October 8–12, 2025. The Big Sheep Parade (when flocks move down Main Street) and sheepdog trials are signature events. Check the event’s official site for times.
Where to park the RV: The Wood River Valley supports RVers with a handful of local parks and nearby public campgrounds. The Meadows RV Park in Ketchum is the valley’s dedicated RV park with full hookups and pull-through spaces. Because parade routes cross small downtown streets, allow extra time for walking into Ketchum and Hailey on parade days.
Festival quick tips for RVers
Here’s how to make the most of your festival experience:
• Give yourself wiggle room. Big festivals pack parking lots and local roads. Arrive early on parade days and check festival pages for street closures and shuttle options. Most official festival sites post a festival map or a “getting there” page.
• Reserve the campground (or at least scout alternatives) before you go. Many of these events sell out local sites quickly, and some (like Warrens) even offer festival-ground camping with limited space or first-come, first-served rules. If you prefer hookups, choose private parks that list full services.
• Expect crowds and local vendors. These festivals are great for local crafts, regional foods, and one-off finds. They are also prime weekend commerce for the towns involved, so carry cash for vendors and plan for slower foot traffic through booths.
Have you RVed to a fall festival? Tell us about it using the comments below. Which festival is your favorite?
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RVT1226
Warrens cranfest. The ball field in warrens can get crammed full of people. Mc Mullen memorial park. A few years ago we thought about camping there. The campground told us if he can get 3 campers on one site the campground would do it. There’s an open field on highway ew where you can camp. If you’re going to warrens for the day arrive when the gates open at 7am. As the day goes on it gets cramped with people. The cranfest is always the last 3 day weekend in September.
One of the best (and most unusual) festivals we ran into on our travels was the Walnut Valley Festival in KS! It has the international “flat picking” championship contest (banjo playing) and everything that goes along with it. What fun it was!
Thanks! I’m making a note of that one for 2026! 👍
Last year we really enjoyed the Parke County Indiana covered bridge festival. Towns all over the county participate. Beautiful country. Get a map that has various routes to see over 30 covered bridges. Getting out and exploring the county’s countryside in beautiful fall weather and visiting all of the bridges over our week spent there was time well spent!
https://www.coveredbridges.com/events-calendar/2025-parke-county-cbf
Thank you for the potential destination events, Gail! Have a great week and safe travels!