Ottawa area activities for teens: Cannamore Orchard’s Acres of Terror

Being chased in a dark forest. Zombies.

You may think I am describing a horror anthology, but these are actually all the things that make Cannamore Orchard’s Acres of Terror one of the scariest rural experiences in the Ottawa area.

We arrived at Cannamore Orchard at around 8 pm on a Saturday night. We got our tickets, and, after a brief wait, a guide took us and our group to the haunted wagon ride, the first activity of our spooky night. We sat down, and the tractor began taking us through a dark and mysterious forest on a bumpy ride. Shortly after the tour started, we passed by an unsettling portrayal of a witch ritual. I don’t want to give away the scare, but throughout the journey in the forest, there were some disturbingly elaborate displays with great actors, just the right amount of jumpscares and something chasing the wagon that you might not expect. To understand what I’m talking about, you must experience it yourself.

After some thrilling jumpscares and a ride that kept us literally on the edge of our seats, we realized our night of horror had only just begun. After exiting the wagon, we were directed to a haunted house. While waiting in a short line, the trend of people leaving the house screaming and shaking was a good (or rather bad) sign of what lay ahead. We entered the haunted house and found a tight corridor with many twists and turns. Again, I cannot spoil the scare, but let's just say I am still scared of turning around a corner. Jumpscares, confusion and people in scary masks following you made this a perfect haunted house.

We then went to the next section of the Acres of Terror- the Spooky Village. An innovative new creation, Cannamore Orchards’ Spooky Village is a small collection of buildings with many Halloween related uses. You can visit the butchershop, or the local jail, with creepy twists and great actors. We spent a good 20 minutes popping in and out of buildings, more scared than when we entered. 

Finally, as the last part of our tour, we entered an indoor fog maze. Like the haunted house, we walked through a tight corridor that turned every few meters, but this time, it was empty and full of mist. We walked for a little while, expecting this to be the whole tour, when suddenly a small person with a mask jumped out from behind us! Caught off guard, we began running as he ominously followed us. More of them appeared, as we tried to escape. Finally, we made it to the exit and concluded our visit.

I would definitely recommend this experience for older children in your household. The evening experience is not intended for younger children.  

If you want a thrilling evening and get into the Halloween Spirit, visit Cannamore Orchards’ Acres of Terror. Register as soon as you can, since spots fill up quickly. Current available times are on weekends from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Groups leave every 15 minutes. For more information, click here.

Where is it and how much does it cost

Cannamore Orchards is located at 1480 County Road 32, Crysler, ON, K0A 1R0

Acres of Terror includes 4 main attractions: The Spooky Wagon Ride, House of Terror, Fog Maze & Spooky Village.  Tickets include a visit to all attractions.  Tickets must be booked for a specific date and time slot to ensure a safe & enjoyable experience for all.  Regular Night Admission is $34.00 per person.

Day sessions are geared towards younger kids and those easily scared and the price tag is a little lower at $25 per person or $75 for a family of four.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. He received a complimentary ticket for this post, but all views are his own.

Socially Distanced Halloween Activities in Ottawa

Halloween may look a little different this year due to COVID-19 safety protocols, and unfortunately some of the usual activities, such as Trick or Treat with the Mayor, have been cancelled, but there is still some safe, outdoor fun to be had in the Ottawa area!

The Original Haunted Walk – Halloween Season
When: Nightly until November
Where: Various locations in Ottawa
Price: $30+HST per person

Great for older children and adults, The Haunted Walks are best known for their tours and stories of ghosts and haunted places. New for 2020 are Ottawa Bubble Ghost Tours. These tours feature up to 12 participants from no more than three households, allowing for a safe way for participants to hear some local ghost stories while socially distancing! In addition to reducing tour sizes, The Haunted Walk is also increasing their cleaning and disinfecting and all staff are paid sick leave to encourage them to stay home if they are feeling unwell. Masks are required for all indoor tour locations.

Saunders Farm – Haunting Season
When: Saturdays and Sundays between now and November 1st
Where: Saunders Farm, Munster, ON
Admission: Booking in two hour time slots - limited capacity, book in advance
Price: $22.60 per person; kids under two are free

Scarier at night and as a not-as-scary experience during the day, Saunders Farm offers families the ultimate in Halloween thrills and chills!  The Day Haunting Season is fine for kids as the more scarier attractions are closed and the jumping pillows and main play area is open. This year, the daytime attractions includes their famous Mazes, Jumbo Jumpers (jumping pillows), Haunted and Pumpkin Patch Hayride, The Coven, and our super fun play structures.

The Fright Fest (Night) at Saunders Farm is good for children ages 12 and up. For more information visit: http://saundersfarm.com.

Acres of Terror
Where: Cannamore Orchards, 1480 County Road 32, Crysler
When: Nights (6:30-10pm): Sept. 25-26, Oct. 2-3, 9-10, 16-17, 23-25, 28-31 - we are OPEN on Halloween night. Days: (12-4pm): Oct. 17-18, 24-25 and 31st (Halloween day).

In their 28th year, Acres of Terror has four main components: the spooky wagon ride, the house of terror, the spooky village, and the fog maze! New for 2020, all tickets must be pre-booked online for a specific date and time-slot to ensure the ability to maintain physical distancing.  Only a limited number of tickets are available per 15 minute time slot.  Small groups of 10 or less will depart every few minutes.  Attractions and grounds have been modified to allow for the safest experience possible, with physical distancing requirements and enhanced safety protocols in place.  Masks are required. Visit https://cannamoreorchard.com/acres-of-terror/ for more information, including pricing.

Fall Family Fun At Hugli's Blueberry Ranch
When: On now until November 1st
Where: Hugli's Blueberry Ranch, 2139 Greenwood Rd., Pembroke, ON
Weekends: $11.95 + HST (kids & adults)  Under 2 is free. (includes shows and wagon rides to the pumpkin patch)
Weekdays: $7.53 + HST (kids & adults) Under 2 is free.

Various family-friendly outdoor activities. Masks/Face Covering are required in the store, on the frequently sanitized wagons and when you cannot stay two meters away from others.  Disposable masks are available for a $1 donation.

“A Practice of Deceit”: Escape room theatre with Live History
When: Saturday, October 17, 2020
Afternoon from 1 pm to 3 pm (Family hours for ages 7+)
Evening from 6 pm to 10 pm (Adults only for ages 18+)
Cost: $22.75 per person (ages 16+); $6.75 for children (7+) accompanied by an adult.

As the sun sets at Billings Estate, the voices of the past will speak once more…Step back in time to 1900 as you sort through webs of secrets, scandals, and hearsay to help bring a mysterious affair to a close. Will you be in time? Inspired by true events, Live History returns to the museum with this exclusive escape room theatre experience for one day only!

“A Practice of Deceit” will take place outdoors and has been adapted to meet public health guidelines including physical distancing (review our tips for a COVID-wise visit below). Plan to arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled start time. 

Pumpkinferno
When: Open seven days a week from now until October 31st.
Where: Upper Canada Village
Admission: $16 +HST; children under 4 are free
New this year: No walk-ins; must book in advance

This fun outdoor event is for all ages and includes 7000 handcrafted pumpkins all lit at night along a kilometre long path in a picturesque 19th-century backdrop.

Pumpkin Fest at Proulx Farm
When: Saturdays and Sundays; now until October 31st
Where: Proulx Family Farm, 1865 O’Toole Rd., Cumberland

This time of year, Proulx Farm is transformed into a giant Halloween playground with a hayride, play structures, a guided tour on how to grow pumpkins, petting zoo (masks recommended), and more. Due to COVID some activities are unfortunately be unavailable for this season to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Trick or Swim or Skate!

Trick or Treeeeat” – the words that many little monsters and munchkins will excitedly scream as you open the door to their smiling faces on October 31st. Instead of candy, how about offering something a little different this Halloween?

The City of Ottawa offers Trick or Swim or Skate passes. You pay $10 and receive 10 vouchers to hand out. These can be used towards a swim or skate at a participating facility (not including wave swims or speciality skates). 

I don’t know about you, but we like to have a separate bucket from candy treats so we can offer non food treats to those with allergies and we love the idea of slipping a voucher in to their buckets.

Other non-food Halloween ideas include stickers (what child doesn’t love them?), slime, Playdoh, colouring pads, pencils, and erasers. Walk into any craft/party store and you will find a huge variety of offerings. 

Of course, we are not saying that you should give up the candy completely… ;)

CONTEST

We have a book of 10 Trick or Swim or Skate vouchers from the City of Ottawa to give away to one lucky reader! Trick or Swim or Skate vouchers are available in limited quantity until October 31st. They can be redeemed until January 31, 2020. Please check for participating facilities prior to using.

To enter: Visit our Facebook Page and leave a comment on this post letting us know what your child is planning on dressing up as for Halloween!

Contest runs until Friday, October 25th at 12 noon. Winner will be notified via Facebook Messenger.

Fright Fest at Saunders Farm (The perfect scare for older kids!)

KITC would like to welcome back guest blogger, Stephen Johnson. Stephen Johnson is an Ottawa writer who loves to write about family travel.  During the summer, you will most likely find him and his family at a local fair or festival. During the winter, a beach in Mexico is a likely bet.  

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I first started visiting Saunders Farm about fifteen years ago for Halloween. I heard it was the scariest thing to do in Ottawa. They were right. In between the haunted hayride and other attractions, I was scared out of my wits. 

Fast forward to today. We had taken David when he was seven to Saunders Farm during the day for Halloween. It was perfect at the time. David is now eleven so his fear quotient has gone up. He wanted to check out the evening FrightFest festivities. 

We arrived at Saunders Farm and were immediately treated to a scare. Various farm employees were dressed up in their best Halloween gear. The first attraction we saw was the Barn of Terror. This was a test to see if the scare factor was too high for David or not. We walked through the barn and enjoyed various scares and thrills. I probably held my wife’s Sandy hand tighter than David did. 

We then were treated to a parade of witches as they walked to their Coven. David bravely posed for a photo as the witches passed by. 

It was still somewhat light outside so not all the hauntings were open. This gave us some time to visit other areas of the farm including the bouncy pad and playground. It brought back a flood of memories as we have been visiting Saunders Farm since David was a baby. 

After visiting the bouncy pad, it was finally dark so all the attractions were open. Circus macabre was located close to the bouncy pad. I have always found clowns to be somewhat creepy and circus macabre only reinforced this idea. We had to find our way through a maze while being greeted by various clowns. There were numerous other elements but I don’t way to give away too much. 

One thing that has changed about Fright Fest since I visited fifteen years ago is that there are also busker-style performers. We caught a fire show that added to the ambiance of the evening. 

It was now time to visit the witches in their coven. We were greeted by a friendly witch who invited us to visit. I doubted her friendly exterior and the cackles coming from inside the coven gave it away. One really cool part was entering a room with a fog machine and a laser display. The effect made one think they were walking through a soupy swamp. Again, I don’t want to give away all the scares but let me just say, look around all the corners.

David, Sandy and I needed a break so we relaxed in the central area. There are multiple food options on-site so no one will go hungry. We also took a family photo in front of a large display of pumpkins. This spot may be one of the most instagrammed in the Ottawa area. 

It was now time for the Haunted Hayride. All of the attractions at Saunders Farm are great but the Haunted Hayride is the classic. We boarded the wagon and the tractor was off like a shot. It took a few minutes to get to the main area which only built up the anticipation. We were scared in multiple ways including masked performers and loud noises. The Haunted Hayride was everything I remembered and more. It was fun to share the experience with David and Sandy. 

It was now time to head back to Ottawa. I thought I saw a number of ghouls or goblins along the highway driving back home. It was probably just my imagination or was it?

For more information about all the scary things going on at Saunders Farm, visit www.saundersfarm.com

*Please note, Fright Fest is not intended for younger kids. We thought David was the perfect age at eleven but this may not be for all kids. The fright factor is much more young kid-friendly during the day.*

Full disclosure, Stephen’s tickets were covered by Saunders Farm but all opinions are his own.

Family-Friendly Halloween Activities in Ottawa

We’re so lucky to have museums, farms and malls in the Ottawa region who love to celebrate Halloween as much as our kids do! Here’s this year’s list of Halloween activities for families in Ottawa.

Trick or Treat with the Mayor
When: Saturday, October 26th from 5 to 8 pm
Where: Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West

See what’s brewing in the Spooky Witches Den before visiting all your favourite movie and storybook characters! Be wowed and get up close to some amazing little creatures and characters then decorate your very own mini pumpkin.

The Original Haunted Walk – Halloween Season
When: Nightly until November 3rd
Where: Various locations in Ottawa

Great for older children and adults, The Haunted Walks are best known for their tours and stories of ghosts and haunted places and Halloween is the perfect time to experience one of these walks! From October 4 – November 2 they are featuring a special “ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?” version of their Ghosts & the Gallows tour. For more information: http://hauntedwalk.com/ottawa-tours/ 

Saunders Farm – Haunting Season
When: Saturdays and Sundays between now and October 31st
Where: Saunders Farm, Munster, ON
Admission: General Day Admission is $25 (kids 2 and under are free); General night (Fright Fest) admission starting from $36.

Scarier at night and as a not-as-scary experience during the day, Saunders Farm offers families the ultimate in Halloween thrills and chills!  The Day Haunting Season is fine for kids as the more scarier attractions are closed and the jumping pillows and main play area is open. There is also a pumpkin patch hay ride available for young visitors.

The Fright Fest (Night) at Saunders Farm is good for children ages 12 and up. For more information visit: http://saundersfarm.com/

Acres of Terror
When: Now until October 31st
Where: Cannamore Orchards, 1480 County Road 32, Crysler

In their 27th year, Acres of Terror has four main components: the spooky wagon ride, the house of terror, the spooky village, and the fog maze! Night Dates (7-10pm): Sept. 27-28, Oct. 4-5, 11-12, 18-19, 25-30. Day Dates (12-4pm): Oct. 12-13, 19-20, 26-27. Visit https://cannamoreorchard.com/acres-of-terror/ for more information, including pricing.

Toddler Halloween Haunt
When: Thursday, October 31st from 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum, Carp
Admission: By donation for parents, grandparents, or caregivers with kids. Kids under 5 are free.

A perfect Halloween Day activity for young kids. Kids and adults can come dressed up in their favourite costume and discover spooky (and cute) ghosts and monsters throughout the museum to collect treats.

Zombies invade the Bunker

When: October 26th and 27th
Where: Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum, Carp

This Halloween season, the Diefenbunker will once again partner with The Haunted Walk of Ottawa to present, Incident at the Bunker: A Zombie Adventure. Guests will be led on an interactive adventure with the undead, deep inside the labyrinth that is the Cold War Museum. This unique Halloween experience is a perfect combination of storytelling, interactive challenges, unexpected surprises and of course…zombies. Perfect for kids 12+.

Fall Family Fun At Hugli's Blueberry Ranch
When: On now until October 31st
Where: Hugli's Blueberry Ranch, 2139 Greenwood Rd., Pembroke, ON
Weekends: $10.62 + HST (kids & adults) Under 2 is free (includes shows and wagon rides to the pumpkin patch)
Weekdays: $6.64 + HST (kids & adults) Under 2 is free.

Evening activities have been put on hold this year, but there are plenty of family-friendly daytime activities including a tunnel hill slide and pedal carts!

Chillings Estate Halloween Party
When: Sunday, October 20 from 10 am to 4 pm
Where: Billings Estate National Historic Site
Admission: Cost: $6.75/person, $17.50/family (2 adults + children)

Come dressed in your costume and help Billings put the ‘trick’ in ‘trick-or-treat’ as they explore the whimsical, wily, and sometimes troublesome history of Halloween pranks. Complete fun Halloween activities and challenges to enjoy a delicious treat. Additional vintage treats and coffee will be available for cash purchase. *Please dress for weather conditions; activities will take place both indoors and outdoors.

Halloween Hijinks
When: Sunday, October 27th 10 am to 4 pm
Where: Cumberland Heritage Village
Cost: $19.75 per family (2 adults + children); $7.75 adults; $5.50 seniors, children and students. Children 5 and under are free. Annual memberships are welcome.

Wear your costume and explore the origins of Halloween traditions as you collect some yummy treats along the way. Complete a scavenger hunt inspired by some of the spooky symbols associated with the season, see if you can determine fact or fiction when it comes to Halloween trivia, create your own masquerade mask, explore Halloween in early Hollywood, and more!

Haunted Horaceville
When: Sunday, October 27th from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Where: Pinhey's Point Historic Site, Dunrobin, ON
Admission: Cost: $10.65 per person (Ages 15 and up)

Bring your friends and gather ‘round for a live storytelling program that will shift your understanding of history from the ordinary to the otherworldly. A lantern-lit tour of the manor house will add to the atmosphere. S’mores and hot apple cider will be served for a seasonal treat. Featuring guest storyteller Marie Bilodeau.  Registration is required. The registration deadline is Wednesday, October 23.

Pumpkinferno
When: Various dates from now until Sunday, October 27th
Where: Upper Canada Village
Admission: from $12 to $18
Visit Upper Canada Village and discover a selection of all-new pumpkin-carved displays as well as fan-favourites! This event is for all ages and includes 7,000 handcrafted pumpkins all lit at night along a kilometre long path in a picturesque 19th-century backdrop.

25th Annual Pumpkin Fest at Proulx Farm

When: September 22nd to October 31st, 2019.
Where: Proulx Family Farm, 1865 O’Toole Rd., Cumberland

The farm is transformed into a giant Halloween playground. Bring a picnic and visit for a ghostly gathering in a country setting. Children love seeing the farm transformed into a giant Halloween playground! Open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm and Thanksgiving Monday from 10 am to 5 pm.