October is when the High Plains finally slow down and show off. Harvest wraps up, the cottonwoods along the South Platte turn gold, and Sterling packs the month with the kind of small-town fall that people drive two hours for. There is a three-day treasure hunt across three counties, a town full of scarecrows, a family-friendly zombie takeover of the courthouse square, a pumpkin patch with a pumpkin launcher, and 1,600 miles of gravel road at the best temperature all year. Here is everything happening in Sterling and Logan County this October.

Cottonwoods turning along a Logan County back road. Photo courtesy of Logan County Tourism.

October 2, 3 and 4: The Northeastern Colorado Junk Jaunt

The month opens with the biggest weekend on the fall calendar. The Northeast Colorado Junk Jaunt runs Friday through Sunday, October 2 to 4, with sellers setting up across Logan, Sedgwick, and Phillips counties. Antiques, collectibles, specialty crafts, farm finds, and the kind of things you did not know you needed until you saw them sitting on a card table in somebody’s front yard.

The format is the fun part. You are not walking one flea market, you are driving a route. Towns across northeastern Colorado mark their stops, and you work your way from one to the next with the windows down and the truck bed empty. Bring cash, bring a tape measure, and bring more room than you think you need.

Route maps and the current list of participating towns go out through the Northeast Colorado Junk Jaunt Facebook group. For vendor questions, call 970.466.4516 or 970.580.3920, or email [email protected].

Make Sterling your home base. Start the weekend downtown, grab a pint at Parts and Labor Brewing Co., the first brewery on Colorado’s Eastern Plains, and book a room on the Explore Sterling lodging page before the weekend fills up. Block out that weekend right now.

All Month: The Scarecrow Celebration Takes Over Sterling

All October, the Logan County Chamber of Commerce turns downtown into a scarecrow gallery. Local businesses, families, and organizations build their best, and they go up on storefronts and sidewalks across Sterling for the whole month. Some are funny, some are genuinely impressive, and a few are the same beloved characters people look for every year.

It costs nothing and it takes an afternoon. Park downtown, walk the blocks, and vote for your favorite. Voting details and the winner announcement come from the Chamber, so check the Logan County Chamber events calendar or call 970.522.5070 before you go.

While you are downtown, the Logan County Arts League Creative District is worth the extra hour. This year’s Sculpture on Loan pieces are still up, the bronzes line Main Street, and Sterling Creatives, the downtown artist co-op, has handmade work you will not find anywhere else.

Scarecrows go up across downtown Sterling for the whole month of October. Photo courtesy of Logan County Tourism.

October 3: The Zombie Crawl on the Courthouse Square

Saturday, October 3, the Logan County Arts League brings the Zombie Crawl back to the Historic Logan County Courthouse Square at 315 Main Street. Do not let the name scare you off if you have little kids. This is a family afternoon, not a haunted house.

Past crawls have run a costume contest, pumpkin painting, a Thriller dance performance, obstacle games and prizes, a campfire, hot cocoa, and a free outdoor movie once the sun goes down. Come in costume. Half the town does.

Final times, the movie title, and the full activity lineup for 2026 come out through the Arts League. Watch the Zombie Crawl page or email [email protected].

The Historic Logan County Courthouse Square goes delightfully undead. Photo courtesy of Logan County Tourism.

Weekends All Month: The Baseggio Family Pumpkin Patch

Fifteen minutes northeast of Sterling, the Baseggio Family Pumpkin Patch is where Logan County families go to make the fall photo. The patch sits at 16695 County Road 20.5 in Atwood, and it is a real working farm, not a parking-lot pop-up.

New this year: there is no corn maze. The Baseggios are keeping it focused on the patch and the play, which means more room for the good stuff. Pick your pumpkin out of the field, then let the kids loose on the giant slide and the bouncy house. The pumpkin launch is the one adults line up for. It does exactly what it sounds like.

Hours run on weekends through the season. Call 970.580.3024 or check the Baseggio Family Pumpkin Patch Facebook page for this year’s days, times, and pricing before you load up the car.

All Month: Fall Color and the Best Gravel Riding of the Year

Logan County does not do aspen. It does cottonwoods, and in October the South Platte River corridor runs gold from one end of the county to the other. The best leaf peeping out here is not a hike, it is a drive. Point the car down a county road, follow the river, and let the light do the work. Late afternoon is when it gets good.

Which brings us to the bikes. Logan County has more than 1,600 miles of unpaved road, and October is the month riders wait for. Cool mornings, long low light, no heat, no traffic, and sight lines that run to the horizon. Harvest traffic thins out as the month goes on, though you will still share the road with the occasional grain truck. Give them room and they will do the same.

The Gravel Adventure Field Guide for Sterling has the routes, GPS files, hand-illustrated maps, and stories from the saddle. Pick up a copy at the Logan County Visitor Center or start planning on the Explore Sterling gravel cycling page. Finish the ride at Parts and Labor Brewing.

October mornings and empty county roads. Photo courtesy of the Gravel Adventure Field Guide.

All Month: Fall Migration and 300 Species of Birds

October is one of the best birding months on the Eastern Plains, and most people have no idea. Logan County sits on a migration corridor that brings more than 300 species through in a given year. Early fall brings terns and pelicans. Later in the season the geese and diving ducks move in, and the raptors settle in for the winter.

There are twelve solid hotspots in the county. North Sterling State Park is the easiest one to reach, and the crowds are long gone by October. The state wildlife areas at Tamarack Ranch, Prewitt Reservoir, Red Lion, Messex, Atwood, and Duck Creek cover everything from cottonwood bottomland to open shortgrass prairie. Closer to town, the Overland Trail Recreation Area works for a morning walk with binoculars.

Four Colorado Birding Trail routes cross the region. Bring a scope, bring a jacket, and get out early.

Logan County sits on a migration corridor with more than 300 species on the list. Photo courtesy of Logan County Tourism.

Also on the October Calendar

A few more reasons to be in Sterling this month, all from the Logan County Chamber calendar:

• October 2: First Fridays at First Presbyterian opens its 29th season with live music downtown. Pair it with the first night of the Junk Jaunt.
• October 27: The KPMX and Sterling Comets Rock and Roll Showdown.
• October 31: Trick or Treat Street brings the costumes back downtown, with Sterling businesses handing out candy.

Make October in Logan County Your Own

From a three-county treasure hunt to a pumpkin launcher to gold cottonwoods along the South Platte, October might be the easiest month of the year to fall for Logan County. Browse the full calendar on the Explore Sterling events page, find a place to stay on the lodging page, or call the Tourist Information Center at 970.522.8962. Sterling sits about two hours northeast of Denver on I-76, which makes any October weekend an easy drive and an easy yes.