Fall Fest at Slide Rock State Park will return on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Park staff anticipate that it will be a high-traffic day and that there may be a wait to get into the park. There is no cost to attend the festival but the park does charge a day use fee of $20.

“Bring your picnic supplies and enjoy the vibrant colors of autumn while having lunch and soaking in every aspect of this gorgeous venue,” the park’s website stated. “Enjoy interesting and educational demonstrations, plus plenty of kids’ activities. Experience all of this while enjoying the various wildlife and native plants of Slide Rock State Park.”

“We’re bringing back a lot of a lot of things we’ve done in the past for this event,” Park Ranger Sam Axford said of the event, which started in 2007. “There were three years we were not able to do it because of the pandemic … So it’s exciting to have it back because it’s a celebration of the season and the community.”

Environmental interpretation programs are scheduled and Northern Arizona University herpetologist Erika Nowak will also have live reptiles on hand to help visitors to learn about some of Arizona’s more misunderstood species of wildlife.

A taped presentation by Kathy Pendley-Shaw, a descendent of Frank L. Pendley, a homesteader who first arrived in Oak Creek Canyon in 1907, will be playing inside the apple packing shed. The program will cover the history of her family’s time in the canyon before the state of Arizona acquired the land and opened Slide Rock State Park in October 1987.

“We will also be demonstrating the antique 1933 apple polishing and sorting machine,” Axford said. “We’ll be doing demonstrations of an antique cider press as well. We don’t have set times for any of the demos.”

“Kathy and a lot of the other volunteers are putting together a scarecrow assembly station where kids can decorate the faces and build little scarecrows,” Axford continued. “Then there’s a photo display … we’ll be setting up with a wagon and some other fall decor for a photo op. There’s also going to be some leaf rubbing and other small activities. Also Rocky Ringtail, the Arizona State Parks mascot, will be there, too.”

Additionally, a blacksmith will be present to give people a sense of what life was life in Oak Creek Canyon, and Guardian Air will be there with a helicopter to provide educational programing as well.

“It’s the best apple harvest that we’ve seen in a very long time,” Axford said. “There was minimal damage from the codling moth this year … and I think maybe because of how much precipitation we got over the winter, it’s been an awesome amount of apples. Primarily we have a variety called the Starking Double Red Delicious that is the one we have the most of … We have some Golden Delicious and those are probably my favorite. We have a dozen varieties. … But they ripen at different times of the season, so not all of [the varieties] will be available for Fall Fest.”

You-pick apple picking bags range from $5 to $10; boxes are available for $20. If visitors prefer to have their apples pre-picked, prices are $10 for the small bag and $20 for the large bag and are available for purchase from the Brown House at the park. The funds raised from the apple harvest will go toward the maintenance of the Slide Rock Historic Apple Orchards.

The tentative lineup of exhibitors at Fall Fest 2023 includes the Oak Creek Watershed Council, the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition, the Arizona Flywheelers, the Sedona Fire District, Keep Sedona Beautiful and Milkweeds for Monarchs.

“Folks don’t often think of the history of this park. They think of the slide, so it’s just a really special opportunity to get to learn about [the past],” Axford said.