LANE COUNTY, Ore. — It's the first weekend of fall and that means local farms are turning into hubs for celebrating the season.

It's the time of year for pumpkin patches and haunted houses. And there are plenty of local ways to fling into fall.

Fall festivities are officially underway at Johnson Farms in Eugene.

The farm is offering classic fall activities, like the hayride.

"We've been doing the wagon ride-type things for about 20 years and the last 10 years have been the more exciting part," said Walter Johnson, the owner of Johnson Farms.

That excitement comes in the form of pumpkin-head targets for riders to throw mini gourds at

Once off the ride, visitors can spend some time in the pumpkin patch.

"Pumpkin hunting because we've got about 20 different types of pumpkins and colors shapes and sizes," Johnson said.

The ongoing pandemic is not likely to get in the way of celebrating the season, either.

"I was a little surprised last year, we had probably the biggest crowd last year in spite of covid, anticipating it will probably be at least as big this year as well," Johnson said.

You can buy tickets to visit the farm online at johnsonfarmseugene.com.

Other local pumpkin patches like Thistle Down Farm and Detering Orchards tell us they start up their fall activities the first week of October.