While we might not get the full change of seasons here in San Diego with a plethora of red and orange leaves or frosty mornings with temperatures below freezing, our city still knows how to celebrate the harvest season. As the air gets cooler and crisper, your family can welcome fall with a trip to the pumpkin patch at Bates Nut Farm, a visit to the Julian Apple Days Apple Festival, or a celebration at the seventh annual Fall Back Festival in the Gaslamp.

Bates Nut Farm offers the perfect opportunity to escape city living and get into the spirit of fall. The 100-acre farm began in 1921 when Gilbert and Beatrice Bates purchased Walnut Slope Ranch in Valley Center and started an old-fashioned family farm while raising their five boys and managing horses, goats, sheep, geese, tractors, and plows. The farm has been passed down through five generations of family and welcomes visitors from around the world every year. 

Open to the public since 1964, Bates Nut Farm emanates old-country feel in its rural and historical setting, complete with farm animals, farm tools, a park with picnic tables, and an old general store-type gift shop with unique gifts and home décor. From pistachios and pecans to walnuts and cashews, the farm offers a wide range of nuts from around the world — raw, roasted, spiced, or salted. Watch as a machine grinds fresh peanuts into peanut butter or visit the old-fashioned candy counter and sample homemade fudge.

Also here, families are welcome each October to search for the perfect pumpkin in the largest and oldest pumpkin patch in the county. Through the end of the month, you can purchase the pumpkin package for $6, which includes one jack-o-lantern pumpkin, a trip through the straw maze, a tractor ride, a farm zoo visit, and Life of a Pumpkin, a 15-minute educational presentation that teaches how pumpkins are grown and cared for, and about their uses and nutritional value. Pay a few extra dollars for a visit to the interactive petting corral or for a pony ride, available October 5-28. The pumpkin patch will also host a scarecrow contest on October 4, the pumpkin festival craft fair on October 4-5, and a costume contest on October 25. (760/749-3333, www.batesnutfarm.biz)

Celebrate fall by honoring one of its favorite fruits: the apple. The Julian Apple Days Festival will be held at Menghini Winery October 4 and 5 from 10am-5pm. The festival will have a slew of activities for families to participate in, including an antique tractor display, food and merchandise vendors, kids games, a beer and wine garden, music and karaoke, and an exhibit all about apples. The apple pie baking contest takes place Saturday with winners announced at noon. Dating back to the early 1900s, the Apple Days Festival has a long history in Julian and seeks to give visitors the complete apple experience. Although Julian Apple Days have always been the perfect time to visit Julian for fresh, crisp apples, it has been 33 years since the last Festival. Organized by the Julian Merchants Association, the festival is sure to provide a deliciously good time. Admission is $3 and children 12 and under are free. (www.julianappledays.com)

Many orchards in Julian also offer you-pick apple picking and the opportunity to press your own cider at this time of year. Consider stopping off at Apple Starr Orchards, Peacefield Orchard, or Raven Hill Orchard to bring home freshly harvested apples that you picked off the tree yourself and make a warm apple pie for a chilly fall day. (www.julianca.com)

Kids of all ages will enjoy the seventh annual Fall Back Festival children’s historic street fair, set to take place in the Gaslamp Quarter on Sunday, November 4, from 11am-4pm. The main gate at Fifth and Island Avenues will usher visitors into scores of attractions including a Wild West show, the house of 1,000 spiders, face painting, puppet shows, wagon and pony rides, pumpkins, gold panning, dance performances, themed activities and crafts, food stands, and contests. Admission is $5, and kids two and under are free. All proceeds benefit the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation. (www.gaslampquarter.org)   RINA VAN ORDEN