3 Trips: Seasonal Festivals

Where:

New Ulm

Madison County, Iowa

Atchison, Kansas

When:

October 3–4, 10–11
newulmoktoberfest.com

October 11–12 madisoncounty.com

October 27–31
atchisonkansas.net

Why:

Had a good schnitzel lately? If not, check out New Ulm’s Oktoberfest, two weekends that celebrate German culture—brats, brews, and beyond. Events include horse-drawn trolley rides, polka bands, kraut-slinging food stands, plus public tours of the newly remodeled August Schell Brewing Company, home to Schell brews and Grain Belt Premium, all in the surrounds of Minnesota’s most popular German–inspired town.

In case you missed the best-selling book and the blockbuster movie, the covered bridges of Madison County have become a national icon. For this two-day festival, the county kicks it up a notch with food, entertainment, and crafts along with in-depth bridge tours.

+ Hint: The event is held in the town of Winterset.

Need a real scare? Not just some teenager in a sheet chasing you through a cornfield scare, but a “Hey, look, there’s a headless ghost” scare? Atchison, Kansas, has been referred to as the most haunted town in Kansas, and nightly from October 27–31, guides take visitors on tours of the town’s haunted mansions, each with its own scary, supposedly true tale. A girl who terrorizes men in the doctor’s house where she died, the voice of a teen who jumped to her death after being jilted by a lover. Fiction or fact? There’s no way to know—so you have to get scared.

Stay:

Bohemian Bed and Breakfast (507-354-2268) has been featured on HGTV for its authentic Bohemian décor and customs, including the Opium Den, in which the hosts serve Schell–brewed beer as well as varietals from nearby Morgan Creek and Fieldstone Vineyards. There is a home-cooked German–inspired breakfast every morning.

Treat yourself to a comfortable bed closer to dining and nightlife options in Des Moines, about thirty-five miles from Winterset. The Suites of 800 Locust (800-320-2580), built in 1912 as the original Des Moines Club, is the city’s best boutique hotel. Cap off your day of exploring with a nightcap next to the fireplace in the large, clubby lobby. If you’d rather stay near the bridges, try Winterset’s largest motel, the thirty-one-room Super 8 (515-462-4888).

In the mansions, of course. Just kidding. For more reassuring surroundings, check into St. Martin’s Bed & Breakfast (913-367-4964) or the Tuck U Inn at Glick Mansion (913-367-9110), built as a home for the ninth governor of Kansas.

+ Atchinson is also the birthplace of Amelia Earhart!