Fall-o-ween: OC Halloween Family Event 2021 is a free event with themed photo opportunities, a hay maze and more. It’s located at the Heritage Hill Historic Park in Lake Forest California. The event will take place on October 15-17 and 22-24 from 4:30 – 8:30 pm. Costumes are strongly encouraged.
As you as you enter the park the Hay Maze is the first thing you’ll see. The older boys had no trouble finding their way out, but the younger ones needed a bit more help. Even though it took them a bit more time, their eyes were filled with wonder as they explored every twist and turn. Next, we go through the different photo stations, decorated in fun Halloween themes.
The next station we went too was the spooky graveyard, make sure you pay special attention to the gravestones as it’s full of puns and jokes. Let me give a brief history of the Heritage Hill Historic Park. It began as a land grant by the Mexican Government to Don Jose Serrano in 1841. His family built their Adobe on the land in 1863. Passing through various hands, the land eventually was purchased by George and Dwight Whitting Jr in 1932 and was given the status of a historical landmark.
Mr. and Mrs. Baker acquired the property as a vacation home from 1958 through 1969. The Bakers sold the 5000-acre ranch to the Occidental Petroleum company and in 1974 the Adobe was donated to the County of Orange. The county set aside 4.1 acres to be used as a historic park and moved in several buildings such as El Toro’s School House and St. George’s Mission. The steps up the school house really gets me into the spirit of fall. I can’t tell you how surreal it was to see spider man hanging around a bunch of pumpkins.
The Bennet Ranch house is a historical reminder of Saddleback valley’s citrus farming days of the early 20th century. But today it’s decked out in creepy crawly spiders, which was perfect because we have spiderman in our group. Prior to the settlers in the region the Ashumen and Tongva were the native tribes that may have lived in saddleback valley for thousands of years. The type of homes they built were called an Kiicha which were primarily for sleeping 10 to 12 people. The interior of the Kiicha had no amenities other than a firepit in the center for warmth.
We then grabbed some dinner at a local empanada place. I didn’t get an accurate count, but I think they had over a dozen different flavors to choose from. These bad boys came with some delicious Chimichurri Sauce. It tasted like olive oil and garlic, which can be purchased separately $1.49 for 3 ounces and $2.99 for 6.
Falloween at night felt less like Halloween and more like Christmas. It took the crew several weeks to hang up all the twinkling decorations and I think they did a great job.
Address: 25151 Serrano Rd, Lake Forest, CA 92630
Website: https://ocparks.com/historic-sites/heritage-hill-historical-park