Playoff games, school shoes, pilot lights, crisp afternoons, chilly mornings, red gold and rust colored leaves lining the streets — the final outdoor pleasure of fall is harvest season. For adults, this is the final celebration of the abundance of summer. For your kids, this celebration is focused almost entirely on caramel apples, candy, costumes, and that iconic squash of autumn, the jack-o-lantern. And, well, they have a point.

On Sauvie Island, ten miles from downtown Portland, you can spend the day at actual farms in actual fields of pumpkins, get lost in rows of corn, stuff yourself with freshly dipped apples and cut fresh flowers all while giving your kids an experience they will never forget — and may inspire a tradition you will want to repeat every year. The island is stunning, bucolic and abundant, the exact setting in which to spend the last few pleasant days outdoors. And your kids? They will go bonkers.

To get there, take Hwy 30 west past Linnton and you’ll see a sign directing you to the Sauvie Island bridge. Once across the river, the first sign you’ll see is for Sauvie Island Farms. They have it all (including a pumpkin sling shot), and if you’re looking for the quickest and easiest October on the island stop, you will not be disappointed. They’re not open on Sundays (everybody here is serious about church), but do offer a full activities on Fridays and Saturdays. You’ll find delicious tacos, a very sweet animal barn, and Christian rock music.

The two best known Sauvie Island farms, The Pumpkin Patch and Kruger’s Farm Market, are in opposite directions off the bridge. Both are working farms, both invite you to wander anywhere you like and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of true farm life and each has a unique charm.

As you cross the river, turning left and looping back under the bridge will set you on your way to The Pumpkin Patch two miles away. Hayrides are available on weekends after 10:00am and during the week in the afternoon weather permitting. Climb on the flatbed, sit on the hay bale and enjoy the ride to the giant patch itself, which is filled with thousands upon thousands of pumpkins still attached to the vine. Your best strategy to deal with the kids who will invariably want the three-foot high, 65-pound orange bomb is to allow them to pick any pumpkin they choose, as long as they can carry it. The rides are $1 or free when you turn in your ticket and buy the pumpkin you have picked.

Hot buttered corn ($1.50) for lunch followed by a big bowl of cobbler topped with ice cream ($3.50) can be had at their trailer-turned-friendly café. Weekends find the parking lot lined with other food vendors selling everything from elephant ears to chicken fajitas, but if the guy selling pulled pork sandwiches topped with coleslaw is there, buy five. They are that delicious.

Other attractions at this family-run, 30-year-old 500-acre farm include a barn full of animals, a hay pyramid for climbing and the sweetly old-fashioned Pumpkin Cottage Gift Shop. The cow train rides are also very tempting, but discretion is advised. This is a bit of a wild ride for those under 3 (although parents are welcome to sit in the barrel with their kid, if you can manage to fit).

If you opt to take a right off the bridge (actually more of a veering straight), you will quickly arrive at Kruger’s Farm Market. Also a u-pick farm offering pumpkin patches, hayrides (weekends only), delicious food (a bit more expensive but also a bit tastier), pony rides and flowers, Kruger’s additionally hosts Saturday night Hoe Downs. From 7:00 - 10:00pm you can enjoy live hillbilly music and barn dances. Pack in a dinner or eat there; there is a bonfire, but bundle up and bring an extra blanket. For $5 a car, this is truly a unique farm event.

Before you head back to the mainland — and if nobody is crying or fighting from too many candy apples — take a drive. The landscape on the island is stunning. If the day is pleasant enough to take a walk on the beach, seize the opportunity. In fact, as long as it is not raining, take the time to visit these beautiful river beaches where the kids can build a sand castle, throw stones into the water, watch the enormous tanker ships make their way to the Pacific and get wonderfully gritty and sandy. You need a parking permit that can be bought at the Reeder Beach RV country store, located just before the beach areas. Tickets are rare but expensive, and the day permit is only $3.50. You can also buy a permit at the store just off the bridge, but your harvest fest activities may prove to be more than enough activity for one day. The beaches are open year-round, a great excuse to plan your return visit.