Coeur d'Alene Fall Events October 2026: Markets & Harvest Fests

The 5th Street Farmers Market held its last regular Wednesday on September 2. It comes back once more on Saturday, October 17, 2026, for a special Harvest Market. That is its only Saturday market of the year and its last date of the season. The Kootenai County Farmers' Market has its own schedule. Its Wednesday market at Riverstone ended September 30. Its Saturday market in Hayden runs through October 24. Riverstone then hosts a separate Harvest Fest on October 31 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

So the outdoor market season ends over three Saturdays in a row, not on one day. The first of those Saturdays, October 17, is the busiest day on the fall calendar. The downtown street market, the Museum of North Idaho's Harvest Festival and a customer appreciation day at the Hayden market all happen that morning.

The downtown market comes back after a six-week break

Vendors who buy the 5th Street market's 2026 seasonal package pay for 16 markets. That covers 15 Wednesdays from Memorial Day to Labor Day plus the Harvest Market on Saturday, October 17. The Harvest Market is part of the regular season, not a separate event added later. It is the 16th market on a schedule built in December, and it comes more than six weeks after the 15th.

The timing is different too. The Wednesday markets ran from 4 to 7 p.m., rain or shine. The Harvest Market is a daytime event, open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on 5th Street near Sherman Avenue. The Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association lists harvest produce, music and food. The market's rules require farm products to be grown or produced within 200 air miles of downtown Coeur d'Alene by the vendor selling them, so the October tables carry the end of the regional harvest.

How Apple Palooza tickets work

Apple Palooza runs during the Harvest Market. Each ticket gets you one sample-size apple treat at each participating downtown business, and ticket holders vote for the Golden Apple Award. Presale tickets cost $20. Door tickets cost $25, and only a limited number will be sold. Check-in is at the Harvest Market at 5th and Sherman from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., so a ticket holder needs to arrive an hour before the market closes.

Tickets can be refunded until seven days before the event. For October 17, the last day for a refund is Saturday, October 10. The winner will be announced on the Downtown Association's social media after the votes are counted, with cash prizes and recognition for the top three. As of early October, the event page still says "Participating Locations Coming Soon," so you can buy a ticket before you know which shops are on the route.

The Harvest Festival is at the museum's new home

The Museum of North Idaho holds its Harvest Festival the same day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 720 E. Young Ave. Admission is free, and some activities cost extra. The listing includes hayrides, pumpkin painting, live music, food vendors, artisan booths and history programs.

The address is new to many locals. The museum now occupies the J.C. White House, built in 1903 by local businessman J.C. White. The house originally stood at Eighth and Sherman and was moved to the base of Tubbs Hill, near City Hall and the library. It was donated to the museum after its property was sold in 2019. The museum opened its new home to the public on April 18, 2025.

The Coeur d'Alene Press described the house as the centerpiece of an 11,300-square-foot museum. Public exhibits are on the lower level, and the upper floors hold visitor space, more exhibits, a library and offices. The same report described a proposed 5,000-square-foot underground addition for exhibits and archives. That addition is still a plan, not a finished space.

The festival's hours run one hour past the market's. Both events are downtown, and the museum sits near City Hall at the base of Tubbs Hill. You can do both in one trip without moving the car to another part of town.

One way to plan the day

Here is how the schedules line up on October 17:

1. 10 a.m. The Harvest Market on 5th Street, the Harvest Festival on Young Avenue and the Saturday market in Hayden all open around the same time. Apple Palooza check-in opens at 5th and Sherman.
2. Late morning. Hayden's Customer Appreciation Day is the Kootenai County Farmers' Market's special event for that Saturday. For anyone who shops the Hayden market most weeks, the morning means picking one market or the other.
3. 2 p.m. Apple Palooza check-in closes.
4. 3 p.m. The 5th Street market closes for the year.
5. 4 p.m. The Harvest Festival ends.
6. 6 p.m. The museum's "Cemetery Tours – Murders and Outlaws" walking tour starts and runs until 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20. The same tour also runs on October 15 and 16.

The week before also has two dates worth adding. The Friends of Tubbs Hill fall cleanup runs Saturday, October 10, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, meeting at East Tubbs Hill Park. The group says this year's work also includes the Jewett House and City Park. On Wednesday, October 14, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., the museum's History Hour covers the Kootenai County Courthouse time capsule exhibition.

What's on after October 17

Once the 5th Street market closes, most of the weekly outdoor events in town have ended. The City of Coeur d'Alene's 2026 park events page lists City Park concerts only in July and August and Music at McEuen only through September 2. It shows nothing in parks for October. From here on, the calendar is mostly single events indoors or on the lake.

Saturday, October 24. The Hayden Saturday market holds its last regular day. That afternoon, from 1 to 3 p.m., Gizmo-CdA, the community makerspace in the NIC Hedlund Building at 283 Hubbard Ave., holds its third annual Gizmo Goes Bowlistic fundraiser. Guests pick a handmade bowl from hundreds made in the studio, fill it with popcorn, browse a silent auction and watch pottery demos.

October 23 to 31. The Coeur d'Alene Resort runs its family Haunted Harbors cruises. Its "Shipwrecked at The Cedars" Halloween theme at The Cedars Floating Restaurant runs all month, from 3 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, October 31. Riverstone Harvest Fest runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closes out the Kootenai County Farmers' Market's outdoor Saturdays. The market's calendar still lists an Autumn Indoor Market on November 14 and a Winter Market on December 12. That night, the Resort holds its Monster's Ball for guests 21 and over, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Saturday, November 7. Downtown's Wine for the Holidays runs from 1 to 6 p.m., with check-in at the Plaza Shops, 210 E. Sherman Ave.

November 13 to 25. The Resort's Journey to the North Pole cruises start with Sneak Peek Week.

Friday, November 27. The 34th Lighting Ceremony Parade starts at 5 p.m. at 8th and Sherman. It heads west on Sherman to Government Way and Northwest Boulevard and is followed by the lighting ceremony and fireworks. The Resort's Holiday Light Show Lighting Ceremony is the same night.

From October 17 to November 27, Sherman Avenue goes from a farmers market street to a holiday parade route. In between, the gatherings move indoors, onto the lake and out to Hayden and Riverstone. The 5th Street market won't run again until next season.

If you live near downtown and spend October 17 walking between 5th Street and Young Avenue, you're seeing one of the things that shapes what homes nearby are worth. Chris Briner follows these neighborhood details closely. If you're curious how your home's location near downtown and the lake affects its value, get your instant home valuation and we'll walk you through what the current numbers show.