On Saturday, September 26, more than 30 local artists set up at Landis Woods, 2369 Lititz Pike, for the Landis Woods Outdoor Fine Art Show. It ran rain or shine from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with live music, food, free admission and dogs welcome. Manheim Township promoted it as "a beautiful, wooded setting."
Eleven weeks before that, the same woods were off-limits. After the July 4 storm, the township closed the nearly 70-acre park until further notice and gave this reason:
"All trails are blocked and the park is not safe for use due to the number of trees down and hanging branches."
The art show proves the grounds can host an event again. It doesn't prove the trails are open. For anyone living in Bent Creek, that gap shapes the whole month. Landis Woods is still recovering, so the big October 2026 events happen at places built to handle a crowd: the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum on Kissel Hill Road, Overlook Park and its activities center, and the stretch of Lititz Pike and Manheim Pike that gained new storefronts in September.
What the Storm Left Behind on Lititz Pike
The July 4 storm, plus a second one the next day, hit Manheim Township hard. At the peak, more than 35,000 PPL customers lost power, at least 50 homes were severely damaged, and as many as 32 roads were closed. Bent Creek is a Manheim Township community, even with its Lititz mailing address at 620 Bent Creek Drive, so this was a local storm in every sense.
The two parks recovered at different speeds. Here's the timeline from local reporting:
| Date (2026) | Landis Woods, 2369 Lititz Pike | Perelman Park, 1996 Landis Valley Road |
|---|---|---|
| July 10 | Closed until further notice; all trails blocked | Closed; a fallen tree blocked the entrance |
| July 14 | Still closed | Reopened after the tree was removed and a safety check was done |
| July 23 | Both entrances and Boettcher House open; rest of the park closed, all trails blocked | Open |
| September 26 | Hosted the Outdoor Fine Art Show | No update found |
As of today, September 30, the most recent trail report we could find is still the July 23 update. The township's notice for the art show didn't mention trails at all. If an October walk at Landis Woods is on your list, check Manheim Township's News Flash page before you lace up. Perelman Park is the sure thing. It has been open since mid-July.
Landis Valley Carries the Biggest Weekend
The largest event close to Bent Creek this month happens on farm and village grounds. Harvest Days at Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum, 2451 Kissel Hill Road, runs Saturday and Sunday, October 10 and 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum calls it "Lancaster County's Original Autumn Tradition."
The schedule centers on Pennsylvania German farm life:
- Traditional craft and farming demonstrations, plus ropemaking
- Pumpkin picking and tractor-wagon rides
- Historic children's games and hands-on activities
- Hammer Creek Bluegrass Band on Saturday and The Happy Wanderers German Band on Sunday
- Local craft breweries, food trucks and seasonal treats
The museum sells advance tickets online and posts an access guide for visitors who need it. Harvest Days isn't the museum's only October event. The 2026 calendar opens with a Fall Sneak Peek on Thursday, October 1, holds a tatting tree-ornament workshop on Saturday, October 24, and ends the month with a lecture on Pennsylvania Dutch food traditions on Friday, October 30. The two smaller events suit anyone who wants Landis Valley without the Harvest Days crowd.
Overlook Absorbs the Big Crowds
Overlook is where the township puts its largest public gatherings, and October puts three of them there in one month.
The first is the 2026 WIOV Fallfest at Overlook Park on Sunday, October 4. Concerts this size come with logistics, and the township's notice spells them out:
- Barriers go up at every park entrance at 10 p.m. on Saturday, October 3, and vehicle access is restricted from then on.
- Parking at the park requires a prepaid online pass, and pass holders must enter from Fruitville Pike.
- Golf Drive stays open only for golfers with pre-scheduled tee times.
- Everyone without a pass parks for free at Roots Country Market, 705 Graystone Road, Manheim, and takes the shuttle.
The township advises allowing extra time. A Bent Creek resident with an Overlook tee time that Sunday will want to confirm it before heading out.
Later in the month, Overlook becomes the township's Halloween headquarters. The free 10th Annual Halloween Carnival runs Saturday, October 24, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Overlook Activities Center, 301 Golf Drive, with games, food trucks, a costume parade and Trunk-or-Treat. The next afternoon, Sunday, October 25, the same building hosts the free 2nd Annual Low Sensory Spooky Soiree, also from 1 to 4 p.m. Families who'd like a quieter version of the carnival get a full afternoon built for that, one day later and in the same place.
For the night itself, the township recommends trick-or-treating on Saturday, October 31, from 6 to 8 p.m. The notice says this is guidance, not a binding rule.
The Pike Picked Up New Tenants in September
The corridor between Bent Creek and the city also changed. Three openings landed within two weeks of each other in September.
Grotto Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar opened Tuesday, September 15, at 1525 Lititz Pike in the Shoppes at the Point, offering dine-in, carryout and a sports bar. It gives the Lititz Pike strip a new place to watch a fall Saturday or Sunday game.
Bavington Clothier, a men's and women's apparel boutique, debuted September 16 at 1610 Manheim Pike.
Halal Meat House, a new international grocery at 1470 Manheim Pike, carries goods from India, Nepal, Africa and the Middle East. LancasterOnline covered the opening on September 23.
So a Harvest Days afternoon can end with dinner at a restaurant that wasn't on Lititz Pike a month ago, and a weekend grocery run on Manheim Pike can include a store that's brand new this fall.
October Near Bent Creek, Dated
Here's the month in one place, including the yard-work dates that come with it:
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, Oct 1 | Fall Sneak Peek | Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum |
| Sun, Oct 4 | WIOV Fallfest; prepaid parking or free shuttle from Roots | Overlook Park |
| Sat–Sun, Oct 10–11 | Harvest Days, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. | Landis Valley, 2451 Kissel Hill Road |
| Mon, Oct 19 | Township leaf collection begins; free leaf drop-off opens | Curbside; Compost Park, 2775 Oregon Pike |
| Sat, Oct 24 | 10th Annual Halloween Carnival, 1–4 p.m.; tatting workshop | Overlook Activities Center; Landis Valley |
| Sun, Oct 25 | Low Sensory Spooky Soiree, 1–4 p.m. | Overlook Activities Center |
| Fri, Oct 30 | Pennsylvania Dutch food-traditions lecture | Landis Valley |
| Sat, Oct 31 | Recommended trick-or-treat, 6–8 p.m. | Township-wide |
Free leaf drop-off at Compost Park runs from October 19 through December 31. That's the same Oregon Pike site where the township let residents drop off storm debris through July 26.
One item belongs to a later season. PennDOT has a Route 501 safety project planned for Lititz Pike between Belmont Avenue and Golf Drive, including intersection work at Sunset Place, Roseville Road and Hess Boulevard–Murry Hill Drive. Construction isn't expected until 2028, so it won't affect this October's drives to Overlook or the Shoppes at the Point.
Steph keeps up with Manheim Township updates like the Landis Woods trail status and the Fallfest parking plan because Bent Creek clients ask about them. If you'd like to talk through what this fall's changes on Lititz Pike mean for your home, Stephanie Frysinger is happy to help. Schedule your free consultation.