Fall is a magical season throughout the United States. Landscapes from coast to coast are transformed from verdant green to fiery red, bright yellow, and deep orange. It’s a season of traditions and festivities, some spooky, some family-friendly.
Read on to discover the coolest places to visit and the top experiences to enjoy in America in the coming months...
Salem is synonymous with spookiness so it should be no surprise that fall is an excellent time to pay a visit. Though there are haunted happenings like ghost tours year-round, October and its neighboring months make visits to the Salem Witch House and Old Burying Point Cemetery extra spooky and special.
New England’s fall leaves and brisk air also help set the scene for a memorable experience. Note that tickets must be bought online in advance.
Wisconsinites hold their fall harvest season in high esteem and the Bayfield Apple Festival has been a state-favorite for over half a century. This small town showcases its love for the fruit with an apple peeling contest, apple pie and dessert contest, a parade, and so much more.
Each year, the event even crowns an Apple Festival Queen, but you won’t need her majesty’s permission to sample some of the festival's produce.
The Aloha State may not be the quintessential pick for a fall getaway, but there are plenty of reasons to trade pumpkins for pineapples. With summer holidaymakers back home and snowbirds not yet flocking this far south, late September through early November offers fewer crowds to contend with.
Persimmon picking and ghost tours go hand-in-hand with humpback whale watching and surfing to create a visit that’s unique but includes the hallmark Hawaiian experiences.
Fall is a transitory time for wildlife in Alaska, making it a top pick for shutterbugs and animal lovers who don’t mind chillier temperatures. Glacier Bay is particularly abuzz during this time of the year as locals like beavers build their dams and moose mate.
Visitors will see migratory birds like snow geese and gulls take to the skies while salmon and bald eagles can be spotted at the rivers.
The Adirondack Balloon Festival makes it effortless to embrace a fall festival without filling up a whole day’s schedule. Balloon flights take off at sunrise and sunset, and since the festival has free admission, it’s easy to show up on one of the four September 2025 dates (18-21) to watch them sail over the Adirondacks.
Some pilots allow visitors to book private rides for an unforgettable view of the region.
Fans of slow travel, picturesque views, and Rocky Mountain roaming would do well to take a train ride through the Colorado mountains during fall.
The Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad runs between the two cities and offers a spectacular sight of the San Juan National Forest as it wears a yellow coat of vibrant fall leaves. This historic steam train ride is a breathtaking journey lasting under four hours each way.
Texas’ largest festival celebrates the state's Spanish heritage during Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The two-day event across San Antonio features the Spiritlandia River Parade, the Catrina Ball, and live performances at the Muertos Fest.
Honoring tradition as well as loved ones who’ve passed, this colorful celebration includes children’s activities and is rated as one of the best cultural festivals in the country.
Cape May’s quintessential beach town makes it a summer favorite, though those in the know flock to New Jersey’s shore for a special fall occurrence. It’s one of the top birding destinations on the continent, where over 400 species migrate for the season.
From hawks and ospreys to peregrines and other birds of prey, the Cape May Fall Festival (16-19 October) celebrates an amazing opportunity to spot these migratory birds.
Motor City makes the most of its pre-winter weather, especially during the final days of fall. For decades, Detroit has hosted America’s Thanksgiving Parade Turkey Trot, which consists of a 10k, a 5k, and a one-mile race.
Many participants compete in full costume, and you don’t need a pair of running sneakers to join the celebrations. Simply watching the race and the parade that follows is a great way to enjoy Detroit’s seasonal festivities.
Great Smoky Mountain National Park is one of the most visited in the country, and a great time to explore it is during the Smoky Mountain Harvest Festival.
This 12-week festival starts in September and ends in November, with towns like Gatlinburg, Sevierville, and Pigeon Forge each embracing fall-themed displays and activities. Of course, a drive or hike into the national park is also a must-do.
There’s a reason why Pacific Grove earned the nickname "Butterfly Town, USA." Each year, thousands of monarch butterflies call this California town home. They typically arrive in mid-to-late October for a four-month stopover en route to Mexico.
It’s free to visit the Monarch Grove Butterfly Sanctuary throughout the season, though it’s the first Saturday in October that the town celebrates the flight with a butterfly parade.
Pumpkin lovers take note: Illinois harvests more pumpkins than any other state. Turn a fall visit to the Prairie State into a jaunt around some of the best acreages within its borders.
Goebbert’s has a fall festival with family-friendly attractions like a corn stalk maze and a haunted house, while the Great Pumpkin Patch boasts 300 varieties of pumpkin, mazes, and wagon rides.
An adorable traffic jam awaits in Ketchum during the Trailing of the Sheep Festival. This celebration of shepherds and sheep takes over the towns of Ketchum and Hailey in early October, hosting nearly a week of events focused on sheep herding.
Sheepdog trials, lamb-focused cooking lessons, concerts, and more fill the schedule. The week culminates with the big sheep parade down Ketchum’s Main Street.
Feel the ground rumble in South Dakota’s Custer State Park during the Buffalo Roundup Festival. This annual tradition stretching back to the days of the Old West involves cowboys and cowgirls rounding up over 1,000 buffalo and culling the park’s herd size to a healthy limit.
Visitors can watch and even participate in the herding. The accompanying arts festival also offers a glimpse into Native American and Western culture.
Ohio’s sole national park is a spectacular place where early-birds and late-risers can marvel at the changing leaves throughout October. Different species of tree in Cuyahoga Valley National Park shed their green color each week, so earlier in the month you'll see maple trees turning red, while later visits bring yellow witch hazels.
The bright reds and deep browns around Brandywine Falls make for an excellent hiking destination. Remember your camera.
Bar Harbor’s tourist season reaches its end in October, opening up an opportunity to roam around the Maine town without the heavy crowds.
Though much of Bar Harbor closes down mid-month, the businesses that are still open tend to offer end-of-season discounts. Nearby Acadia National Park also keeps some roads open to visitors.
Hold the cheese during a fall trip to Warrens; the last full weekend in September is dedicated to cranberries. The Warrens Cranberry Festival hosts three full and free days of arts, crafts, and cranberries.
Over three miles of shopping booths sit alongside food stalls selling everything from cranberry coffee to deep-fried cranberries on a stick. Local cranberry marsh tours help officially start the harvest season.
Just west of St Louis and providing a gateway to the Missouri Ozarks, the city of Eureka takes the Halloween season seriously. The Scarecrow Festival takes over the town for the entire month of October.
Dozens of scarecrows line the streets, yards, schools, businesses, and churches, offering tons of fun selfie stops.
Take a step back into the 18th century and see what life was like in Fort Ouiatenon during the Feast of the Hunter’s Moon. Once a gathering spot for French settlers and Native Americans, the banks of the Wabash River now play host to an annual historical re-enactment.
Authentic food, storytelling, tomahawk throwing, live performances, and military demonstrations fill the schedule for this cultural, family-friendly festival.
Despite being certifiably southwestern, New Mexico’s landscape features fall colors that would give New England a run for its money. A tank of gas is all you’ll need to enjoy a scenic fall drive through the state.
Sandia Crest Scenic Byway provides mile-high views of the colorful countryside, and the hillsides flanking the Santa Fe National Forest Scenic Byway run crimson and gold in late September.
Nebraska may be the Cornhusker State, but Illinois knows a thing or two about celebrating the crop as well. Corn Fest takes over Grundy County in late September and it’s the annual event that locals break out their best jeans and flannels for.
Family-friendly parades, crackerbox derbies, pie-eating contests, and the scarecrow stroll kick off the fall season with plenty of fun on and off the cob.
As fall comes to a close, Florida finally embraces the cold weather and prepares for the holiday season. St Augustine kicks off its months-long celebration "Nights of Lights" in mid-November (lasting until the end of January), and it makes the nation’s oldest city feel truly festive.
Thousands of lights adorn the city’s bars, boats, B&Bs, and more. This annual event offers a cheery, free way to bid farewell to fall.
Stowe, Vermont, is a classic fall destination for leaf lovers and pumpkin pickers alike. With Mount Mansfield State Forest adorning the Stowe area with red, yellow, and orange leaves, you’ll instantly sense autumn in the air.
And you’ll see it, too, at the Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival. This unique gathering features live music, a chili cook-off, and groups hurling pumpkins through the air with homemade trebuchet launchers.
Now take a look at New England's best attractions to enjoy this fall