Fri Jun 17

Leaves Are Falling, Autumn in New York State is Calling

Written by Richard Butler

Autumn in New York State has so much to offer travellers. The outdoor rolls out the welcome carpet with beautiful blue skies, crisp air and trees painted in vibrant shades of red, orange and gold. Fall harvests offer a bounty of fun farm activities and delicious delights. And Halloween celebrations create a spirit of fun and magic. With all this and more to experience, it's easy to see why your clients will “fall” for New York this autumn.

Scenic Vistas

Fall's foliage makes it the ideal time to explore New York's breathtaking vistas.

For those interested in exploring by car, there are numerous options for scenic drives. Travellers to New York City can avoid city congestion by taking a convenient train north to Westchester County to rent a car. This will set travellers close to Route 287 and the Lyndhurst Mansion, one of America's finest Gothic Revival mansions with sweeping landscapes and gardens, as well as the quaint Palisades Parkway which leads to Bear Mountain State Park where rugged mountain views can be had, as well as hiking, fishing and biking. Along the nation's “North Coast,” the Great Lakes Seaway Trail stretches for 500 miles, connecting gorgeous sights on the St. Lawrence River, Great Lakes, and Niagara Falls. And drives along Erie Canal's Mohawk Towpath, Cayuga Lake's countless vineyards, or the Upper Delaware's quaint villages all offer opportunities to appreciate the stunning natural beauty of the fall foliage.

Drives aren't the only way to get close to nature. The Catskills offer scenic hiking trails as well as biking and golf at Windham Mountain. In the Adirondack region, travellers can hike the popular trails of the Prospect Mountain or get a bird's eye view of the scenery on a gondola sky ride at Gore Mountain.Whiteface, site of the 1980 Olympics, also offers gondola sky rides and while known for its winter sports, the surrounding Lake Placid area has many activities to enjoy in the fall including hiking, canoeing and kayaking. For those looking for an adrenalin rush, visit Hunter Mountain in the Catskills and zipline through the forest canopy at heights of 600 feet! Hiking the legendary Appalachian Trail offers a different kind of rush, as travellers can trek a portion of the world's longest hiking-only footpath where it crosses through southeastern Dutchess County in the Hudson Valley.

A Harvest of Fun

Fall is harvest time in New York State and farms and vineyards open their doors to welcome the public, offering travellers a host of fun activities to experience. In the Chautauqua-Allegheny region, travellers can eat and drink their way through through the many farmers markets and vineyards via New York's Amish Trail or Lake Erie Wine Country Trail, where private winery tours can be arrange. An afternoon at the Liberty Ridge Farm in the Capital-Saratoga region includes trolley rides, pumpkin picking and a chance to puzzle your way through the largest corn maze in the region. Only an hour from Liberty Ridge in Altamont, Indian Ladder Farmsinvites visitors to pick their own strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and apples, and to watch demonstrations of beekeeping, sheep shearing, and cider making.

If cider making is of interest, travellers will enjoy the centuries-old historic Cooperstown Beverage Trail, which features the Fly Creek Cider Mill as well as two wineries and three breweries, and can pair it with a visit to Cooperstown's Farmers' Museum, a living 19th-century farm village populated with costumed interpreters going about their daily lives. Similar historical experiences can be found at Long Island's Old Bethpage Village Restoration, a living 19th century colonial village where visitors can watch a blacksmith at work or sample a candlelit Thanksgiving dinner.

A Scary Good Time

New York State is steeped in mystery, and Halloween brings it to a boil. The annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, which takes place in New York City every October 31st welcomes all to celebrate in costume or without, featuring hundreds of puppets, dancers, artists and bands. Close by at the Bronx Zoo, families can enjoy “Boo at the Zoo” with parades and musical hayrides throughout October, or create their own Halloween legend in Westchester County's Sleepy Hollow, site of author Washington Irving's famed “Headless Horseman” tale, which offers haunted hayrides, Gothic mansions and cemetery tours.

More chills and thrills can be found throughout the state. At Fort Ticonderoga in the Adirondacks, visitors can enjoy a Garrison Ghost Tour of dark legends, and travellers to Greater Niagara can thrill to more than Niagara Falls with a Haunted History Ghost Walk that explores spooky local stories. There are other exciting haunted history trails throughout the state, from the spectral pets at the Haunted History Tour of Auburn in the Finger Lakes, to the Civil War Spirits at the Haunted Garden Stroll in Canandaigua. More family-friendly fun is to be found too, from Van Cortlandt Manor's Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze featuring thousands of jack o' lanterns and swooping pumpkin ghosts, to weekends at Sylvan Beach, where the Amusement Park takes on a festive theme with the Blood Bath Haunted House and Scream Land.

Explore Every Region of New York

Learn more about everything the regions of New York have to offer:

ADIRONDACKS
> Explore The Adirondacks
> Download Regional Fact Sheet

THE CATSKILLS
> Explore The Catskills
> Download Regional Fact Sheet

CHAUTAUGUA-ALLEGHENY
> Explore Chautauqua-Allegheny
> Download Regional Fact Sheet

GREATER NIAGARA
> Explore Greater Niagara
> Download Regional Fact Sheet

LONG ISLAND
> Explore Long Island
> Download Regional Fact Sheet

CAPITAL-SARATOGA

> Explore Capital-Saratoga
> Download Regional Fact Sheet

CENTRAL NEW YORK
> Explore Central New York
> Download Regional Fact Sheet

THE FINGER LAKES
> Explore The Finger Lakes
> Download Regional Fact Sheet

THE HUDSON VALLEY
> Explore The Hudson Valley
> Download Regional Fact Sheet