Fall Travel in New York

New York is one of those states where you can usually enjoy a wonderful travel experience no matter what time of the year you go. But there is something special about the fall season that makes New York even more energetic and enchanting.

There's good reason for autumn to be the most beautiful and celebrated season in New York. With fall comes the foliage change and cooler temperatures, as well as hundreds of unique seasonal activities and events.

If planning to visit New York during fall, here are a few things you should not miss to enjoy the uniqueness of this season.

In The City

Central Park

Central Park is a must during fall. This is the time of the year where the colorful warm red, brown, orange, and yellow tones on the trees contrast against the cool gradients of grey, white, and black commercial buildings.

Central park is the perfect place to people watch, exercise, picnic and even row a boat on the lake.

Riverside Park

Riverside Park runs along the west side of Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River. The beauty of Riverside Park is that it is located next to the waterfront, which shows some of the best views towards New Jersey. Unlike Central Park, Riverside Park is not as touristy and crowded, giving you the opportunity to enjoy the park in a more personal way, or simply a calmer place to enjoy nature.

Outside The City

Foliage Drives

New York State offers autumn splendor through its scenic drives up the mountains in the northern part of the state. Routes like Immortal Mountain in the Catskills and various autumn drives in the Adirondacks will take you much deeper into nature to experience firsthand the natural expression of seasonal change. Colors, leaves, the fauna and the breeze, create the perfect combination for a scenic drive that will tickle all your senses.

Two other great roads to take are the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Scenic Byway – which is 518 miles of scenery tracing the shores of the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, the Niagara River and Lake Erie; and the Shawangunk Hudson Valley Wine Trail, which contains 14 vineyards along the trail.

Camping and Hiking

Just like the foliage drives, camping and hiking during fall will give you that same autumn splendor but on a much slower pace that will allow you to immerse yourself in nature a bit deeper. Great camping places or cabin rentals/resorts are located both in the Catskills and the Adirondacks.

Events

Autumn is the time of the year when many of New York’s biggest events occur. Among the most important are:

Fashion Week

New Yorkers take fall fashion very seriously and bring the chic from runway to sidewalk. During Fashion Week, though, hundreds of thousands of fashion industry insiders descend upon Damrosch Park for eight days of runway presentations by some of the world's most sought-after fashion designers. Don’t miss viewing a show if you can manage to get a ticket. If not, just experience the fashion sense all from the sidewalk.

The Village Halloween Parade

Every year, on October 31, more than 50,000 people parade down Sixth Avenue wearing some of the scariest, innovative and most hilarious costumes you’ll ever see. All of this is accompanied by a parade of floats, live bands, and numerous music performances. If you’re not participating in the parade, you can enjoy it from the sidelines too.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

On Thanksgiving Day, most parts of Midtown Manhattan and the Upper West Side are paralyzed to present this iconic spectacle of celebrities, Broadway performers, enormous balloon figures and more. In addition, this marks the first Santa Claus appearance of the season.

Openhousenewyork Weekend

By mid-October, New York City literally opens its doors to some of its unusual sights not normally open to the public and showcases them to visitors interested in these quirky, rarely seen sights. These spaces range from monuments to mansions, factories, skyscrapers, old buildings, and more. During the visits, you get the inside scoop of why that space is particularly interesting and the role it plays in the broader New York landscape.

New York clearly has much more to offer during fall, but this is a good start to get the best experience of a colorful and vibrant Empire State.

Where do you want to go in New York?

Note: Available plans and coverages may have changed since this blog was published.