Three or four-day Fall Getaways (Northeast US)

[Bob Sacamano]

curious where some of your favorite getaways are in ~October?

we've done southern Vermont the last few years and are looking to switch it up.

Lake George?

The Hamptons/Montauk?

Maine (maybe too far)?

not opposed to flying either.

thanks!

[dm200]

curious where some of your favorite getaways are in ~October?
we've done southern Vermont the last few years and are looking to switch it up.
Lake George?
The Hamptons/Montauk?
Maine (maybe too far)?
not opposed to flying either.
thanks!

The Finger Lakes region of NY state.

Perhaps Niagara Falls area (BOTH US and Canadian sides). Include Niagara on the Lake as well.

[Bob Sacamano]

curious where some of your favorite getaways are in ~October?
we've done southern Vermont the last few years and are looking to switch it up.
Lake George?
The Hamptons/Montauk?
Maine (maybe too far)?
not opposed to flying either.
thanks!

The Finger Lakes region of NY state.

Perhaps Niagara Falls area (BOTH US and Canadian sides). Include Niagara on the Lake as well.

ah, Finger Lakes! not sure why i didn't think of that. any specific areas/properties you can recommend?

[rjbraun]

Montreal? We visited in the summer, but I would think October would be pleasant. Actual airtime from NYC is under an hour (~90 minutes with takeoff and landing), so it's a manageable enough trip but with a change in culture, if that's what you're looking for.

[dm200]

curious where some of your favorite getaways are in ~October?
we've done southern Vermont the last few years and are looking to switch it up.
Lake George?
The Hamptons/Montauk?
Maine (maybe too far)?
not opposed to flying either.
thanks!

The Finger Lakes region of NY state.

Perhaps Niagara Falls area (BOTH US and Canadian sides). Include Niagara on the Lake as well.

ah, Finger Lakes! not sure why i didn't think of that. any specific areas/properties you can recommend?

I grew up in that area. It has been a while, so I cannot recall just when fall comes there. I suspect in early to mid October.

The entire area is nice. Ithaca NY, at the southern end of Cayuga lake is very nice. The scenery is nice going north and south between any of the lakes. I think there are a lot of vineyards now in that area as well.

While not actually in the Finger Lakes region, if you have the time (and have any degree of love of baseball) and it is not out of the way for you, I suggest visiting Cooperstown, NY and the Baseball Hall of fame and associated museum.

[Bob Sacamano]

Montreal? We visited in the summer, but I would think October would be pleasant. Actual airtime from NYC is under an hour (~90 minutes with takeoff and landing), so it's a manageable enough trip but with a change in culture, if that's what you're looking for.

already did that trip - along with Quebec. was fun, but probably looking to do something different.

[Dinosaur Dad]

some to consider that we access easily from our home in Fairfield County, Connecticut:

Northampton, Mass area: multiple colleges in this area. Art galleries, bookstores, Fall Festivals, plus some nice outdoor hiking and bicycling.

Upper Hudson River: stretches from about Poughkeepsie, NY up through the Catskills on the West Side of the Hudson; on the East Side, up through about Hudson, NY. Many historic sights, hiking, good restaurants, lots of NYC-based weekenders.

Adirondacks: a further drive, and it may be somewhat colder, but if you're into hiking it's virtually unlimited. More rustic, smaller towns except for maybe Lake Placid.

Burlington, Vermont area: like the Adirondacks it's further north but a lovely college town and many smaller Vermont towns to visit. Not as busy as southern Vermont.

Lakes Area, New Hampshire: hiking, outdoors options.

One other note is that October is peak leaf season typically and so rates skyrocket.

[dm200]

The Erie canal "towpath" through NY state can be a nice part of a trip. The Erie Canal is not very far north of the Finger Lakes northern end.

[shorty313]

curious where some of your favorite getaways are in ~October?
we've done southern Vermont the last few years and are looking to switch it up.
Lake George?
The Hamptons/Montauk?
Maine (maybe too far)?
not opposed to flying either.
thanks!

The Finger Lakes region of NY state.

Perhaps Niagara Falls area (BOTH US and Canadian sides). Include Niagara on the Lake as well.

ah, Finger Lakes! not sure why i didn't think of that. any specific areas/properties you can recommend?

Geneva NY was where we stayed.

[gogleheads.orb]

curious where some of your favorite getaways are in ~October?

we've done southern Vermont the last few years and are looking to switch it up.

Lake George?

The Hamptons/Montauk?

Maine (maybe too far)?

not opposed to flying either.

thanks!

Northern Vermont?

Burlington, Stowe, Waterbury, Waitsfield, Montpelier, Bristol, Middlebury.

[Bob Sacamano]

curious where some of your favorite getaways are in ~October?

we've done southern Vermont the last few years and are looking to switch it up.

Lake George?

The Hamptons/Montauk?

Maine (maybe too far)?

not opposed to flying either.

thanks!

Northern Vermont?

Burlington, Stowe, Waterbury, Waitsfield, Montpelier, Bristol, Middlebury.

LOVE Stowe, but that is a really far drive from Central NJ

i do think there might be flights into Burlington.

[megabad]

I love Nantucket (if that counts). Could easily spend 3-4 days there. I love to go in the off season if possible.

[GatorFL]

I grew up in the Finger Lakes, beautiful area, but it can get cold in October. There are some real gems if you like wineries and hiking. Here are some of my favorite places:

1. Fillmore Glen State Park in Moravia, NY: This is about 40 minutes from Ithaca, in a very small town. The park was built by the civilian conservation corps during the "New Deal" days, just a great walk up the gorge trail with natural waterfalls. It is about a 4 mile walk the whole way if I remember. This is an off the radar kind of park, never crowded. They even have "Millard Fillmore Days" in late summer where they race toilets down main street to celebrate Millard Fillmore's greatest achievement when President, having indoor plumbing installed in the White House!! https://parks.ny.gov/parks/157/hunting.aspx
2. Taughannock Falls State Park: This park as one of the highest waterfalls east of the Mississippi, and is just outside Ithaca. Also the bed and breakfast is outstanding for both lodging as well as dinner. The trail can be hiked along the creekbed on the bottom, or from the top. https://parks.ny.gov/parks/62
3. Cayuga Lake wine trail: This is a great wine trail, lots of small wineries. I was around when many of these were just starting out in the 1980's, and while they have grown, they produce excellent wines. https://www.cayugawinetrail.com/
4. Skaneateles Lake: This is a great town, many great shops. I really enjoy the dinner cruise on the lake in the fall. Also, if you are in town, you have to eat at Doug's Fish Fry, fresh fish daily and the best I have ever had. https://midlakesnav.com/skaneateles-rates
5. Watkins Glen is also a great little town, equally as beautiful park and trail hiking.
6. Letchworth State Park is the grand canyon of the east, spectacular.

There are wineries all through the area, and its a great trip.
Gator

[gogleheads.orb]

LOVE Stowe, but that is a really far drive from Central NJ

i do think there might be flights into Burlington.

I know some people who do that drive every weekend in the winter. My guess is that it is 6-7 hrs.



Burlington has flights from Newark.

[Bob Sacamano]

bumping this for more advice.

so far it seems Finger Lakes and Northern Vermont are the two front runners.

anyone know if Maine is manageable driving from Central NJ and Westchester NY?

what about places where a quick flight makes sense? doesn't *NEED* to be fall-related. thinking maybe Bermuda or somewhere in NC (Asheville)?

thanks!

[delamer]

bumping this for more advice.

so far it seems Finger Lakes and Northern Vermont are the two front runners.

anyone know if Maine is manageable driving from Central NJ and Westchester NY?

what about places where a quick flight makes sense? doesn't *NEED* to be fall-related. thinking maybe Bermuda or somewhere in NC (Asheville)?

thanks!

If you decide on the Finger Lakes, the Corning Museum of Glass is interesting as is the museum/tour in Seneca Falls where the women’s suffrage movement began.

[dm200]

bumping this for more advice.
so far it seems Finger Lakes and Northern Vermont are the two front runners.
anyone know if Maine is manageable driving from Central NJ and Westchester NY?
what about places where a quick flight makes sense? doesn't *NEED* to be fall-related. thinking maybe Bermuda or somewhere in NC (Asheville)?
thanks!

If you decide on the Finger Lakes, the Corning Museum of Glass is interesting as is the museum/tour in Seneca Falls where the women’s suffrage movement began.

We just returned form a long weekend trip to Western NY State and drove near the Ginger Lakes region. Very nice!

Summer is the busy season in Bermuda - gets cooler there in late fall, winter and early spring seasons. We have been there twice on cruises and it was great!

[rjbraun]

bumping this for more advice.

so far it seems Finger Lakes and Northern Vermont are the two front runners.

anyone know if Maine is manageable driving from Central NJ and Westchester NY?

what about places where a quick flight makes sense? doesn't *NEED* to be fall-related. thinking maybe Bermuda or somewhere in NC (Asheville)?

thanks!

Had trip to Asheville planned a couple of years ago but had to cancel the plans. In theory, seems like a nice trip (2-hour flight, I think, from NYC) but haven't been able to get the flights to work this time around. Iirc, United had one that arrived late into Asheville (~10:30 p.m. -- not ideal). On top of this, the return flight options were also poor. While Allegiant had a somewhat early morning departure that we could live with, the return flight was similarly early (~7 a.m.) and it just didn't seem worth it. Too bad, as Asheville sounds like a nice place.

We were thinking of going to Sag Harbor, Long Island for a long weekend. If we do and find that we like it, we hope that might make for an easy weekend getaway, on a periodic basis.

[nguy44]

Perhaps Niagara Falls area (BOTH US and Canadian sides).

Agree with this. We did Niagara Falls several Octobers ago. Stayed on the Canadian side and visited both sides. The weather was still nice and the crowds were non-existent.

We have also done Ocean City in October. No summer traffic headaches and you can still get days warm enough to go in the water (though with no lifeguards you have to be more cautious). No crowds. Some restaurants/entertainment close in September or by Columbus day for the season, but still plenty of things to do.

[sarahjane]

Acadia NP in Maine. Easy flights through Bangor on American Eagle. Good hiking and biking on carriage roads.