Great Travel Destinations for Fall 2017

Autumn is the perfect time for traveling. There are places all over North America that would serve as amazing destination ideas for couples looking to seek some adventure and create memories that will be preserved forever.

Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville, N.C.

Being a native of the southeast, I can personally attest that there is no greater place to watch the leaves change and breathe in the crisp air of a changing season than up in the beautiful mountains of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Watch stunning sunrises and sunsets, camp under the stars surrounded by the natural beauty of North Carolina’s wilderness, and enjoy nature in all its entirety.

First Landing State Park, Virginia Beach, V.A.

Maybe you’re not a mountain person. That’s okay, because the beauty of fall stretches from the mountains to the coast here in southeast. The First Landing State Park is a stretch of protected forest and coastline that historians agree was the landing spot of the first European settlers in North America.

Stretching over twelve square kilometers and offering a multitude of family activities to participate in (fishing, boating, hiking, biking, you get the idea), this state park is the perfect place to relax and take in fall’s natural beauty.

The Great Pumpkin Farm, Clarence, N.Y

If you’re looking to carve up some pumpkins this fall, or just looking to have some down-home fun, look no further than The Great Pumpkin Farm. This farm is home to thousands upon thousands of soon to be Jack-o’-lanterns, but that’s to be expected.

This farm also has a corn maze, a zombie paint ball train, giant pumpkin slingshots, a shooting gallery, face painting, an extensive petting zoo, and so much more. The farm plays host to an annual Fall festival that attracts thousands to western New York every year.

Scarowinds, Charlotte, N.C.

Maybe you’re looking for something that pumps the adrenaline a little bit faster than a hayride does. If so, southern NC has you covered. Scarowinds, a theme park normally called Carowinds featuring over a dozen exhilarating roller coasters to ride, a water park, and several less-threatening thrill rides, dresses up for Halloween and the fall season every year. Every weekend in September and October Carowinds turns into Scarowinds and is open at night, the only time of the year it does so, for thrill seekers and roller coaster enthusiasts. It’s the perfect adrenaline-fueled fall destination.

Day of the Dead, Oaxaca, Mexico (Tuesday, October 31 – Thursday, November 2)

Chances are if you’re reading this that you’re probably too old to go trick-or-treating. I know, it’s a sad fact of life that at some point people stop giving you free candy. But you can make up for it by not going to your friends’ lame Halloween party, and instead celebrating the holiday in a much more hardcore way by traveling to Mexico and taking part in any of the Day of the Dead festivals and marches that take place all over Mexico during these three days.

During the Day of the Dead holiday, the streets come alive with the spirit of Mexico as people flock together dressed in costumes to dance in celebration. Participating in the festivities in the town of Oaxaca, the place where the festival originated, is an unforgettable experience and a perfect commemoration of love and loss.

So there you have it. I know there are literally thousands of potential destination ideas people could have this fall, but just the very act of traveling with no destination in mind can be enough to make for an unforgettable trip.