Fall is a beautiful time of year in New York. The Catskills are less than 2 hours from downtown New York City and make the perfect fall destination. The Catskills cover a large area and have so many things to do!
What is there to do in the Catskills in the fall?
To make it easier for you, I wanted to show you 5 fall things to do in the Catskills!
1. Apple picking
Apple picking is one of my favorite things to do in the Catskills in the fall! There are so many apple orchards where you can pick many different types of apples. Apples have been grown in the Catskills and Hudson Valley since the 1700’s. New York is actually the 2nd largest producer of apples in the United States (after Washington) and in 1875 over 18 million trees were counted in the state of New York!
This tradition of apple of orchards continues today. Many of the apple orchards in the Catskills have other types of vegetables and fruits available for picking throughout different seasons of the year.
An apple orchard that I recommend is Rose Hill Farm. Their farm was established here in 1798. Technically it is in the Hudson Valley, but so close to the Catskills, I just had to include it. Here they have a wide variety of apples that you can pick on different areas of the farm. They also host food and music pop-ups on some weekends. They were really helpful to us in recommending the type of apple that would work best for the pie recipe I wanted to make. Rose Hill Farm can be found near the town of Red Hook, NY. Most pick-your-own orchards in the area sell apples by the pound.
Some other wonderful-appearing apple orchards are Wightman Fruit Farm and Boehm Farm.
2. Look at the fall leaves
New York autumns are gorgeous. The Catskills offers some of the best fall colors viewing close to New York City. One of the best places to see the fall leaves without hiking are Lower Kaaterskill Falls. There is a roadside pull off here where you can see the colorful trees surrounding the gorgeous waterfall.
If you are up for a hike, there are many hikes in the Catskills area that would display that bright fall leaves. We personally like a trail that goes around North-South Lake and has various viewpoints before it eventually passes Upper Kaaterskill Falls. In total, this hike is around 11 miles. A shorter hike where you can also see the colorful fall leaves is a flat trail to the top of Upper Kaaterskill Falls that is about 0.4 miles roundtrip. This hike leaves from the Upper Kaaterskill Falls Trailhead. You can also go the bottom of Kaaterskill Falls which is about 1.4 miles from the trailhead.
If you’re interested in visiting Kaaterskill Falls, check out my blog post all about Kaaterskill Falls!
3. Huddle Around a Fire with Some Coffee or Hot Apple Cider
The town of Woodstock is a lovely small town tucked into the Catskill Mountains. There are many things to do in the town of Woodstock, but one of my favorite things is to go to The Mud Club. The Mud Club is an adorable coffee shop that serves coffee out of an old barn, is decorated with eclectic décor, and has lots of outdoor seating. In the outside seating area, there is a cozy wood fire surrounded by seats to huddle around and warm up. It is such a lovely place here and the vibes are perfect for a fall weekend in the Catskills.
4. Apple Cider Donuts
Apple cider donuts are a true staple of the northeast, especially in the fall. Before moving to the northeast, I had no clue what an apple cider donut is. For those of you asking yourself the same question, an apple cider donut is a delicious soft apple donut covered in cinnamon sugar. Many apple orchards have apple cider donuts available for purchase. However, if you are not planning on visiting an apple orchard, some places that you are likely to find delicious apple cider donuts are Tantillo’s Farmers Market or Vinnie’s Farm Market. Apple cider donuts are generally pretty cheap and are generally found in packs of 6 or 12.
5. Go to a Fall Festival
There are various fall festivals throughout the Catskills. The Taste of the Catskills Festival is usually in early October and has a myriad of food to try, performers to watch, and things to buy. Some other events include the Skywalk Art Festival, Flyday Music Festival, East Durham Irish festival, and Greyfox Bluegrass Festival. Up-to-date information regarding these festivals can be found at the Great Northern Catskills’ website.
There are so many things to do in the Catskills, especially in the fall! The Catskills is the perfect weekend getaway from New York City. I hope that you are able to do some of these fall activities in the Catskills!
Thanks For Reading!
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