Your Virginia Fall Bucket List

How do you feel about inhaling crisp mountain air and viewing free-falling foliage? Or sorting through the bountiful harvest of fall festivals to figure out which are most ripe for a good time? Your Virginia fall bucket list could very easily be several buckets full — including dozens of destination festivals, peeking at peak senescence (the fancy term for when leaves change color), and getting away without having to go very far.

So, grab your favorite flannel and roll up the sleeves, grab a pad and pen, and kick your feet up on a bucket. It’s time to make your Fall in Virginia Bucket List.

Save The Date

When Fall arrives in Virginia, your calendar can look like a losing game of the classic video game Tetris, with blocks of time and weekend commitments stacking up and tumbling in chaotic fashion. That’s because there’s so many great events to choose from! And while you can’t attend all the events, if you plan and play your cards right, you can ensure you don’t miss your top picks. Here are a few of ours…

• Graves' Mountain Apple Harvest Festival: You can’t pick a bad time to head to the mountains to gather apples and good times. But if you had to pick the best time, consider swinging by Madison County one of the first three weekends in October for picturesque hayrides, bluegrass jams, shopping, sipping, snacking, and more! There’s no better fall backdrop for a great day of family fun than this 1,800-acre farm beside the Rose River.
• Urbanna Oyster Festival: You probably knew about Virginia’s Wine Trails, did you know that it had an Oyster Trail, too? The welcoming riverfront town of Urbanna is a must-visit for mollusk lovers as it’s the location of one of Virginia’s tastiest festivals. Chock full of vendors, live music, and sweet views of the Rappahannock River, the Urbanna Oyster Festival also features plenty of — you guessed it — oysters! Save room for a wide array of shellfish preparations — raw, steamed, fried, roasted, Rockefeller, stewed, oyster pot pie, oyster chowder, and more.
• Richmond Folk Festival: Rain or shine, muddy or clean as a tin whistle, the Richmond Folks Festival always delivers — whether you’re looking for some down-home, fiddle-driven Appalachia ditties or that perfect wide-brimmed hat or walking stick. Held on Brown’s Island and Historic Tredegar by the James River, the festival packs several stages, a generous kids area, and plenty of food and drink for all comers.

Don’t Leave it to Chance

First off, any spot where you can kick back and enjoy fall foliage views that Live Up is a great one. But we have a couple of tips to help elevate the experience. First of all, timing is everything. Know that peak foliage views occur between Oct. 10 – 31. And better yet, consult the Virginia Fall Foliage Prediction Map  to get a read on where and when postcard-worthy viewing will happen.  Some of the most reliable lookout posts include Shenandoah National Park, Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, and Grayson Highland State Park. And if you want to stay local to RVA, consider the usual suspects: the Fan, Byrd Park, Bryan Park, Ginter Park, and University of Richmond — all prime spots for enjoying fall colors. Mix in a picnic or sunset snack to make it a memorable, multi-sensory experience.

One-Tank (or Less) Trips

You don’t need to fill the mini-van to the brim with gas and luggage to create a memorable fall getaway. Sometimes, a weekend is plenty to thoroughly explore (and enjoy) the Commonwealth’s most worthy destinations. And you won’t need an extra day or two just to recover and get back in the groove. Here are a couple of choice spots for your next short-term getaway.

• VA Oyster Trail: We already gave this series of shellfish destinations a shout-out, but it’s worth digging in a bit more. From beach bars to tours and cultural sites, there’s more to the trail than simply prying free oysters with a tiny fork, dabbing on some Tabasco, and sipping it down smoothly. But there is a lot of that, too.  Blaze your oyster trail today.
• Charlottesville: The lazy, winding trip down the Monticello Wine Trail. A stop at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. A trip across Skyline Drive — with the top down. And maybe even a tailgate at a UVA football game. A weekend in Charlottesville can go any number of directions. And all of them deliver.
• The Eastern Shore: The beach at summer is so… overdone. Overcrowded and overheated. But the beach at Fall — especially a destination as eclectic and charming as the Eastern Shore — can be just perfect. Catch the migratory flocks soaring through the Atlantic Flyway at Kiptopeke State Park down south or hit the northern shore to photograph the wild ponies of Chincoteague and Assateague. And don’t forget idyllic Cape Charles, which boasts a commute on the shorter side, for a beach weekend where you won’t have to wait for a table and the sand won’t burn your feet.

Take Your Pick...

When harvest season arrives in Virginia, it’s time to hit up the orchards, patches, and fields for fresh and healthy snacks, that perfect piece to tie your front porch together — and enjoy experiences ranging from cider tasting to corn mazes. Here are some of our top picks for farm-fresh apples, pumpkins, and so much more.

• Apple Picking: There’s no better way to spend a crisp fall day then by hunting down and biting into a fresh and crisp apple. In Virginia, the prime picking season goes from July to November, and the prime location is Charlottesville’s Carter Mountain. Here you can pick your favorite variety right off the tree. And the fun doesn’t end there. Grab a box of their famous apple cider donuts, belly up to a picnic table with a view, and even wander over to the Bold Rock Tap Room for cider with some bite.
• Pumpkin picking: Whether they’re for your almost famous pie or for the kids to carve up into a spooky creation, pumpkins can be found everywhere from hardware stores to roadside stands. But for the full pumpkin patch experience, head to Richmond’s Gallmeyer Farms, where you can hail a hayride, grab some ripe veggies, and of course, find pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. If you’re looking for some fall fun further afoot, Harrisonburg’s Back Home on the Farm Corn Maze offers a veritable cornucopia of family-friendly activities each September through October.

By now, your Virginia Fall Bucket List is overflowing with ideas. Don’t worry, you don’t have to scrunch them all down into a single, super-busy season of fun. But then again, maybe you can…