Seven leaf-peeping trips to take this fall in New York

Travel time by car or train from Manhattan: 4-5 hours
Train route: Amtrak’s Adirondack Route

To do: 

• Hike: There’s a lot of color to see via trail! If you’re a novice, you can walk Castle Rock overlooking Blue Mountain or Mount Arab in the Tupper Lake Hiking Triad. More skilled hikers can traverse the third highest peak in New York at Mount Haystack or the rocky trail at Ampersand Mountain.

• Take to the sky: There’s nothing like a view of the leaves from above! SunKiss Ballooning floats over Lake George. Whiteface Mountain and Gore Mountain both have gondola sky rides for leaf-spotting at treetop heights.

• Ride the Cliffside Coaster: Weave through fall foliage at top speed on The Cliffside Coaster in Lake Placid. It’s the longest coaster in North America—it’s set on the actual path of the 1980 Olympic Sliding Track. Find out more here.

• Zip Line: Nearby, Lake Placid’s Olympic Jumping Complex lets you zip line through the changing trees for a more thrilling fall experience.

• Hop onto another train: Take a relaxing journey on the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, which snakes through stunning forests and over serene rivers with a five-hour Fall Foliage Train Ride out of Utica.

Eat:

There are a lot of scenic spots to dine, including these highly-rated restaurants:

• Fiddle Head in Saranac Lake
• LongView Lodge in Long Lake
• Top of the Park at Lake Placid

Stay: 

Whether you stay in an Airbnb, a fancy lodge or a boutique hotel, the Adirondacks promise a peaceful sleep.

• Secluded waterfront Airbnb chalet near Whiteface
• Whiteface Lodge
• East Wind Lake Placid

Travel time by car or train from Manhatttan: 1-5 hours
Train route: Amtrak’s Empire Service and Adirondack Route or Metro North’s Hudson Line

To do:

• Celebrate the spooky season: Head to Sleepy Hollow for all the creepy frights it has in store, including a tour of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and Washington Irving’s Sunnyside cottage and a haunted hayride. Don’t miss the The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson.

• Hike: Stroll down the Hudson River Skywalk or Walkway Over the Hudson or pick some of the 200 miles of trails, lakes and reservoirs at Harriman State Park to explore. Croton Gorge Park has 97 acres of picturesque foliage, fields and tumbling dam waters and Mohonk Preserve boasts 8,000 acres of forests, fields, and streams.

• Tour a mansion: See how the otherhalf lived at the castle-like Lyndhurst, Kykuit, the historic home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Vanderbilt and Frederic Church’s hilltop Olana. Or tour the historic Boscobel House mansion, which is now a museum and gardens with breathtaking views of the Hudson River. It is also home to the Battle Monument, one of the largest columns of granite in the world. 

• Take an outdoor art walk: The Storm King Art Center, Art Omi and Opus 40 are all within reach and good IG fodder.

Eat:

Along the Hudson River, there’s a lot of culinary variety to choose from, from really great barbecue to upscale spots with waterfall views. 

• Roundhouse in Beacon
• The Aviary in Kinderhook
• Smoky Rock BBQ in Rhinebeck

Stay:

The Hudson Valley boasts so many beautiful and memorable places to stay, from artsy boutiques to stunning resorts and everything in between.

• Woodstock Historic Artist Estate - The Museum House Airbnb in Woodstock
• Wm. Farmer and Sons in Hudson
• Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz

Travel time by car from Manhatttan: 2-3 hours

To do:

• Take a ride: Use your leg power to pedal you through the foliage with the Catskill Rail Explorers or glide over treetops on the six-passenger scenic skyride at Hunter Mountain. 

• Hike to waterfalls: There’s no shortage of waterfalls here, from Plattekill Falls for avid hikers to Diamond Notch Falls (a.k.a. West Kill Falls) for everyone. Other beautiful options include Old Mill Falls View, East Kill Falls, too.

• Camp or glamp: There are tons of campsites and glamping grounds to book via Camp New York, but for a more comfortable experience, Wylder Windham resort has glamping with a pool deck and a bar as well as a rotating schedule of weekly activities, including foraging walks, pickleball clinics and s’mores by the fire.

Eat:

From farm-to-table spots to handmade pasta houses and cozy diners, the Catskills has some of the most comforting cuisine.

• Peekamoose Restaurant & Tap Room
• Northern Farmhouse Pasta
• Phoenicia Diner

Stay:

This area has a ton of Airbnbs that take advantage of their places in nature as well as historic hotels and rustic lodges.

• Catskill Domeo: Magical, Romantic and Unique Geodesic Dome
• Glen Falls House
• Urban Cowboy Lodge

Travel time by car or train from Manhatttan: 2-4 hours
Train route: Amtrak’s Empire Service and Adirondack Route Empire Service or Lake Shore Limited

To do:

• Take a river cruise: Albany’s Dutch Apple Cruises takes you down the Hudson through the end of October, giving unparalleled views of the leaves.

• Go park-hopping: You have your pick of parks to see the leaves in, including Saratoga National Historical Park, home to one of the most significant battles in the American Revolutionary War, John Boyd Thacher State Park, Saratoga Spa State Park, Peebles Island State Park, Washington Park, Vroman’s Nose, Five Rivers, Congress Park, and Albany Pine Bush Preserve.

• Take a peace walk: One of only two in the country, the Grafton Peace Pagoda is surrounded by dense woods and often has fun public events tied to it.

• Get a better vantage point: The observation deck at the 42-story Corning Tower offers panoramic views from the tallest building in New York State outside of New York City.

Eat:

From historic pubs to trendy spots and self-pour wine bars, this region has some fun ways to imbibe and dine.

• Olde Bryan Inn in Saratoga
• Illusive Restaurant and Bar in Albany
• The Shaker & Vine in Schenectady 

Stay:

There are lakeside cottages, lush resorts and mountainside lodges to stay and take in this region’s beauty.

• A condo on the lake in Saratoga Springs
• The Adelphi in Saratoga Springs
• Hotel Vienna in Windham

Travel time by car or train from Manhatttan: 4-5 hours
Train route: Amtrak’s Empire Service or Lake Shore Limited

To do:

• Grab some wine: This region is all about its wines. Stop into Chateau Lafayette Reneau, Thirsty Owl, Buttonwood Grove, Long Point or Heart and Hands to enjoy a glass with views of the foliage.

• Get in touch with nature: Get rustic by visiting Deacon’s Garlic Farm or Trinity Valley Dairy Farm which have hands-on educational fun. At Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, you can see migratory birds within the gorgeous autumn setting.

• Chase waterfalls: In Ithaca’s 500-foot-tall waterfall at Buttermilk Falls State Park is a must as well as Taughannock Falls, which is taller than Niagara Falls! Watkins Glen State Park is half an hour away with 19 waterfalls that plunge 200 feet into a gorge.

• Take to the sky: Bristol Mountain Aerial Adventures has a zipline canopy tour with views of Finger Lakes foliage.

• Cruise on a lake: Set sail with the Canandaigua Lady, a 19th-century replica of a double-decker paddlewheel boat on Canandaigua Lake.

• Dig into history: Ganondagan State Historic Site is a Native American heritage site with natural beauty.

Eat:

With access to so many lakes and rivers, this region is known for its restaurants with views but also food that has kept locals and visitors coming back year after year.

• The Great Escape in Watkins Glen
• Moosewood in Ithaca
• Doug’s Fish Fry in Skaneateles

Stay:

There’s no shortage of aesthetically pleasing stays in this area, from a super cool yurt in the countryside to a boutique hotel in town or an inn right at the foot of an amazing waterfall. 

• Yurt in Trumansburg
• Argos Inn in Ithaca
• Inn at Taughannock Falls in Ithaca

Travel time by car or train from Manhatttan: 1-3 hours
Train route: Long Island Rail Road

To do:

• Tour its mansions: Channel your inner Gatsby or Vanderbilt with a tour of some of the most sprawling estates, including Oheka Castle, Old Westbury Gardens and the Vanderbilt Museum, among others, or stop in at the Nassau County Museum of Art, which is housed in a Gold Coast mansion on 145 leafy acres with a sculpture garden, arboretum, gardens and trails.

• Hike up a light house: The historic Montauk Point Lighthouse was commissioned by President George Washington in 1792 and has stunning waterfront foliage views. Two hundred years later, the Fire Island Lighthouse ushered transatlantic ships into New York, and now offers incredible views of the surrounding landscape. 

• Drink locally: Long Island Wine Country on the North Fork has pristine views of the leaves and what better way to take it in than with vintage wines? Try our faves Rose Hill and Macari. Or sip on seasonal brews from Oyster Bay and Greenport breweries, each offering a taste of autumn in every pint.

Eat:

This island boasts fresh seafood, great wine and tasty farm-to-table cuisine. 

• Little Fish in Southold
• North Fork Table and Inn in Southold
• Olive Branch Restaurant & Bar in Greenport

Stay:

Focusing on the North Fork, stays are largely bucolic with sweeping views that’ll make taking in the fall leaves so easy.

• The Pridwin Hotel on Shelter Island
• The Farmhouse in Cutchogue
• Farm house with vineyard views Airbnb in Southold

You don’t need to go far to take in fall foliage! Here’s our list of the best places to take in the views. I LOVE NY suggests the following.

To do:

• Go to the park: Central Park is the most iconic spot to to take in the leaves but Prospect Park in Brooklyn has the borough’s only lake, which gorgeously mirrors those firey colors. In Queens, 150-year-old oak trees cover Forest Park. 

• Spend time in the garden: Wave Hill in the Bronx offers sweeping views of the Palisades across the Hudson River, and the Bronx’s New York Botanical Garden is stunning with its Tuscan and Chinese gardens. 

• Visit a museum: Head uptown to The Met Cloisters for medieval art in Fort Tryon Park, which actually overlooks the Hudson. Over on Staten Island, the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art is perfect for quiet reflection in the season’s colors.

• Take a cruise: Grab a ticket to City Cruises' specialty New York Fall Foliage Lunch Cruise (October 18 - November 2). Circle Line or Classic Harbor Line also have their respective fall foliage tours. It’s a scenic route up the Hudson River and past the George Washington Bridge with foliage and skyline views.