🍁 Your fall foliage bucket list 🍂

Hey hey, Capital Region—happy Thursday! We’ve wrangled the ultimate guide to fall fun across upstate NY, packed with wild colors, cozy vibes, and can't-miss adventures. It wasn’t easy narrowing it down (so much autumn magic to go around!), but we did it for you 💪🍁 

Btw, Phat’s first Vietnamese cooking class at Honest Weight Co-op is this evening! Tickets sold out almost immediately 😭 but we’ll keep you posted about future dates.

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

🍁 Here’s your fall foliage bucket list 🍂

Peak foliage doesn’t last long — but your leaf-peeping season can be legendary if you hit the right spots. Here’s your ultimate fall bucket list, packed with crisp air, cozy vibes, and ridiculous views. 🍎🚗🍂

1. 🍷 Sip & stroll at Bash Bish Falls (Taconic/Berkshires)

Start your day at the iconic Bash Bish Falls, the tallest waterfall in Massachusetts (there’s also an entrance from the NY side). The short but steep hike gives you dramatic autumn colors framing the falls. Click here for a view of the falls in autumn + parking tips.

Afterwards, hop over the border to Hilltop Orchards in Richmond for cider donuts, pick-your-own apples, and a glass of vino with a view.

2. 🚂 Ride the Autumn Explorer (Saratoga Corinth & Hudson Railway)

This isn’t your average foliage drive; it’s a rolling leaf-peeping lounge. Climb aboard the Autumn Explorer Train from Corinth to Greenfield and back, a scenic 90-minute ride through vibrant upstate backcountry. Want to do it in style? You can even book the exclusive 1916 Pullman observation car, a cozy 8-person vintage carriage with windows that wrap around the season. 🍂

Other fall foliage train excursions: The Delaware & Ulster Railroad and Adirondack Railroad (very limited tickets left for their Fall Gateway train). 

3. 🧺 Picnic at Olana (Hudson Valley)

Frederic Church built Olana for the views. In fall, they’re next level. Pack a picnic, grab your favorite sweater, and take in the fiery Hudson River Valley from this historic artist’s estate. It’s Instagram gold. 📸

Pro tip: Check your local library for free museum passes to Olana’s walking & house tours.

4. 🛶 Paddle Mirror Lake in Lake Placid (Adirondacks)

Want to feel like you’ve paddled into a painting? Mirror Lake is fall foliage heaven, framed by the blazing High Peaks and surrounded by cozy alpine charm. Rent a kayak, canoe, or paddleboard right in town and float across glassy water that perfectly reflects the red, orange, and gold canopy above.

The lake is calm, motor-free, and beginner-friendly, making it ideal for a peaceful solo paddle or a romantic adventure. Pro tip: Paddle out during golden hour, just before sunset. The colors deepen, the water glows, and the whole lake turns into a postcard.

5. 🌄 Take the Scenic Skyride at Hunter Mountain (Catskills)

Hop on the Hunter Mountain Skyride for jaw-dropping views of the Catskills’ technicolor treetops. The selfies will be unbeatable from the lift. Saturdays and Sundays only.

Pro tip: At the summit of Hunter Mountain, you’ll find a marked DEC hiking trail leading to the highest fire tower in New York State. To get there, you’ll need to tackle a moderately difficult 4-mile, 3-hour roundtrip hike.

6. 🎃 Sleepy Hollow After Dark (Hudson Valley)

Get your spooky season fix and see stunning foliage? Yes, please. Wander the lantern-lit paths of The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze (timed tickets sell out fast) or take a haunted tour through Sleepy Hollow while the trees around you glow in autumn hues. Beware: Sleepy Hollow can get super crowded this time of the year.

7. 🛤️ Take the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Trail (Capital Region)

Rent a bike or just take a long walk on this flat, foliage-filled trail stretching from Albany to Schenectady. The riverside colors pop especially bright near Cohoes Falls. Pro tip: Sunrise = magic.

Alas, leaf peeping season doesn’t last long. In fact, the I Love NY Fall Foliage Report shows parts of the Catskills and Adirondacks are reaching their peak this weekend! Get out there and enjoy these wild bursts of color while you can.

👩‍🎓 US News & World Report is out with their annual rankings of the Best Colleges in America. Here’s where our local higher ed institutions landed in the list… [News10]

🥪 In case you missed it, Slick’s is returning to the Stockade. The Schenectady institution is known for its iconic menu of ginormous sandwiches: ham, turkey, roast beef, corned beef and tuna salad. The original five will be available along with six “New Slick's Originals.” [Daily Gazette]

🌽 Samascott's Garden Market in Kinderhook creates a giant corn maze every year—and this year’s may be the most challenging one yet. Visitors can take over an hour to complete the treasure hunt, earning them an ice cream prize. Take a gander at the bird’s eye view of this maze!

⭐️ 🚂 Hop aboard for Nine Pin Cider’s Fall Foliage Train Ride for a 90-minute scenic journey through the Southern Adirondacks as the sun sets and the leaves blaze with color. Departing from the Saratoga Corinth and Hudson Railway, this 21+ experience sounds like the ultimate seasonal escape for cider lovin’ grown folks. Fri, 6–7:30p, prices are tiered from $39 up to $600 to book the private caboose for 15 of your favorite fall folks.

⭐️ 📚️ The Albany Book Festival returns to UAlbany to celebrate newly named New York State Author, Min Jin Lee, and Poet, Kimiko Hahn. The NYS luminaries are in good company including feminist writer and phenomenon Roxane Gray; “literary alchemist” and historian, Russell Shorto; and Sandeep Jauhar, bestselling author of My Father's Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimer's. UAlbany Campus, Sat, 10:30a–5:30p, all events are free.

⭐️ 👨‍🎓 Troy Night Out always delivers—but this week, it's all about the college crowd (and their biggest fans). Dive into Rucktober Fest, tackle the Scavenger Hunt, or just soak in the energy as students lift their faces to the sun of opportunity.

⭐️ 🎃 The Saratoga Giant PumpkinFest is your chance to see dozens of massive, jaw-dropping gourds the size of small cars. Get there early to snap pics for your Instagram—the official weigh-in starts at 11 am. Sat, 11a–3p, free.

⭐️ 🍺 This weekend kicks off a number of Oktoberfests around the Capital Region. Celebrate the season over a craft beer or three. Bonus points for showing up in full lederhosen 🇩🇪🪶 

• The Ruck (Fri)

• Wolff’s Biergarten (Sat)

• Druthers Clifton Park (Sat)

• Artisanal Brew Works (Sat)

🖼️ ART ON VIEW

• Pick up a good book and check out drawings of UFOs, robots, drag queens & more cartoonish chaos by renowned Albany artist Kevin Bruce at our fave neighborhood book store, Urban Aftermath. 

• Liberation and For Life celebrates 50 years of Black Dimensions in Art, showcasing 90+ artists and 100+ works that will blow your mind | Albany Institute of History & Art

• Up to Us highlights BDA’s powerful legacy with archival materials spanning 1975 to the future | The Tang Museum

• Noel W Anderson: Black Excellence and Romare Bearden & Ralph Ellison: From the Archive | UAlbany Art Museum

🎟️ MORE WEEKEND EVENTS

🌽 Knickerbocker Mansion serves up breakfast and lunch at its 33rd Annual Harvest Festival this weekend.

🤣 This week at MopCo Improv Theatre: Maestro pits 14 improv masters to find the winning champ! And the Swamp Lily Charity Hour brings on the LOLs for local charities.

TODAY

🎬️ Tonight, get to the Tang Museum for Whole Grain: Experiments in Film & Video screening of two works selected by Carrie Mae Weems, National Medal of Arts recipient and Skidmore’s 2025 McCormack Visiting Artist-Scholar Resident.

FRIDAY

🎸 Also Friday, Rusticator plays acoustic covers of The Grateful Dead and Avett Brothers songs at Wolf Hollow Brewing Co.

🧱 Ever wanted to make your own brick? You can try at this free workshop hosted by Collard City Growers.

SATURDAY

🧩 Join Kiddie Pool and Compass Roses artists for a Grassroots Appreciation Walking Tour of Albany’s Mansion Historic District, led by archivist and longtime resident Alexis Bhagat. You’ll hear stories of radical artists, educators, farmers and neighbors whose work continues to shape the Capital Region today.

🐎 On Saturday, alt-rockers The Spin Doctors play a benefit show for Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga on the farm!

🎃 Also Saturday, get in the early Halloween spirit at the 25th annual Great Pumpkin Challenge 5K & 10K and Kids Fun Run.

🏃‍♂️ Oktoberfest 5K Albany is also on Saturday, taking off from Jennings Landing.

🎷 On Saturday, catch the Arch Stanton Quartet at 9 Maple Avenue.

🌷Plants tulips in the beautiful and historic Ten Broeck Mansion gardens. Make art & free take-home bulb kits to plant at home.

🧑‍🌾 Join The Greenhorns at Worlds End Farm in Esperance, NY, for The Book Bountiful, a sumptuous, all-vegetarian feast celebrating the long-awaited release of The New Farmer’s Almanac, Volume 7.

🐕️ The NYS Canine Expo at the Cobleskill Fairgrounds is your chance to explore the exciting world of dog sports, wellness, training, and lifestyle—all under one woof.

SUNDAY

🧸 Traffic will be closed off for the annual Upper Madison Street Fair in Pine Hills. There’s a whole Kids Zone and plenty of vendors to browse!

🏃‍♀️The Crossings 5K Challenge and Kids Run benefits the Colonie Youth Center.

🎬️ Aura of Upstate Film Screening. The TU beat us to the scoop with this one, but animator Evens Angulo-Duvil is garnering lots of attention for his animated love letter to upstate New York. Screenings kick off this weekend and show times vary—choose your date and time here.

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