Campgrounds across New York are gearing up for fun fall activities, including apple festivals, scarecrow-making contests, Halloween-themed weekends, and fall foliage tours, the Campground Owners of New York said.
“The kids are back in school, but there’s still plenty of family activities taking place at campgrounds throughout New York as we head into fall,” Don Bennett, Jr., president and CEO of Campground Owners of New York, said in a press release.
The association hosts CampNewYork.com, a travel planning website.
Many New York residents use campgrounds as base camps not only for fall foliage excursions, but to enjoy the variety of festivals taking place nearby as well as onsite at the campground.
Here are several examples of campgrounds offering fun fall activities in the coming weeks:
Branches of Niagara Campground and Resort in Grand Island: Located between Niagara Falls and Buffalo, this family-friendly campground resort offers four consecutive Pumpkin Harvest Weekends starting the last weekend of September. Activities include campfires, cider and donuts, wagon rides, a pumpkin patch, a scarecrow competition, caramel apples, a pumpkin carving contest and trick-or-treating.
Fair Point Marina in Fair Haven: The resort includes waterfront RV sites, rental accommodations and boat slips. Nearby attractions include the Sterling Nature Center, a 1,400-acre wildlife sanctuary and nature preserve with over 10 miles of hiking trails and two miles of lake shoreline. Bald Eagles are often spotted there as well as an abundance of other birds and animals.
Forest Lake Campground in Truxton: This campground can be used as a base camp for attending the LaFayette Apple Festival, October 8-9, in LaFayette.
Held annually in the heart of Upstate New York’s apple-growing region, the festival features apple pie and scarecrow competitions in addition to featuring crafters and artisans, roaming entertainers, and musical performers.
Greek Peak Mountain Resort in Courtland: Central New York’s largest ski resort opened a campground this year called the Campground at Hope Lake to complement the resort’s existing accommodations and activities, which include ziplines, a ropes course, a mountain coaster, and a mountain bike park with trails.
On October 8, the resort will also welcome back its snow enthusiasts to take part in the resort’s annual Hops and Swaps Brewfest, which combines a ski equipment swap with a beer festival. Vendors, crafters and activities will also be offered as well as a Dave Matthews tribute band.
Interlake RV Park in Rhinebeck: This family-friendly campground in the Hudson Valley region is a convenient base camp for many fall activities and attractions, including Kesicke Farm, which has fall activities every Saturday and Sunday from September 24 to October 30.
Farm activities include picking pumpkins, wagon rides, corn mazes, and a petting zoo. Other fall attractions include the annual Sheep and Wood Festival, Oct. 15-16, at Dutchess County Fairgrounds, which features artisan craftwork, food vendors, sheep herding demonstrations, and a petting zoo.
Many fall visitors are also drawn to the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, which takes place on various dates from September 16 to November 20 on the grounds Van Cortlandt Manor, an 18th-century estate on the banks of the Croton River in Westchester.
Van Cortlandt Manor is the picturesque setting for this awe-inspiring fall event. Visitors meander through the heritage gardens filled with thousands of hand-carved jack o’lanterns, past the brick ferry house, where they can see a glimpse of the Headless Horseman, and see the light show at the manor house.
Jellystone Park Camp-Resort Park in Greenfield Park: This park will also have four consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 16-18 with pumpkin painting, pumpkin bowling, a campsite decorating contest, and a costume contest during a Saturday night dance.
Medina KOA in Medina, New York: This campground will have a Mardi Gras-themed weekend Sept. 16-18 with a Mardi Gras-themed golf cart parade.
The park will also celebrate Halloween the last two weekends of September with a costume contest, trick-or-treating, and a Halloween party with music, games, and prizes.
Over Columbus Day weekend, October 7-10, the park will offer pumpkin painting and children’s candy bar bingo, both for children 17 and under, as well as live music for all ages performed by the Creekside Country Band.
Moose Hillock Camping Resort in Fort Ann: This park will have a Fall Renaissance Fair on October 8 and 9 when guests will have an opportunity to enter an enchanted world that is filled with kings and queens, knights and nobles, fairies and elves, pirates and peasants, and other fanciful delights! Costumes are encouraged, but not required. Activities include jousting matches, dueling sword fights, medieval parades, and costume contests.
Shady Shores RV Resort & Campground in Fair Haven: This campground is situated on the south shore of Lake Ontario and Little Sodus Bay near Sterling and Fair Haven. The park’s RV sites and rental accommodations offer waterfront views. Fall activities include hay wagon rides, hiking, bicycling, and sunset cruises.
Singing Waters Campground in Old Forge: This family-friendly campground is conveniently located directly on the Moose River and is surrounded by the natural beauty of Upstate New York. Old Forge has its peak of the fall season in late September to early October when the vibrant colors cover mountain peaks through the entire Adirondack Park.
Nearby attractions include the McCauley Mountain Chairlift, the Bald Mountain, the Moose River Plains, and Rocky Point in the Fulton Chain of Lakes.
Sleepy Hollow Campground in Akron: This scenic park is a convenient base camp for Six Flags Darien Lake (https://www.sixflags.com/darienlake), which is 10 minutes away. Campers can also take a day trip to view the fall foliage on trails and the ledges overlooking “The Grand Canyon of the East,” aka Letchworth State Park, and the gorge for the Genesee River. The park offers RV and tent sites as well as rental accommodations.
Watkins Glen / Corning KOA in Watkins Glen: This campground is a convenient base camp for the annual Watkins Glen Grand Prix Vintage Car Festival. The festival was created to coincide with the road race that began in 1993.
For those looking to take scenic fall drives, U.S. Route 20 runs east/west through the heart of New York State, crossing along the tips of several Finger Lakes and offering beautiful rolling hills and sweeping vistas.
Popular base camps along the way include Lebanon Reservoir Campground in Hamilton, about 15 minutes off Route 20, and Cider House Campground in Bouckville, which is located right on Route 20 in the heart of the Madison Bouckville Antiques Community.
Fall foliage seekers should also visit I Love NY’s weekly leaf peepers report and check out their list of things to do in fall here and here.
Pre-Halloween events include Clayton’s Punkin Chunkin Festival on October 15 in Clayton. Campgrounds that could serve as base camps for this event include Merry Knoll Campground in Clayton and Swan Bay Resort in Alexandria Bay.
Families looking for spooky destinations across New York should check out the Haunted History Trail and crosscheck the haunts of interest with neighboring campgrounds on CampNewYork.com.
About Campground Owners of New York
Campground Owners of New York is the trade association that represents independent campgrounds and RV parks in New York. Based in Pittsford, CONY provides education, government affairs, and marketing services for campgrounds, including hosting CampNewYork.com, a travel planning website, and publishing a printed directory of New York campgrounds.
Photo courtesy of Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts.