You could head to North Carolina. Or Texas, or to Wisconsin, Maine or Vermont. Autumn is the time to harvest some of the many free festivals and discounted hotel rooms offered by small towns across America. From the great outdoors to a festival for fire ants, check out these fun weekend getaways.
LEAF & Woolly Worm Festivals, North Carolina
As soon as summer slips away, it's the apple harvest, Indian Summer, fall foliage, film festivals, museum openings, resort discounts, almost any affair you can think of that will encourage travelers to keep on vacationing. In the Asheville, North Carolina area at Camp Rockmont, come together to enjoy the great outdoors, plus music and art at the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF). Every year in mid-October, musicians perform the gamut from bluegrass to rock, reggae to salsa, and swing to the blues, and international performers bring the sounds of Ireland, Brazil, Haiti, India and more. Other acts include acrobats from Kenya, puppet shows and a youth poetry slam. Families enjoy handicrafts, dancing and a Kid's Village.
After a busy day at the festival, you can check into the posh Old Edwards Inn and Spa (
828/526-8008; 445 Main Street, Highlands, NC 28741) near Highlands, North Carolina. From here, you can take leisurely walks and drives through the Smoky Mountains, where forests of color and cascading waterfalls appear at every turn. Their Leaf Looker Package is the perfect plan for leaf ogling and is available to families with children from age 12.
The charming town of Banner Elk, Avery County is between Sugan and Beech Mountain near the Tennessee border. Locals call it the High Country and mid to late October is the height of leaf peeking in the region. Advanced recommendations are in order for this period, and the Best Western Mountain Lodge (
828/898-4571, 877/877-4553; 1615 Tynecastle Highway, Banner Elk, NC 28604) offers moderately-priced, spacious double rooms. Another inn we liked is actually a small condo with apartment like units, offering afternoon tea, bedtime snacks and popcorn in between. It's called Little Main Street Inn (828/898-6109, 800/851-4397; 607 Main Street East Banner Elk, NC 28604).
Each October, Banner Elk is the home of a wriggly event featuring Woolly Bear Caterpillars. After 31 years, the Woolly Worm Festival typically begins at the local high school, where contestants bring their pets. Then around the festival's daily opening of 10am, or to quote their press material, "around 10:20 am, or as soon as the first heat, which consists of 20 worms, is registered and running," the famous woolly worm races begin. These fuzzy caterpillars race up 3-foot strings (bring your own or pick up a winning worm at the festival) and the champion worm and trainer are crowned (and paid!) The winning worm's 13 brown and black stripes are interpreted to predict the weather forecast for the coming 13 weeks of winter. Expect all manner of craft and food vendors and unusual performances by local talent.
Apple Festival, Bayfield, Wisconsin
True apple picking aficionados will recognize Wisconsin for its first-rate Gays Mills apples, honored at the 1905 New York Apple Show and highly regarded ever since. Although Gays Mills is still the most concentrated orchard region in the Midwest, we're sending you north to the scenic fishing village of Bayfield (800/447-4094, 715/779-3335) on Lake Superior, where residents have celebrated the Apple Festival for more than 40 years. For three days, orchard tours, an apple-peeling contest (can you beat the 311" peel record?) and every conceivable apple product are on show.
Local growers set up roadside stands the first weekend in October to sell frosted apples, pies, strudels, cider, apple sundaes, apple jam, apple butter, apple bratwurst, apple chili, apple dumplings, and more; other festivities include country dancing and carnival rides in this very family-friendly affair. Kids of all ages can participate in a midway packed with games and rides, join Bayfield's Apple Dumpling Gang or take their turn at painting the new "Monster Mural" wall. The whole family will enjoy the evening boat parade that sails off the town shore in Lake Superior, and the closing day's grand parade featuring a 500-piece band.
Bayfield is on the outskirts of Chequamegon National Forest; on some of the most scenic roads in America you'll watch hemlocks and maples change color before your eyes. The Hayward to Glidden route is especially spectacular. Those traveling after mid-month should concentrate on the Kenosha and Elkhorn regions near Milwaukee, where fruit and foliage ripens later.
If you're going to make a real vacation of this visit, Bodin's Bayfield Resort (715/373-2359; 78800 Bodin Road, Washburn, WI 54891) is one of the area's fancier places to stay and it's quiet. The resort has modern one and two-bedroom cottages overlooking Lake Superior and five of the Apostle Islands. Families will enjoy the large lawn area for playing and the surprisingly nice sandy beach. By the way, your four-legged relatives are welcome here, too. For more accommodations information and a 24-hour foliage report, contact the Wisconsin Board of Tourism (800/432-8747).
The FireAnt Festival, Marshall, Texas
You have to give the 25,000 residents of Marshall in east central Texas some credit for their sense of humor. Anyone who's sat on one of those springy verdant lawns carpeting Austin, Dallas, or Houston has probably known (in the Biblical sense) a Texas fireant. These incredibly ferocious pests are feted annually over Columbus Day weekend, in Marshall, at the annual FireAnt Festival. And 2008 marks the 26th year.
Fabulous costumes, theater, a parade, karaoke, the Tour de FireAnt (a variety of bicycle races ranging from 100K to 10, 30 or 45 miles), and a FireAnt Calling Contest (always won by locals) will engross your family. Save room for the town's 25th Annual Chili Cook Off and after dining on the winner, work it off with the slow and silly Six Feet on the Street 5K run for all ages.
Marshall itself has a long history as the "Pottery Capital of America." Your family can tour workshops and enjoy long walks through the city's large historic core of 19th- and early 20th-century Western houses. Call the Chamber of Commerce (903/935-7868) for other activity and events occuring during your stay.
For family lodging, we like the Yellow Rose Inn (903/923-8699; 700 East Rusk Street, Marshall, TX 75670) because it's a nicely restored home dating from 1896 that's typical of the old parts of town. The Inn features a few suites, and for different prices there's a choice of bed sizes, and private or shared baths. Their large front porch with rocking chairs and nearby swimming pool are fun places to gather at day's end.
For a more modern stay, there's a La Quinta Inn (903/927-0009; 5301 East End Boulevard, Marshall, TX 75672) with a pool, laundry facilities (in case anyone gets ants in their pants), computer room and complimentary breakfast included in budget rates. The modern Comfort Suites is another choice in South Marshall (877/424-6423; 5204 South East End Boulevard Marshall, TX 75672) with similar facilities, plus the added perks of a microwave, fridge and Internet access in each room.
Harvestfest, York, Maine
It may be known as the Pine Tree State, but Maine still has plenty of fall color to go around the 17.7 million acres of woodland. Plan to visit Historic York, Maine where the annual Harvestfest takes place in mid-October, as it's done for more than 20 years. Activities on Friday typically include an Old Fashioned Marketplace and a food festival on the Village Green where you are sure to find great lobster rolls. Saturday's events feature a fun Kidfest, a juried craft show, live entertainment and a Pumpkin Stroll. On Sunday, this year as in year's past, there will be a Classic Car Show, crafts at the ballpark and a Native American Pow-Wow.
At night, check into the Breakwater Inn and Spa (207/967-5333; 127 Ocean Avenue, Kennebunkport, ME 04046). This retreat is set on the coast where the Kennebunk River meets the Atlantic. Their Deluxe Innn and Spa Package includes accomodations, a continental breakfast, afternoon tea, seafood dinner and a spa voucher per person. Regular Inn rooms at a more moderate rate are also available. Adjacent to the spa are the Breakwater Apartments, perfect for families, offering one bedroom apartments with fully-equipped kitchens, plus a complimentary continental breakfast, and afternoon tea.
If you arrive in Maine earlier in October and head a bit farther north to the Boothbay Region, your family can check out the annual Maine Fall Foliage Festival for arts, crafts, great food, local entertainment, children's activities and steam train rides sponsored by the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber (207/633-2353) and the Boothbay Railway Village (207/633-4727).This coastal village reflects Maines' long sea-faring history and is very picturesque.
Leaf-Peeking & AutumnFest with Toddlers in Vermont
Every autumn during September and October, the super-family-friendly condo complex at Smuggler's Notch (800/419-4615; 4323 Vermont Route 108, Smugglers’ Notch, VT 05464) offers complimentary family activities for children 6-weeks to 5-years-old, as part of the annual AutumnFest package. If getting away means hermitting yourselves in an organized resort on 3,000 forested acres, Smuggler's Notch may be perfect.
Before the hectic ski season begins, Smuggs (as it's fondly called) offers free guided hikes, volleyball, Disc golf and mini-golf, scavenger hunts, shuffleboard, Bingo, Karaoke, a skate park, indoor tennis, water slides and swimming as part of AutumnFest. (Pool activities move indoors in mid-September, when that crisp, clear New England air becomes a bit chillier.) New are themed vacations based on a three-night stay that feature daytrips around the state for family leaf-peeking or north to Montreal for a taste of Quebec's French culture. Older kids and teens will especially appreciate the Eco-Adventure theme built around a guided daylight Segway (battery-operated scooter) tour, an evening Wildlife Watch canoe trip, and a guided hike that explains environmental concerns such as water runoff and the resort's solutions.
The moderate AutumnFest rates also include a place for your kids in the excellent, supervised children's camp. Half or full-day programs, afternoon family-togethers and evening family activities and entertainment are available at no extra fee, adding to the on-site "fall festival" atmosphere.
Comfortable, modern lodging ranges from furnished studios to five-bedroom condos, all with kitchen facilities (there's an on-site grocery). This award-winning mountain resort, surrounded by state forest lands, is located about 45 minutes' drive from the Burlington Airport or two hours south of Montréal. Autumnfest is well timed, as late-September/early October should present peak foliage (Vermont Tourism Offices 800/837-6668) in the scenic Green Mountains.
