Tag: oktoberfest

Autumn Adventures: Foliage, Festivals, and Frights

Fall doesn’t have to mean the end of glamping season. In fact, there is something extremely cozy and comforting about a glamping adventure as the cool, crisp air of autumn sets in. Plan ahead and glamp while enjoying these fun fall events:

Narrows Too Camping Resort
Narrows Too Camping Resort

Leaf Peeping Trips: If you’re into the beautiful colors of fall, plan to hit some of the most beautiful areas of color in the country. New England is great for fall color so check into a cozy tiny house at Tuxbury Tiny House Village in New Hampshire and you have several options to leaf peep. Color driving options include the Kancamagus Highway, the Currier and Ives Scenic Byway or the Monadnock Region Loop. All have charming towns to visit along the way. Bar Harbor, Maine, and more specifically, Acadia National Park, is another great spot for seeing the fall palette. Book a stay at Narrows Too Camping Resort and enjoy a walk in the wooded wonderland of Acadia. On the west coast, an option for fall foliage could be a trip to Thousand Trails Bend-Sunriver with a glamping stay in a cottage, cabin or yurt. Then drive the nearby McKenzie Pass-Santiam Pass Scenic Byway to bask in fall’s color show.

Cottage at Wilmington RV Campground
Cottage at Wilmington RV Campground

Fall Festivals: Fall is great for festivals and a few to consider would be Oktoberfest across the country. Book a cozy tiny house at Leavenworth Tiny House Village and enjoy this spectacular event in Leavenworth, Washington that runs three weekends in October (October 4-5, October 11-12 and October 18-19). Billed as one of the country’s best, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati in Cincinnati is considered the largest Oktoberfest in the US. This year’s event will be held September 19-22. Book a glamping cottage or cabin at Thousand Trails Wilmington to be near all the fun. The skies over the Adirondack mountains will be full of hot air balloons from September 19-22 as the 50th Annual Adirondack Balloon Festival takes flight. The glamping cabins at Lake George Escape Campground are the perfect spot to stay if you want to enjoy this event that is less than 15 minutes away. How about celebrating all things cranberry? The world’s largest cranberry festival, Warrens Cranberry Festival, is scheduled for September 27-29 in Warren, Wisconsin which is a little over 70 miles from Lake of the Woods Campground and its great glamping cabins.

Family enjoying a cabin at Drummer Boy Camping Resort
Cabin at Drummer Boy Camping Resort

Ghost Tours: With Halloween looming, why not check out some of the best haunted tours in the US. According to housebeautiful.com, these are some of the best spookiest tours around: Florida’s Walking Ghost Tour of St. Augustine (book a stay at Encore Bulow in Flagler Beach); the Sisters Grimm Ghost Tour in San Antonio, Texas (stay at Thousand Trails Medina Lake); Spooked in Seattle Ghost Tours (stay at Tall Chief Campground); and Colonial Ghost Tours in Williamsburg, Virginia (stay at Thousand Trails Williamsburg). Of course, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is said to be one of the most haunted places in the world so there are plenty of ghost tours to be found here (and maybe you don’t even need one to find the spirits lurking here) If you go, plan a stay at Drummer Boy Camping Resort and check into which of the many tours strike your fancy.

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Great Fall Getaways

Toss the summer bucket list (hopefully, everything’s been crossed off), grab a pen and paper and start your Fall Bucket List which should include the following must-do fall activities.

Tailgate or College Town Visit

There’s something about a college campus in the fall that makes anybody feel young again. Whatever it is, why not check out some of these great college towns near our glamping accommodations.

Yurt at Tall Chief Campground
Yurt at Tall Chief Campground

University of Washington – a couple cool things to check out here. First off, the beautiful campus trees ablaze with fall color and also the Brockman Memorial Tree Tour, a virtual tour that identifies roughly 60 of the 480 trees found on this wooded campus. Information for the tour, which is dedicated to the memory of former UW Professor Frank Brockman, can be found at depts.washington.edu/treetour. Another fun thing – instead of tailgating, fans of the UW Huskies football team “sailgate” in nearby Union Bay’s Husky Harbor. It’s really a sight to see and most likely, one-of-a-kind when it comes to college football fun. (Rent a yurt at Tall Chief to visit UW).

University of Wisconsin – Again foliage and football are the draw here. Badger football is basically a religion in Madison. On gameday when the Badgers are at home, the Badger Bash, a family friendly event for more than 50 years, has live music, a performance by the UW-Madison Marching Band, plus food and drink. The trees on Bascom Hill are worth a look and there’s also a self-guided tour of the trees on Bascom Hill as well those on Observatory Hill. The Memorial Union, with its views of picturesque Lake Mendota is another photo-worthy spot. (Rent a cabin or cottage at Yukon Trails for Badger fun.)

Fall Festivals

Pumpkins, oom-pah bands, and the best of the best Oktoberfests should be part of your fall to-do list.

Leavenworth, Washington, hosts one of the most authentic Oktoberfests, according to travelmag.org. Book a tiny house at Leavenworth Tiny House Village to experience this bash complete with imported German beer, live entertainment, oom-pah and polka music, contests (try your luck at the stein holding contest!) and don’t miss the Keg Tapping Ceremony on Saturdays. Leavenworth’s Oktoberfest will be held over three weekends (September 30-October 1; October 7-8; and October 14-15.)

Another noteworthy Oktoberfest is the one held in Fredericksburg, Texas. The 42nd Oktoberfest is set for September 30-October 2 this year and highlights will include the Hauptstrasse Chicken Dance featuring 400 dancers, the Family Dirndle and Lederhosen Contest, and a Yodel Contest. Come celebrate Fredericksburg’s German heritage with plenty of German food and drink. Don’t miss this one – book a cozy cabin at Medina Lake.

The Pumpkin Village at the Dallas Arboretum displays more than 90,000 colorful pumpkins and other assorted gourds to create a color show of its own. The special event, Autumn at the Arboretum, runs from September 17-October 31 and has a fairy tale theme this year. A Fall Fairytale will of course feature Cinderella’s Carriage as well as pumpkin houses and other favorite fairy tales brought to life through gourd displays. Book a cabin at nearby Bay Landing while enjoying the Pumpkin Village.

Cabins at Yosemite Lakes
Cabins at Yosemite Lakes

Fall Hikes

Fall hikes are not only great for your health, but also provide you the opportunity to bask in the fall colors as you take care of your body and mind. Some notable trails include the Cook’s Meadow Loop in Yosemite National Park (book a yurt at Yosemite Lakes), a great flat trail that offers views of Yosemite Falls and Half Dome; Pennsylvania’s Bushkill Falls (near Robin Hill with cottage and cabin rentals) promises a great color show as the leaves begin to turn in early October and last through November. Plus, there are eight waterfalls to see along the 2-mile trail. If you’re visiting Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge Landing, you can explore the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail and get a two-fer when it comes to fall colors. You can drive the 5.5-mile auto tour portion through the forest or opt to hike the 2.5-mile scenic trail to Grotto Falls.

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