Guest Posts, Travel, USA

Fall Activities in New York – Long Island

It’s that time of year again! Fall weather, fall clothing, and best of all, fall travel. With all the beautiful fall foliage, fun activities, and stunning scenery, it’s arguably one of the best times to travel. Not only is there a variety of places to visit, things to see and do, you can’t beat how cheap it is to travel now.

Since I live in Pennsylvania, there’s so much to do here during the fall. Everything from corn mazes and apple picking to haunted tours, you name it, we got it! I created a post, which you can read here, on all the cool things to do here in PA during the fall. And, I’ve also written a post on some fall activities to do in New York; there’s nothing like fall in New York.

Keeping in line with fall in New York, we’re going to cover more fall activities to do in that beautiful state! However, today’s post is going to be a little different. Why? Because today, we’re going to hear from another blogger on some fall activities that you can put on your list to do in New York.

Her name is Nina from Nomadic Neen! Nina is another wonderful and talented travel blogger who shares her personal stories, tips, and pictures to help inspire others to travel. Definitely give her a follow on her Twitter and Instagram as she has amazing content!

Fall in New York: Long Island

Nina Rossiello
Nomadic Neen
http://www.nomadicneen.com

Fall is the perfect time to visit Long Island. Most people from the area will tell you Summer is the best time to visit because beaches and blah blah blah, but trust me, Fall is the way to go!

Long Island is beautiful in the summer, but it gets HOT and it gets HUMID. In the fall, you still have your warmer days without the humidity, and you can actually be comfortable while you are outside in your cute fall outfits.

If you’re looking for things to do on Long Island in the fall, you’re in luck! I’ve gathered a quick list of some of the best that Long Island has to offer. As an added bonus, Fall is offseason for tourists, so you can enjoy these activities with fewer crowds!

Festivals & Fairs

Festivals and Fairs thrive throughout Long Island in the fall. You can find a street fair of some sort in almost any town you look in at some point from September – November. If there’s not a street fair, you’re like to find a craft fair on the calendar.

Some of my favorites include the Town of Babylon’s Fall Festival and Craft Fair held at Argyle Lake and the Islip Street Fair. The street fairs usually host live, local music, and there is a genuine good vibe just floating through the air as people eat and shop their way around town.

Winery Tour

Long Island is known for its Wine Trail. There are over 50 wineries (and breweries) scattered throughout Long Island, and luckily most of them are close by to each other.

A fun way to spend the day with friends is to rent a car or bus and do a winery tour! A lot of transportation companies offer pre-planned tours, so you don’t even have to do anything but book the actual ride!

Apple Picking

Apple Picking is the quintessential fall activity, and it is no different on Long Island. There are plenty of orchards to choose form too. Once you’re done taking all of your cute apple photos, head to the orchard’s shop to indulge in all the goodies the shop has to offer.

I’d recommend grabbing some fresh apple cider and apple cider donuts! Store brand apple cider donuts are just not the same and you’ll be able to tell the difference the second you bite into your freshly cooked donut.

One of my personal favorite things to do after a day of apple picking is to stop at a farm-stand along the side of the road and grab some roasted corn. Something about eating fresh roasted corn smothered in butter just screams FALL to me.

Pumpkin Picking

You cannot go apple picking without also stopping at a pumpkin patch! Who doesn’t love picking out their own pumpkin to carve? Pumpkin patches are as abundant, if not more abundant than the apple orchards.

Not only do the farms on Long Island have pumpkin patches, but you can also find a full day of fall activities. You can take a tractor ride through the fields for a relaxing journey. If you’re feeling adventurous try out one of the many corn mazes you can find, haunted or not that part is up to you.

Hiking

For a relatively flat place, Long Island offers some great hiking opportunities! As a local, I didn’t even know this myself until recently, so it really is a decently kept secret. Since it does get a bit too hot in the summer, Fall is the right time to check out these trails.

You can find some trails at these amazing locations:

  1. Cold Spring Harbor State Park
  2. Muttontown Preserve
  3. Sunken Meadow State Park
  4. Montauk Point State Park (multiple trails)
  5. Blydenburg County Park

Haunted Houses

Long Island is fillllllled with haunted houses with the most famous being the Bayville Scream Park in Bayville, NY. There are six haunted houses in the Bayville Scream Park and you can visit all six in one night if you’re feeling up for it!

If Bayville seems too intense for you, there are haunted houses pretty much everywhere, and you can find which works best for you. Many of the local volunteer fire houses set up family-friendly haunted houses that are cheap and don’t take too much time to walk through.

There’s also the Schmitt’s Family Farm in Melville that is known to give a good freight in their haunted house!

Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze

For some classic Halloween fun you MUST check out the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze in Bethpage, NY.

This is a self-guided tour of some spectacular sights! Pumpkins absolutely everywhere. It takes over 1,000 carvers to make this Blaze come to life. It is an absolute must to add to your fall bucket list!