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October 3, 2019

Great Destinations for a Fall Getaway

Fall brings colorful leaves and mild temperatures that make exploring the outdoors all the more ideal, with America hosting a range of cities and stops to enjoy autumn festivities and take in scenic foliage views. 

To help travelers plan their fall getaways, Travel and Leisure Magazine has published the top 20 most affordable U.S. locations to visit this autumn, with results based on stops that provide the lowest round-trip trip ticket prices and nightly hotel rates at properties with three or more stars.

The company looked at historical travel data for travel in September and October of 2017 and 2018 to determine the results, with the top 20 most affordable locations highlighted below. 

20. Amarillo, Texas 

In Amarillo, visitors can take part in fall activities that range from catching mesmerizing foliage views to farmhouse visits and jazz performances that take place in the area throughout October. 

19. Sioux Falls, South Dakota 

Sioux Falls offers a range of locations for viewing prime fall foliage, including at Falls Park where visitors will find trails, viewing platforms, and an observation tower offering 360-degree views of the park and the skyline.

18. Fargo, North Dakota 

Explore farmers markets and pumpkin patches, see leaves change color, or stop into one of the many Oktoberfest and craft fairs taking place throughout the fall in Fargo to enjoy family-friendly activities. 

17. Roanoke, Virginia 

The Roanoke Valley and Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains become carpeted in a kaleidoscope of leaves in the fall, with the Blue Ridge Parkway providing immaculate views of the scenery throughout. Corn mazes, hay rides, and fairs and festivals abound in the fall.

16. Phoenix, Arizona 

Phoenix comes alive with festivals in the fall, ranging from beer celebrations and donut festivals to pizza parties, while a range of scenic drives provide views of red rocks, soaring mountains, and colorful foliage to admire. The city is also in close proximity to national parks like Grand Canyon National Park and Canyonlands National Park

15. Newport News, Virginia 

Mild temperatures in the fall in combination with the foliage that arrives makes the season a prime time to visit Newport News to enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, biking, fishing, boating, and golfing in one of the area’s more than 30 parks. Special events like the Newport News Fall Festival allow visitors to learn crafts ranging from woodworking to quilting in a festive atmosphere.

14. Little Rock, Arkansas 

Explore fairs dating back to the 1930s, scenic parks, prime museums, and romantic inns that even offer special packages for leaf peeping in the fall in Little Rock.

13. Killeen, Texas 

Killeen is home to more than 20 different parks and hiking and biking trails that make for lovely adventures in the fall, while golf courses like the Stonetree Golf Course sit surrounded by a variety of trees and small lakes dotted with fountains for a relaxing escape.

12. Billings, Montana 

Cooler days provide prime opportunities to gaze at animals like America’s largest herd of wild horses and a range of bears that call the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area home. Billings is also home to Montana’s only walkable brewery district, offering visitors a range of breweries, distilleries, and a cider house to explore alongside art galleries, museums, and more.

11. Grand Junction, Colorado 

The scenery around Grand Junction comes all the more alive in the fall as the leaves change color, with visitors able to spot them on bike rides through Colorado’s Wine Country, on chair lift rides with views of golden aspen trees below, or on on the various trails that weave to the Grand Mesa. 

10. Charleston, West Virginia 

West Virginia turns into a colorful spectacle in the fall, with options to admire it on everything from ATVs to rafts and on hikes. Various state parks provide prime opportunities to get up-close to the magnificent displays that arrive in mid-September and late October.

9. Fresno, California 

Fresno is a relaxing stop for nature lovers with its range of outdoor activities and its close proximity to several national parks, national forests, and wilderness areas. Visitors can explore country farm trails that showcase fresh produce, while a range of accommodations nestled in nature provide the perfect starting point for enjoying the destination’s natural attractions.

8. Flint, Michigan: 

Michigan is bursting with colorful foliage in the fall, with its roads often providing some of the most mesmerizing views. Take the 150-mile-long loop from Bloomfield Hills to Flint and back down to the Brighton area in early to late October to find an array of colors to admire alongside cider mills, nature trails, and state parks.

7.  Minot, North Dakota 

North Dakota is filed with main street celebrations, pumpkin patches, fairs, and Oktoberfest celebrations to discover. In Minot, visitors can pick their own fresh produce and taste freshly baked goods at gardens or spend their days surrounded by animals ranging from cattle to horses across over 500 privately-owned acres of native prairie with Black Butte Adventures.

6. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 

Pumpkinville arrives to Oklahoma City every October, with the Myriad Botanical Gardens transforming into a “pumpkin town” with thousands of pumpkins and hundreds of gourds that sit surrounded in foliage for visitors to admire. Haunted river cruises also bring fun twists to Halloween-themed experiences. 

5. Wichita, Kansas 

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A range of festivals arrive to Wichita in the fall, from the Tallgrass Film Festival to beer celebrations and chili cook-offs. Orchards offer ripe goodies for picking while pumpkin and corn mazes bring fun to all ages. The Kansas River also provides a magnificent backdrop to see the array of colorful leaves that hang from the trees, all from the comfort of a kayak.

4. Lafayette, Louisiana 

Lafayette hosts a celebration for everything from boudin and gumbo to beer and sugarcane in the fall. Mild temperatures in the season make it all the more ideal to explore its many events, which also include free concert series and festivals like the Feast of the Hunters Moon — a historic reenactment of 18th century life in the area that includes traditional crafts and dishes ranging from Scottish meat pies to fry bread. 

3. Allentown, Pennsylvania 

Allentown is located in Lehigh Valley, meaning visitors can look forward to spectacular fall foliage scenery. Thanks to a rich automotive history, Allentown hosts a range of historic attractions like the America on Wheels Museum, where visitors can check out cars, bikes, motorcycles, gas-powered carriages and more from transportation’s early days.

2. Tulsa, Oklahoma 

Oktoberfest is a popular occasion in Tulsa, where visitors can learn polka dancing, take part in beer keg races, and try everything from bratwurst to smoked turkey legs. Tulsa is also home to stops like the Gathering Place riverfront park, which offers play structures imported from Germany and events like free movie screenings in both the summer and the fall for families. 

1. Canton, Ohio 

In addition to hosting the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Canton is also home to attractions and events like the Yankee Peddler Festival, where participants can step back 200 years in time to sample traditional dishes cooked over open fires before stepping into the array of rustic shops set up among streams and acres of nature. 

Visit sandbox.ahcstaff.com or text Accountable to 86754 to search our NEW positions and plan your Fall travel destination.