Fall In Love with an Autumn Road Trip
Crisp fresh air, cosy sweaters, farm-fresh food, and colourful views and vistas; are just some of the characteristics of Autumn that make it the perfect time to head out on a road trip.
While many people prefer to go for a road trip during the summer months, and we enjoy that too; we also love a good autumn road trip. Here we offer some of the many fall-tastic reasons that we think you should look at planning an autumn road trip:
Sweater Weather
You are an’ autumn’ if you look forward to pulling your jaunty sweaters out of the closet, wearing buffalo plaid jackets, and wrapping your neck in a chunky knit scarf. The milder temperatures of fall make it the perfect weather for getting out and enjoying your vacation. Fall is the ideal blend of temperatures – not too hot or cold. It provides warm days to explore, and cooler nights make it perfect for enjoying a beverage by a fire with a cosy sweater, light scarf, plaid jacket, and comfy boots.
Travel is cheaper (sometimes)
Travel professionals call autumn the ‘shoulder season’ because it is between peak travel seasons like summer and Christmas break. When fewer people travel, Thanksgiving – the busiest travel day of the year- falls in this period, making it the exception. As a result of a decrease in demand for many services, costs for various travel services like accommodations, flights, rental vehicles, and other tourism businesses are often at discounted or reduced rates. Gas prices typically are at lower prices in the offseason. However, this doesn’t always apply.
Since your money may go a little further, you can splurge a bit more, enjoy more outings & activities, and visit more museums and galleries.
Tips for Saving Money on Your Next Vacation
Smaller Crowd Sizes
Do you get frustrated with long lines, large crowds at attractions, and restaurant wait times when you travel in the summer? Well, Autumn might be an excellent option for your next road trip.
While many travellers are heading back to work, school, etc., and fewer people are on the road, savvy travellers will take advantage of this time and plan a perfect autumn road trip. You can now get amazing shots without photobombers for all the landmarks and attractions you hope to get great photos of. The lines at the most popular tourist attractions will be shorter, or not existent at all. You can take in the scenery and vistas without people blocking your view. Wait times for those great restaurants will be significantly decreased. With fewer people out and about means, you can experience more. You can enjoy all the attractions, sites, scenery, parks, and museums to your heart’s content.
Local Experiences
If you love getting to know your hosts, chatting with locals, and making new friends when you travel, an Autumn road trip is a perfect time to do this. Business owners have more time to engage and interact with their guests with fewer people to serve. You may learn some local stories, get tips on other adventures in the area, get behind-the-scenes tours, and make more travel memories.
Fall Festivals
We love to attend a good festival. We often plan road trips & day trips around attending festivals of all kinds. Autumn is the season of harvest bounty, and there is a festival to celebrate just about anything you can think of – pumpkins, corn, apples, cranberries, etc. There is no shortage of options when it comes to fall fairs and festivals that you can attend. So, the next time you drive through a town and see a sign that says they are the “_(fill in the blank)_ capital”, you can bet they have a festival for that. Celebrate the harvest season with a road trip to one of the many autumn festivals.
(Pumpkin) Spice up your life
The transition from Summer to Fall brings the season of Pumpkin Spiced everything – lattes, cookies, cakes, pies, etc. You name it, and I am sure it will have a pumpkin spice version. In addition to people’s obsession with Pumpkin spiced flavour & scents, everyone loves the many delicious flavours of autumn.
The fall harvest is overflowing with an abundance of delicious farm-fresh foods you want to indulge in. Who doesn’t enjoy wandering around a local farmer’s market to select the freshest fruits and vegetables from the harvest bounty? Popular fall activities include: heading to a food festival, going apple and pear picking, choosing your Halloween pumpkins and gourds, and visiting wineries & cideries.
Cabin in the Woods
When planning your autumn road trip adventure, immerse yourself fully into Autumn. Book a stay at a lovely Bed & Breakfast in the country. Stay at a rustic cabin in the woods, a woodsy roadside motel, or even a unique accommodation. Think yurts, domes glamping, etc. This way, you can surround yourself with the beautiful autumnal scenery, cook up all the fall meals you crave, and have a home base for outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, and dog walking.
We stayed at the lovely Blue Moon Retreat near Bancroft, Ontario, where we enjoyed beautiful accommodations, fantastic hospitality, gorgeous location, spectacular scenery, and a pet-friendly welcome.
Colourful Landscapes
Autumn is a beautiful time for a road trip. There is nothing like driving down a country road lined with trees ablaze with gorgeous green, yellow, orange and red colours. The scenery is alive with so much colour and beauty it will take your breath away. An autumn roadtrip is a photographer’s delight – If you love hiking, the colourful vistas and overlooks will blow your mind.
Hiking adventures
As regular readers of Roguetrippers.com know, we are still relatively new to hiking. We have been hiking for over a year and have hiked in almost every weather condition in all four seasons. Our favourite season to go for a hike is, without question – Autumn. The temperatures are not too hot or cold, inspiring us to etch a longer hike than in harsher conditions. The insects (mosquitoes and black and deer flies) are not as pervasive and annoying as in Spring and Summer. The ground on the trails isn’t as wet and muddy as in Spring. We love the sound of the crunch of fallen leaves under our hiking boots, the variation in scenery throughout the trails, and the colours. WOW.
Tips to Prepare for Hiking Adventures While On Vacation
Pet-Friendly Travels
If you love travelling with your dogs – you will do so no matter the season. Taking your dog on an autumn road trip is more fun for you and them to enjoy this time together. The more moderate temperatures will make it more comfortable for them to enjoy the road trip. They can join you in more activities like hiking, boating, walking, and exploring without too much worry about heat exhaustion or frostbite. Many restaurants & breweries still have outdoor patios open where your dog can join you. Let’s not forget about all of those fantastic autumnal scene photo opportunities.
Tips for Packing for a Road Trip with Your Dog
There is one significant drawback that you may discover when you travel in Autumn. Specifically, in more small communities or touristy spots, some places may have already closed for the season. They may have shorter service hours. It is best to plan ahead, so you are not left in the lurch.
Discover all that an autumn road trip has to offer. From culinary delights, local getaways, the beauty of the great outdoors, festivals, and more. You will fall for an autumn road trip.
Check out our Autumn Roadtrip through Perth County
