12 Top Places To Visit In Connecticut This Fall

Fall in New England is the envy of the rest of the continental U.S.: crisp, cool air, verdant apple orchards, and fiery foliage combine to make for a great weekend trip- if not longer. While some may forget that Connecticut is more than a commuter’s playground, it is one of the states that compose New England and packs a lot into a relatively small state. Take a train or road trip into the Nutmeg State and enjoy some of these destinations that boast a huge amount of autumnal activities for the whole family.

Foliage begins to peak in the northern parts of Connecticut in the first week of October and spreads south and west throughout the month, with the southwest portion of the state peaking the first week of November. If you love seeing bright red maples, brilliant golden birches, and rolling hills dotted with red, yellow, and orange, there's no better time to visit.

Litchfield

Litchfield sits in the hilly northwest corner of Connecticut and provides a variety of fall activities and attractions. It serves as the center of the 58-mile Litchfield Hills Scenic Byway, providing a perfect opportunity for visitors to explore the changing leaves from a variety of vantage points. Those here prefer a total immersion in the local flora and fauna; White Memorial Conservation Center offers a number of trails through the heart of Connecticut's more rugged deciduous forests. Litchfield is also home to a number of seasonal entertainment, arts, and food festivals, including the Black Bear Americana Music Festival and the Garlic & Harvest Festival, so be sure to warn your loved ones before you place a big garlicky smooch on them.

Mystic

Mystic, Connecticut, is a wonderland of seaside and classic New England charm, perhaps most famous for its eponymous pizzeria, which serves as the setting for the movie of the same name, where they now show the film on an ever-repeating loop. Mystic is much more than a Julia Roberts movie, however. The town is home to one of the East Coast’s most comprehensive and interactive aquariums, where you will find hours of uninterrupted fun. Every fall, the Mystic Seaport hosts “Mystic Seaport’s Fall Festival,” a music and arts extravaganza that features a broad array of global musical talents. The town’s undeniable maritime charm is always on display, and the views are truly special when accentuated by the changing foliage of autumn. nearby Haley State Farm provides a lovely 2.8-mile hiking route to relish the beauty of the season.

New Haven

With New Haven’s Tweed airport increasing its flight schedule and just a train nap away from New York’s Grand Central Station, the self-proclaimed greatest small city in America is an increasingly accessible and affordable destination. The state’s cultural capital is a grand autumnal getaway for those looking to experience changing leaves as a backdrop for innumerable fun fall events. East Rock Park provides hiking, biking and driving trails to its scenic peak, perched hundreds of feet above New Haven’s verdant East Rock neighborhood, one can see the whole downtown area from the park’s elevated vantage point, which makes it a prime place from which to view the city’s foliage. New Haven’s downtown in fall provides a lovely place to get a jump on the holiday season with retailers up and down the downtown Nine Squares area, and don’t miss Yale’s Art Gallery, which offers free admission to see a collection as varied as the colors in the trees. By night, enjoy the spooky fun of a haunted city tour with Ghosts of New Haven.

Hartford

The State’s Capital is at its most beautiful in autumn; even among the dense city streets, Hartford has retained much of the state’s natural beauty. Bushnell Park, the country’s oldest publicly funded park in the US, is an oasis in downtown Hartford and a wonderful place for an autumn stroll to take in the changing leaves around the park. The city’s Sculpture Walk at Hartford’s riverfront provides a chance to take in sixteen unique sculptures while enjoying a waterside stroll. The GOAT Brew Fest opens up Dunkin Donuts Park, Hartford’s largest baseball park and home to the minor league Hartford Yard Goats, to visitors from far and wide to enjoy Connecticut-made beers and wines in this American take on Oktoberfest.

Hamden

Hamden’s Sleeping Giant State Park is perhaps one of CT’s most distinct landmarks. Its distinct profile of a 2-mile-long “sleeping giant” gives new meaning to the term “foothills” and offers several eagle-eye vantage points from which hikers can view the state’s famous fall foliage. The park’s most-traveled trail is the 1.6-mile trail from the park’s main parking lot to its famous hilltop castle. A clear day offers castle climbers a 360-degree view that can stretch from the Long Island Sound, well past the state capital, clear to Massachusetts. Hamden, however, has much more than hiking to offer. Directly across the street from Sleeping Giant’s main parking lot is Quinnipiac University, with fall marking the start of college basketball season. Host to a large section of the Farmington River Canal Heritage Trail, a recreational trail for walking, biking, skating, and any other means of self-propulsion one can conceive of, which stretches from New Haven all the way to Farmington, just west of Hartford. Along the Hamden stretch of this trail, visitors will find gems such as Counterweight Brewery and Mikro Brewpub, with a broad selection of rotating local and international microbrews and elevated pub food that will live on in visitors’ memories for ages.

Woodstock

Woodstock, CT is a hidden gem in northeastern CT that offers numerous fall attractions. The town sits at the center of the “Quiet Corner” scenic drive, a 39-mile scenic byway down CT route 169 that provides some of the nation’s best fall foliage views that extend all the way from Lisbon, CT, to the Massachusetts border. Along this idyllic route, you’ll find the Roseland Cottage, a large gothic-style mansion painted a brilliant medium pink hue with gabled roofs and numerous outbuildings across the well-manicured property, each as beautiful inside as out.

Kent

Kent Falls State Park is one of the state’s most unique hiking locations in Connecticut and the perfect place to imbibe the unique colors that define the fall season in New England. In addition to the 250 feet of waterfalls and breadth of hiking trails, it also features the Kent Falls Bridge, one of the town’s two beautiful covered bridges, in addition to Bull’s Bridge, which spans the Housatonic River further downstream, providing perfect tableaus for passionate photographers. Kent also hosts the annual Kent Pumpkin Run each October. It is open to fitness buffs of all ages, and runners can enjoy the beauty of downtown Kent and the fall foliage.

Essex

Essex, Connecticut, is home to some of the most diverse fall activities in the state. The Essex Land Trust hosts weekly guided hikes across 24 different land preserves and 35 miles of trail, the perfect opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in the autumn leaves and the gamut of flora and fauna that Essex has to offer. The Connecticut River Museum hosts a variety of seasonal events, including a river voyage aboard the historical Onrust schooner, on which you can immerse yourself in a hands-on 17th-century Dutch ship and familiarize yourself with the sailing life of the early 1600s. Bird watchers and nature lovers alike will love the Connecticut Audubon Society's Connecticut River swallow cruises to take in the exquisite beauty of the fall Swallow migration. Essex also serves as the launching point for a variety of seasonal train rides, from their curated leaf viewing to later-season holiday celebrations.

Guilford

Guilford is a lovely coastal town with a unique combination of marshes, farmlands, beaches, and forests. Bishop’s Orchard, conveniently located right off I-95, has a pumpkin’s ransom in quintessential fall activities. In addition to being a multi-fruit orchard, growing strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, pears, apples, and pumpkins - and what says fall more than apple and pumpkin picking - the orchard has a corn maze and a climbable pint-sized hay bale pyramid. Bishop’s is also one of the more interesting stops on the CT Wine Trail, with their wide selection of varied fruit wines made from the aforementioned fruits. Perhaps the best fall delight Bishop’s has to offer is their delectable fresh, homemade apple cider donuts, which are soft, tender, and dusted with cinnamon and brown sugar. In addition to the orchard, one can’t miss Guilford’s idyllic green, surrounded by local shops and eateries. Visitors should be sure to enjoy the inimitable Chaffinch Island Park - which is actually more of a peninsula, but who’s keeping track? With its large open green space, numerous park benches, and open-air grills, it's the perfect place for an autumnal picnic right on the shoreline.

East Haddam

Perched high above the Connecticut River, William Gillette’s exquisitely rendered medieval-style castle is an ideal autumnal destination. Most famous for his stage portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, Gillette had his stone hamlet constructed in 1914 atop a wooded hill, surrounded by an eye-popping explosion of fall color changes, Gillette Castle is now a state park with its stately mansion as centerpiece. The site also offers seasonal camping until October, however, don’t expect to bring your RV, this camping is only accessible by river and its a tad primitive, with fire pits for cooking and pit toilets for, well, toilets.

New London

New London is one of southeastern Connecticut’s most vibrant towns in the fall. Each October, downtown New London plays host to the Fall Food Stroll. For a small entry fee, visitors can explore downtown food vendors with a backdrop of local live music. Each fall at the waterfront park, New London hosts their Halloween Town, including family trick-or-treating, a costume contest, and unique dance performances. New London also hosts a craft fair each November where artisans display and sell their handmade creations in an open market. For history enthusiasts, New London’s naval base offers tours of the USS Nautilus, the country’s first nuclear-powered submarine.

Salisbury

Salisbury is home to Bear Mountain - not to be confused with the Bear Mountain across the border in New York. As the tallest mountain in CT, standing at a modest but respectable 2,316 feet, Bear Mountain is perhaps Connecticut’s finest vantage for the changing leaves, with views of not just Connecticut but also southwest Massachusetts and southeast New York. Be sure to visit downtown Salisbury for its annual Fall Festival. Visit charming Main Street and enjoy the books stores and vintage boutiques, there will be local artisans selling goods and eateries flaunting their finest offerings for passers by.

Connecticut offers a wide variety of autumnal events and some of the most diverse fall foliage in the country. From the shoreline to the far hills, from the quiet corner to the bustling urban hubs, Connecticut is one of the finest states for fall fanatics - donuts, pumpkin patches, hayrides, and hikes, there is a little something for everyone in autumnal Connecticut.