When I think about fall, the first things that come to mind are the fall foods tied to the season. Apple cider, pumpkin bread, chowder on a chilly day, and even truffles in Italy all make me want to plan a trip.
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Sometimes that means a quick road trip to a nearby orchard, and other times it’s as far as Italy for truffle season and cooler weather. It’s not a complete list of every fall dish or destination, but more of an ideas list built around the foods that make this season special. Some can be planned as road trips, others with flights, and a few even pair well with a cruise.
Apple Orchards, Warm Cider, and Donuts
Fall and apples are synonymous. A crisp apple, a glass of cider, or a warm cider donut is enough to have us driving out to the apple orchards near Los Angeles. On my fall travel bucket list are plenty of places known for foliage, apple picking, and seasonal treats.
PinApple Cider Donuts from Oak Glen, CA
Oak Glen, California: Apple Pie and Cider Donuts
At the top of the list is the mountain town of Oak Glen, our go-to fall spot near Los Angeles. It’s packed with u-pick orchards, country stores, seasonal activities, mile-high apple pie from Apple Annie’s, and local favorite cider donuts from Snow-Line Orchards. If you’re on a Southern California road trip in the fall, Oak Glen is where Angelinos go to find a little bit of autumn..
Julian, California: Julian, California
East of San Diego, this mountain town has built its name on apple pie. Every fall, visitors line up at Julian Pie Company and Mom’s Pies for a slice, often still warm from the oven. U-pick orchards and cider tastings give the season that classic fall feel, but Julian also leans into its Gold Rush history with preserved buildings, small-town shops, and a nostalgic main street that makes it as much about the atmosphere as the food.
Vermont (Champlain Valley): Apples, Cider Donuts, and Maple
Fall in Vermont means orchards, foliage, and plenty of maple, along with the apples. The Champlain Valley has some of the best stops, like Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury for hot cider donuts and jugs of fresh-pressed cider. At Shelburne Orchards, you can pick apples with Lake Champlain as your backdrop, then shop for maple syrup, apple brandy, and vinegar. It’s the kind of place where fall flavors stretch way beyond the orchard.
Maine (near Portland): Orchards, Cider Donuts, and Seafood
Less than an hour inland from Portland, you’ll find family-run orchards that make fall in Maine special. Libby & Son U-Pick in Limerick has live music, seasonal pizza, and cider made from their own apples. Nearby, McDougal Orchards in Springvale is home to Captain Jack’s Donut Shack, where cider donuts come hot off the fryer. After a morning in the orchards and a drive through colorful back roads, head back to Portland for lobster rolls, chowder, or a seafood dinner on the waterfront. It’s the kind of fall trip that ties together foliage, orchards, and the flavors Maine is known for.
Hudson Valley, New York: Apples, Cider, and Orchard Days
A short drive north of New York City, the Hudson Valley has become a fall tradition for many. You’ll find orchards where you can pick your own apples, grab hot cider and donuts, or spend the afternoon at a farm store. Fishkill Farms is one of the most popular stops, and Wilklow Orchards mixes apple picking with weekend events. For hard cider, Angry Orchard in Walden has tastings and tours. Add in the river views and backroad foliage, and it’s an easy fall getaway from the city.
Pumpkins and Harvest Celebrations
Pumpkins take over in the fall, often alongside apple season. Hello, Pumpkin Spice Lattes! You’ll see them stacked at supermarkets and farmers’ markets, on front porches, and at orchards next to cider and donuts. From pumpkin bread and pies to pumpkin beer and festivals celebrating giant pumpkins, they’re the food that makes the season feel official. Sometimes a pumpkin patch or bakery stop is reason enough to plan a trip.
Pumpkin patch in Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay, California: Pumpkins by the Coast
South of San Francisco, Half Moon Bay turns into pumpkin central every October. The Art & Pumpkin Festival is famous for its giant pumpkin weigh-off, with entries topping 2,700 pounds, along with pumpkin pancakes, pies, and live music. Visitors say the town “turns orange” for the weekend and warn to go early to beat the traffic. Crowds aside, it’s a classic California fall experience.
Salem, Massachusetts: Pumpkins and Witches
In October, Salem is just as much about pumpkins as it is about witches. Bakeries bring out pumpkin breads and lattes, and nearby farms make it easy to spend the day. Russell Orchards in Ipswich is known for cider donuts and pumpkin patches, while Connors Farm in Danvers has corn mazes, hayrides, and a farm stand full of fall treats. Add in the markets and street events, and Salem feels like one big fall festival.
Morton, Illinois: Pumpkin Capital of the World
Morton calls itself the Pumpkin Capital of the World, thanks to the Libby’s processing plant that produces most of the canned pumpkin in the U.S. – yes, the same kind many of us use to make pumpkin pies. Every September, the Pumpkin Festival fills the town with food stands serving pumpkin chili, ice cream, and pies, along with a pancake breakfast that locals line up for early. Add in the parade and carnival rides, and the whole town turns into one big fall celebration.
Damariscotta, Maine: Pumpkinfest & Regatta
This coastal town takes pumpkins to another level with its annual Pumpkinfest & Regatta. Giant pumpkins are hollowed out and raced as boats in the harbor, while Main Street fills with pumpkin displays, seasonal food, and even pumpkin catapults. It’s a small-town festival that’s as fun to wander as it is to taste, and it can easily tie into the same fall road trip that takes you apple picking near Portland.
Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival in Germany
Ludwigsburg, Germany: World’s Largest Pumpkin Festival
Just north of Stuttgart, the palace gardens in Ludwigsburg host the world’s largest pumpkin festival, with more than 400,000 pumpkins on display. Sculptures change theme each year — everything from animals to fairy-tale characters — and they’re built entirely from pumpkins. Food stalls serve pumpkin soup, roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin bread, and even pumpkin wine, so it’s just as much about tasting as it is about looking. Families love the pumpkin regatta, where giant gourds are hollowed out and raced on the lake. With Stuttgart’s wine festivals, the Cannstatter Volksfest, and nearby castles, it’s easy to turn this into a longer autumn getaway in Germany.
Maple Season in Vermont and Canada
Maple isn’t only about spring sugaring. In the fall, maple shows up in candies, cookies, cocktails, and even drizzled over pumpkin pancakes. In places like Vermont and Quebec, maple stands sit right alongside farm markets and orchards, so you can go apple picking and leave with a jug of fresh maple syrup. It’s a sweet reminder of the season and a taste that’s rooted in the regions that make it best.
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Vermont: Maple Season in the Green Mountains
Maple season in Vermont isn’t just about buying a bottle of syrup to take home. The real experience happens at a sugarhouse, where sap is boiled down and turned into syrup, candy, and other maple-filled treats. In the fall, many sugarhouses open for tastings and comfort foods made with maple. One of the most popular is Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks near Montpelier, known for its syrup, maple candy, and the beloved maple creemee. Paired with the foliage in the Green Mountains, maple is as much a part of Vermont’s autumn as the apples and the colors.
Maple taffy in the making on snow at a Canadian sugar shack
Quebec, Canada: Maple Season at the Sugar Shacks
In Quebec, maple season is a tradition and a point of pride. At cabanes à sucre (sugar shacks), the tables fill with baked beans, ham, pancakes, and pie, all served with fresh maple syrup. Many stay open into the fall, where you can try maple taffy poured over snow, cider, and local cheeses. Near Montreal, Cabane à Sucre Constantin is a favorite, and with the countryside glowing in fall color, the trip becomes just as much about the scenery as the food.
Oktoberfest and Fall Festivals
Fall isn’t only about orchards and pumpkin patches. It’s also a season of festivals, from beer tents in Munich to state fairs in the U.S. No matter where you go, food is part of the celebration. Pretzels, sausages, roasted nuts, or local specialties are often the highlight and can be reason enough to plan a trip.
Munich, Germany: Oktoberfest in Bavaria
The original Oktoberfest in Munich is still the biggest and one of the top reasons to visit Germany in the fall. Beer tents overflow with pretzels bigger than your head, sausages, roast chicken, and steins of beer. It’s crowded and a little touristy, but worth experiencing at least once, and it’s definitely on my bucket list. Some river cruises in Europe even offer excursions that line up with Oktoberfest or local beer festivals along the Danube. If you’re already in Bavaria, you can add on Stuttgart’s Cannstatter Volksfest or head to Ludwigsburg for the world’s largest pumpkin festival, making it a full autumn itinerary.
PinPasta with shaved truffles in Italy
Piedmont, Italy: Truffle Season in Alba
In northern Italy, fall means truffle season, and Alba is the center of it all. The Alba White Truffle Festival fills the town with markets, food stalls, and wines from the surrounding vineyards. One day you can enjoy pasta with shaved truffle, the next join a truffle hunt in the countryside, and then spend time in nearby towns like Barolo and Barbaresco, where wineries open their doors for harvest. This is one of the many reasons I love traveling in Italy in autumn.
Texas State Fair, Dallas: Fried Fall Favorites
Every fall, the fairgrounds in Dallas host one of the country’s largest celebrations of food and fun. While there are rides, concerts, and games, the real draw is the food. People line up for Fletcher’s Corny Dogs, a fair classic since the 1940s, and each year brings wild new creations through the Big Tex Choice Awards, like fried pumpkin pie or bacon-wrapped treats. Add in livestock shows and the iconic Big Tex towering over the grounds, and it feels like a fall tradition done Texas-style.
Sapporo-style miso ramen
Sapporo, Japan: Autumn Festival in Odori Park
Each September, Odori Park in Sapporo turns into one long food market for the Sapporo Autumn Festival. You can try the flavors of Hokkaido in one place, with stalls serving ramen, grilled scallops, local cheeses, crab, and sake. The festival stretches over several weeks, with different sections of the park highlighting regional specialties, and of course, you’ll find Sapporo beer flowing too. The cool fall weather and the start of foliage in northern Japan make it even better. Some fall cruises stop in Hokkaido, and Princess Cruises is known for Japan-heavy itineraries that make it possible to pair the festival with time at sea.
Seafood Flavors of Fall
Seafood isn’t just for summer. Along the coasts, fall brings its specialties, from chowder in New England to salmon and Dungeness crab in the Pacific Northwest. Sure, I can get a bowl of clam chowder at home, but it’s not the same as tasting it where it’s made with seafood fresh from the water. Some of these destinations are also cruise ports for New England and Canada sailings or coastal Pacific itineraries, which makes it even easier to plan a trip around the flavors of fall.
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Portland, Maine: Chowder, Lobster, and Fall Road Trips
In the fall, Portland is a coastal stop that pairs easily with inland apple orchards. On the waterfront, you can warm up with a bowl of New England clam chowder at Gilbert’s Chowder House. If you’re lucky, you may still find lobster rolls at Bite Into Maine before seasonal stands close, but by autumn the focus shifts to chowder and heartier seafood dinners. The Old Port’s cobblestone streets make it fun to wander between shops and casual spots serving the dishes Maine is known for. Tie it together with a drive through orchard country, and you’ve got a road trip that blends foliage with food.
Nova Scotia, Canada: Chowder, Scallops, and Coastal Views
Fall in Nova Scotia is all about seafood that doubles as comfort food. In Halifax, you’ll find seafood chowder and traditional fishcakes on menus across town. Head down the coast to Lunenburg, where spots like Salt Shaker Deli serve fresh scallops right by the waterfront with views that somehow always make a meal even better.
San Francisco, California: Cioppino and Dungeness Crab Season
Fall on the West Coast means the start of Dungeness crab season, and in San Francisco, that often means a steaming bowl of cioppino. This tomato-based seafood stew, packed with crab, clams, mussels, and fish, was created by Italian fishermen in the city and is still a favorite in North Beach and along Fisherman’s Wharf. At Sotto Mare, the cioppino is a standout, served with enough seafood to share. Add a loaf of sourdough and the calm bay air, and it’s about as classic a San Francisco meal as it gets.
PinDungeness crabs at Pike Place Market in Seattle
Pacific Northwest (Washington & Oregon): Dungeness Crab, Oysters, and Salmon
Fall in the Pacific Northwest means Dungeness crab, oysters, and salmon. In Seattle, the stalls at Pike Place Market overflow with seasonal catches, while in Oregon, the coast is dotted with crab shacks and smokehouses serving salmon right out of the smoker. Seattle also doubles as a cruise hub, with ships sailing to Alaska until the end of October so that you can pair the fall seafood season in both Seattle and Alaska on the same trip.
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Meet Kathy Ava, a food, travel, and cruise writer based in Los Angeles/Pasadena, and the owner and main writer of Tasty Itinerary. With over 20 years of experience planning trips and logistics at her full-time job and for herself, she’s become a pro at crafting unforgettable tasty itineraries. She’s always on the hunt for delicious, fun travel destinations and cruise itineraries. She firmly believes that life is short and we must make the most of it, so always say yes to dessert.
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