Your Fall 2024 Bucket List
Here’s your guide for all the fall things you must do around the Richmond region! From apple and pumpkin picking to hiking and leaf peeping, we’ve got all the deets you need to make the most of the season.
— by the RVAx team
Go apple-picking
Carter Mountain Orchard
This sprawling orchard with breathtaking mountainside views is coming alive with the fall season! Go apple picking in the orchard; enjoy warm apple cider donuts; and shop pumpkins, gourds, and harvest decor.
Location: 1435 Carters Mountain Trail (Charlottesville)
Drumheller’s Orchard
Located in Lovingston, about an hour and a half from downtown Richmond, Drumheller’s Orchards has a whopping 19 different varieties of apples available, along with fresh-pressed cider, homemade apple butter, honey, side meat, country hams, cookbooks, pumpkins, baskets, baked goods, and more. Drumheller’s hosts multiple apple festivals each year.
Location: 1130 Drumheller Orchard Ln (Lovingston)
Go camping
Check out our guide to 10 OF THE TOP CAMPING SPOTS WITHIN DRIVING DISTANCE OF RICHMOND to start planning your next camping trip!
Image Source: @virginiabywayofwashingtonstate
Get lost in a corn maze
Lloyd Family Farms
Located just half an hour from downtown Richmond in Rockville, this family farm opens for the 2024 season on Saturday, September 21, and will be open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through October 27. Admission includes the 10-acre corn maze, hayride, corn pit, farm animal meet--and-greet, the straw castle, various yard games, access to the 50-acre pumpkin patch, and more! No reservations or appointments are required.
Location: 12204 Pinhook Rd (Rockville)
Take a hike
Go for a beautiful hike in nature in and around RVA — we’ve got some more city guides for that!:
Pick your own pumpkin(s)
Ashland Berry Farm
Take a free hayride from the parking lot out to the 30-acre pumpkin patch and pick all-you-can-carry pumpkins. They also sell hay bales, gourds, and cornstalks in their Country Store, along with unique gifts that make great tricks and treats for others. Don’t miss the fresh homemade donuts or the hot dogs, corndogs, and fresh french fries made all weekend long.
Location: 12607 Old Ridge Rd (Beaverdam)
Chesterfield Berry Farm
Admission to this family farm includes a hayride to and from the pumpkin patch, the Fun Zone, barrel and wagon train rides, hay rides and slides, shelled corn play area, and much more! And don’t miss the pumpkin milkshakes, kettle corn, and hot dogs.
Location: 26002 Pear Orchard Rd (Moseley)
Do a fall beer tasting
Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop
Enjoy a fall-inspired flight of beers on the rooftop, patio, or inside the taproom at this Scott’s Addition brewery. Or take some to go and enjoy at home! This year’s seasonal releases include the Festie (Oktoberfest lager), among others.
Location: 3406 W Leigh St (Scott’s Addition)
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
Hardywood is probably best-known for their late-fall/early-winter series, the Gingerbread Stout Family, which has its own cult following. But don’t sleep on their autumn releases, like the Farmhouse Pumpkin saison.
Locations: 2410 Ownby Ln (Richmond) and 820 Sanctuary Trail Dr (West Creek)
Go on a fall foliage tour
According to the Virginia Department of Forestry, the typical time-frame for peak fall foliage colors in Virginia is between October 10 and 31.
If you’d like to take a ride outta town, head to Skyline Drive, the only public road through Shenandoah National Park. As you travel north and south for 105 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, you’ll see breathtaking views, and there are multiple points where you can enter the park on foot.
Or if you’d rather enjoy a self-guided walking tour nearby, here are a few spots we recommend checking out: 11 OF THE BEST PLACES TO SEE FALL FOLIAGE IN RVA.
Plus, these other seasonal tips, tricks & treats
Maymont’s Garden Glow is yet another autumnal must-do! Starting toward the end of October, every evening at sunset, the family-friendly event dazzles with its colorful lighting that cloaks the historic architecture and gardens of the RVA icon. On the Carriage House Lawn, you can even “find expanded seating and art installations in the Glow Village, along with food trucks, fire pits, [and] a Glow Bar and Glow Shop.”
Need even more where that came from? We just posted a festive Reel that covers everything here and then some!
More things to do around RVA:
