Stop Waiting for Peak Foliage. The Catskills Already Started Without You. 🍁
3 minute read
Every year, the same question lands in our inbox: "Is the foliage good yet?"
Our official answer from Highmount this week: Get in the car.
Belleayre Mountain's latest report says the fall foliage has "exploded," with some of the most vibrant oranges and reds they've seen in a couple of years. The mountains change color by the hour. The mornings are crisp. Somewhere, a maple is showing off.
Waiting for "peak" is how people end up admiring brown leaves from a traffic jam on the Thruway.
🍺 This Weekend: Belleayre Fall Festival
The Belleayre Fall Festival kicks off Saturday and Sunday, October 3–4, and returns October 10–11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission and parking are free. You'll spend your money on chili instead, and that's the right call. The best part is the festival is in walking distance from our Belleayre property.
Here's what to expect:
Food: BBQ bratwurst, pulled pork, burgers, and Belleayre's famous chili
Live music: On the Subaru Stage from noon to 4 p.m.
Brews & Views: Nine breweries and cideries. The $50 VIP package includes a pour, a commemorative glass, a T-shirt, a pretzel, and a gondola ride.
For kids: A bounce house, climbing wall, arts and crafts, and pumpkin painting
The kids get the bounce house. The adults get the cider. Everyone goes home happy.
🚡 Take Fall to 3,500 Feet
The Belleayre Scenic Gondola Rides run every weekend through October 11, carrying you to nearly 3,500 feet.
From the top, all those red, orange, and yellow trees turn into one enormous Catskills painting.
No hiking required. We love hiking. We also love a spectacular view while sitting down.
🎃 Saturday Bonus: Autumn in the Meadow
Want to make a full day of it? On Saturday, October 3, Autumn in the Meadow takes over the Shandaken Inn from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
There's a pumpkin patch, a beer garden, live music, local makers, face painting, a puppeteer, and a Phoenicia Diner pancake pop-up from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is free.
Pancakes and pumpkins before noon. Some days just plan themselves.
🥕 Sunday Morning: Phoenicia Farmers Market
On Sunday, head into Phoenicia for the Phoenicia Farmers Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Parish Field, every Sunday through October 25.
Buy the bread. Buy the vegetables. Buy something sweet "for later."
We both know it won't make it to later.
🍂 Our Insider Move: Come on a Weekday
Here's the secret the locals won't put on a billboard: Tuesday is the new Saturday.
Come midweek and you'll get quieter roads, emptier trails, and nobody photobombing your mountain view. Take a slow drive along Route 28, hike while the trails are all yours, grab lunch in Phoenicia, and watch the leaves change in real time.
Then come back to the lodge.
Sweatshirt on. Wine open. Fire going. Phone down.
That's Catskills fall.
The scenic landscapes are breathtaking to put it mildly.
🍁 Book Direct and Stay Close to the Color
Our Belleayre property in Highmount puts you minutes from the festival, the gondola, and some of the best foliage in the Catskills.
Going to Autumn in the Meadow? Our Shandaken property sits on a stream along scenic Route 42, just a short drive from the Shandaken Inn.
Book directly with us for our best available rate and skip the third-party booking fees. Weekends in October go fast. Weekdays are the best-kept secret in the mountains.
Don't wait for someone to announce peak foliage. The show has already started.
Daniel & The Crew
Alpine Four Season Lodge
32 Galli Curci Road, Highmount, NY 12441
Fall festival galore, visit one of them.
