Four Fall-to-Winter Getaways Worth Packing For
As the year winds down, some destinations seem to come alive. Mountains turn brilliant shades of red and gold, fireplaces start crackling, snow begins to fall and cities string up millions of lights.
This month, we’re keeping our travels stateside with four getaways made for the season ahead. Hike through fall color, watch for wildlife, ski or snowshoe through fresh powder, gather around a cabin fire or make a holiday memory you’ll talk about for years. These are trips with plenty to see, but even more to experience. And because they’re all closer to home, there’s still time to make one happen. Need help with planning? Locally owned Kelly Co Travel can help!
TRAVEL SNAPSHOT
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS, TENNESSEE
IDEAL STAY: 4–5 days
BEST TIME TO GO: October–December
WHY IT WORKS: Fall color, mountain cabins, wildlife and family fun
PERFECT FOR: Families, outdoor lovers and multigenerational trips
Few places make fall feel quite as magical as the Great Smoky Mountains. By October, color spills down the mountainsides, cool days allow for exploration and a cabin tucked among the trees becomes exactly where you want to end the day.
Make the mountains your home base and spend a morning driving Cades Cove, an 11-mile valley loop known for wildlife, historic buildings and sweeping views. Hike to a waterfall, follow Newfound Gap Road through the mountains and pull over when the scenery demands it.
Save a day for Pigeon Forge and Dollywood, where the Smokies meet the unmistakable spirit of Sevier County native Dolly Parton. Fall brings the park’s Harvest Festival, followed in November by Smoky Mountain Christmas, when more than six million lights illuminate the park. Whether you stay in a secluded cabin or mountain lodge, build in time for slow evenings, a fire and everyone under one roof. Come for the mountains. Leave room for Dolly.
SCENES FROM THE JOURNEY
Smoky Mountain Cabin • Steam Train at Dollywood • Ober Mountain • Guitar at Dollywood • The Great Smoky Mountain
TRAVEL SNAPSHOT
STOWE, VERMONT
IDEAL STAY: 3–4 days
BEST TIME TO GO: October–February
WHY IT WORKS: New England fall, mountain adventure and classic winter
PERFECT FOR: Couples, families and anyone craving a cozy escape
If you could step inside a postcard of New England in fall, it might look a lot like Stowe. A white-steepled village sits beneath Vermont’s Green Mountains, surrounded by covered bridges, winding roads and forests that erupt in color each autumn.
Follow a scenic mountain road, hike through the woods to a waterfall, bike the Stowe Recreation Path or chase foliage from one small town to the next. Later, settle into an inn or lodge, find a fireplace and linger over dinner.
Winter changes the scenery entirely. Snow turns Stowe into one of Vermont’s quintessential mountain getaways, with skiing and snowboarding at Stowe Mountain Resort along with snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and plenty of reasons to warm up après-ski.
Make the trip as quiet or adventurous as you like. Either way, Stowe offers something increasingly rare: a vacation that feels wonderfully removed from everyday life.
SCENES FROM THE JOURNEY
Autumn View • Grandview Barn • Main Street • Horse-drawn Carriage • Giles W. Dewey Memorial Bridge • Stowe in Autumn
TRAVEL SNAPSHOT
LEAVENWORTH, WASHINGTON
IDEAL STAY: 3–4 days
BEST TIME TO GO: October–February
WHY IT WORKS: Cascade scenery, outdoor adventure and storybook winter
PERFECT FOR: Families, couples and snow lovers
Tucked into Washington’s Cascade Mountains, Leavenworth looks as though someone dropped a Bavarian village into the middle of the American Northwest. The setting is charming, but the reason to come is what waits beyond the village streets.
Fall means crisp mountain air, colorful trails and days spent hiking along rivers and beneath towering peaks. As temperatures fall, trade your hiking boots for snow boots. Skiing, sledding, tubing, snowshoeing and horse-drawn sleigh rides turn the surrounding Cascades into a winter playground, with plenty of family-friendly options close to town.
Around Thanksgiving, the village begins to glow. More than half a million lights illuminate Leavenworth nightly, creating the kind of Christmas setting that usually requires a movie set.
SCENES FROM THE JOURNEY
Leavenworth in Fall • Leavenworth Village • Colchuck Lake, Aasgard Pass • Leavenworth Reindeer Farm • Leavenworth Village at Christmastime • Skyline Lake Trail
TRAVEL SNAPSHOT
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
IDEAL STAY: 4–5 days
BEST TIME TO GO: Late November–December
WHY IT WORKS: Iconic traditions, holiday shows and Christmas magic
PERFECT FOR: Families, couples and bucket-list travelers
New York is exciting any time of year. At Christmas, it becomes something else entirely.
Start at Rockefeller Center, where the towering Christmas tree, skating rink and surrounding lights create one of the season’s most recognizable scenes. See the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, wander beneath the elaborate Fifth Avenue displays and step inside some of the city’s grand hotels to see what they’ve done for Christmas.
But don’t stop with Midtown. Skate beneath the skyline, visit a holiday market, see the New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show or bundle up for an evening exploring neighborhoods dressed for the season. Build in a Broadway show, a great dinner and at least one night with nowhere you have to be. Yes, New York at Christmas is busy. It can be cold. And you’ll probably walk farther than you intended. Go anyway.
Then there are trips that become part of your family’s Christmas story. New York can be one of those.
SCENES FROM THE JOURNEY
Carriage Ride • Christmas in the City • The Rink at Rockefeller Center • Radio City Music Hall • Holiday Windows
