Fall in Lake County Bucket List🍂
Where To Start Your Tour?
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Take a copy of the Fall Bucket List wherever you go!
Do it all this Fall when experience all of Lake County, OH!
Enjoy the warmth and beauty of this golden season through fresh farmstands, cheerful boutiques, and welcoming wineries.
Check out our top recommendations including some of our most popular attractions and destinations in our area; this way you can get to the local farms, pumpkin patches, harvest season at the wineries, best spots for Fall Foliage in Northeast OH, plus apple cider, seasonal cocktails, pumpkin-spice and everything nice. Your Tour Starts Here!
Patterson Fruit Farm Apple Orchards
1) Explore the perfectly ripe apple orchard and pick your own bushel at Patterson Fruit Farm.
Local’s Tip: Bring all the littles along to the farm or let out your inner child at the Family Fun Fest filled with pony rides, slides, a corn maze, tire swings, and more. Check the Patterson Fruit Farm website for complete hours of operation and picking times.
2) Book a scenic fall getaway with a luxury cabin in the woods at Standing Rock Farms, secluded 360-acre estate farm with wild flowers, orchards, Highland cows, and oh did we mention- a wilderness sauna!
Standing Rock Farms wilderness sauna
If that doesn’t give you a reason to book, maybe the additional amenities will! Enjoy cabin hot tubs, orchards, wild flower picking, two tipis with firepits, hiking trails filled with fall color, multiple catch and release fishing ponds, canoes & kayaks, one beach, multiple pavilions and firepits perfect for smores. Located in the heart of Grand River Valley wine region, this top-tier northeast Ohio luxury camping destination promises a distinctive and unforgettable experience.
The Helicopter Daughter Gift Shop & Boutique
3) Shop local gift shops and boutiques for pumpkin spice and everything nice. Fall is a great time of year to discover one of a kind gifts and home decor at places like The Helicopter Daughter Gift Shop & Boutique. Did someone say, Fall mugs and candles?!
Local’s Tip: Follow their website and Facebook page for special events like the Lunar Wellness Harnessing the Moon’s Energy for Self Care on Thursday, October 10th.
4) Visit a haunted winery and sip a glass of fright white during Dinner and a Thrill at Regal Vineyards with Grand River Cellars.
Don’t be a scaredy-cat, buy your tickets and make reservations early, this event typically sells out each year! This is a self-driving tour between two wineries. Purchase tickets online and call Grand River Cellars for more information.
5) Visit the Top Fall Foliage spots in Lake County, including Squire’s Castle and Chagrin Overlook Reservation for the best views of peak color changing trees for Fall Foliage.
Sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Facebook and Instagram to receive updates from Tour Lake County and more information from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources including Fall Color reports and forecasts. Tag a pic with us on Instagram @TourLakeCountyOH October 1 – October 31 for a chance to win a Tour Lake County OH Swag Bag!
6. Get crafty and create your own fall colors when you attend a Sip & Paint in Ohio Wine Country or go in studio to Busy Bees in Mentor for canvas painting, ceramics, candle making and more fall crafts.
7. Pick up all the locally grown fruits and vegetables this season! Visit a local farmers market like West Orchards Farm and find the freshest apples, peaches, and garden mums or explore Bluestone Perennials for all the fall plants your yard needs to say “Hello Fall!”
Local’s Tip: Shop Blank Boutique in Concord, OH for a fall sweater for the farm #sweaterweather
8. Enjoy seasonal Boos, we mean brews! Now is the time to sample a new pumpkin-ale or spiced cider. Create your own beer trail when you visit Northeast Ohio breweries in Lake County like Tricky Tortoise Brewing Company, Pulpo Beer Company, or Double Wing Brewery. Prefer sampling from home? Visit Red Wine and Brew in Mentor where you can sample at the restaurant then shop the retail beer and wine store.
9. Get out that flannel and lace up the boots for a Full Moon Hike at Mentor Lagoons Nature Preserve.
10. Nothing gives off more ‘fall vibes’ than an Ohio small town fall festival. Hay rides, corn hole, local craft vendors, and food trucks - what more do you need? Mark your calendars
Perry Fall Festival🎃 September 7, 2024 | 11AM - 10PM
7th Annual Mentor-On-The-Lake Fall Festival🍁September 7, 2024 | 2PM - 8PM
Painesville City Fall Fest 2024 🍂October 12, 2024 | 3PM - 6PM
Check our Fall Events calendar for a full listing.
Harvest at Debonne Vineyards
11. Go behind the scenes at Ohio’s largest estate winery, Debonne Vineyards, for the first step in the wine making process - harvest!
Enjoy the sights and smells of the harvest crush at Debonne Vineyards plus get a food and wine sampling experience at Grand River Cellars. Start at at Grand River Cellars Winery & Restaurant for a food and wine experience in the Wine Cave then drive down the road to experience the grape pressing (if weather permits), the processing facility and the Debonne Vineyards juice house. A limited number of openings are available for each date, register online now.
12. “Prost!” steins at Oktoberfest!
Visit Madison Village Square for Oktoberfest 2024 for live music, food trucks, fest beers, Jumbo Jenga, Jumbo Connect 4, Cornhole and of course everyone's favorite Baum-Schlagen and of course Stein Holding / Masskrugstemmen! Prost!
13. Catch a glimpse of the seasonal fall migration this September at the Headlands Birding Festival or the get lucky and see the Monarch Butterfly migration through Grand River Conservation Area in Painesville or the Lake Erie Bluffs.
14. In case you haven’t heard by now, it’s pumpkin spice season!🧡Visit the Village of Fairport Harbor to sip a Pumpkin-spiced latte from Julbean’s Coffee and Crepes.
Local’s tip: After enjoying a warm coffee and shopping, slip into the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse Marine Museum (recently updated displays you can’t miss!) and then finish the day with a pumpkin flavored ice cream sundae at the Fairport Harbor Creamery. (fingers crossed the pumpkin roll ice cream returns in 2024, as of publication date the fall menu wasn’t live yet)
15. You’ll find us where the wild-flowers are! Although most think pumpkins and apples, we like to embrace the wildflowers in northeast Ohio too. Get all the tips and tricks you need at a Wildflower Gardening Workshop with City of Mentor Natural Resources or celebrate the first day of autumn with flowers and friends at Cask 307's flower arranging and wine event!
16. It wouldn’t be Fall without a little football of course! Did you know some of your favorite wineries in Ohio Wine Country host tailgates and show the Sunday professional games? Be sure to have a little game day fun at the Stonegait Winery Tailgates. Check our Winery Events calendar for the full listings of where to enjoy football food and drink specials.
Local’s tip: Hop on the Laketran STS Sports Express service for roundtrip transportation to Home Cleveland Browns games!
Local’s Tip : Shop Blank Boutique in Concord, OH for the cutest football season accessories to pair with your wine or your next favorite fall sweater because #sweatherweather is coming!
Grand River Cellars Halloween Themed Cocktails
17. Go Trick-or-Treating!
🍬Kids will love visiting the Great Lakes Mall in Mentor, OH for their annual indoor candy crawl or head to Mentor Nissan for their annual Trunk or Treat event.
🍷Adults, we couldn’t leave you out of the fun! Explore six wineries and distilleries throughout all of October while on the Adult Trick or Treat Wine & Cocktail Trail. Visit each spooky spot and enjoy two wine samples or a mini cocktail and a fall-themed or ghoulish appetizer.
Local’s Tip: Plan ahead and book the all-inclusive overnight package for two during mid-week! It includes overnight accommodations at your choice of Hampton Inn or Holiday Inn Express in Madison & continental breakfast, and two trail passes. You’ll skip the larger weekend crowds and get to visit all six locations in one trip.
Lake Metroparks Farmpark Corn Maze
18. Visit Lake Metroparks Farmpark!
Lake Metroparks Farmpark, a live working farm and host to multiple fall harvest events.
Apple Harvest Weekend | September 21 & 22 | Dive into apple-themed crafts, learn how apple butter and cider are made, and take a tour of the ‘Johnny Appleseed Trail’.
Horsepower Weekend featuring Truck & Car Show | September 28 & 29 | Explore antique tractor displays, equipment demonstrations such as corn grinding and Farmpark’s regular weekend presentations.
Corn & Pumpkin Weekend | October 5 & 6th | Enjoy harvest-themed crafts and activities like pumpkin bowling, handmade corn husk doll making and pumpkin painting.
19. Go on a Haunted tour!
Willoughby Ghost Walk | Lantern-lit guided walking tour of the haunted historic district of downtown Willoughby, Ohio
Haunted Lantern Tour | Is the Lake County History Center really haunted? Find out as you take an after hours tour
Visit one of Ohio’s most haunted locations, the Madison Seminary for a ghost hunt
20) Warm up with a flight of locally distilled bourbon or whiskey.
Local’s Tip: Sign up for a Halloween inspired special event at a distillery with a group of friends like the Spooky Paint and Sip at Lake Erie Distillery. Reserve your spots quick, events this wicked fill up with ghouls quickly!
21. Visit the Halloween Drive-thru display at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark
Travel Farmpark’s trails and roadways after dark in the comfort of your own vehicle and experience many playfully frightful sites throughout the park–some that you have come to love and some new surprises.
Local’s Tip: This event will sell-out. Order your tickets online early.
22. Holden Arboretum, period.
More than ever this season is time for the trees to take center stage. Holden Arboretum is definitely a top spot for Fall color in northeast Ohio. Follow them for their Fall Color Watch 2024 updates on which trees are showcasing their fall color best as the season progresses, sign-up for hikes & classes, or plan to attend the Fall Forest Fest throughout October including wagon rides, pumpkin carving, hikes, music and more. Stay up to date with upcoming Holden Arboretum events online.
23. Play detective at a Steele Mansion murder mystery dinner!
24. Sample all the pumpkin and apple flavors you can find and share a pic with us #TourLakeCountyOH or @TourLakeCounty.
Our favorites = pumpkin pancakes at Sunny Street Cafe, apple fritters from the Patterson’s Fruit Farm Bakery, and any of seasonal drinks at Flagship Craft Cocktails.
Are you interested in joining our list of attractions in Lake County, OH? Email elyse@tourlakecounty.com to learn more about how to partner with the Lake County Ohio Visitors Bureau!
