#1 – Enjoy the Outdoors

Starting off with the largest category, enjoying Raleigh’s weather and the changing leaves through the amazing network of parks in and around Raleigh.

Raleigh’s fall weather is my FAVORITE, and if you enjoy some beautiful scenery of the leaves changing, there are so many great locations to check out.  Most of the lakes around Raleigh are great, but some of my favorites are Lake Johnson, Lake Wheeler, Lake Benson, and Lake Crabtree that all have absolutely amazing views.  And you can’t go wrong with Falls Lake, where you could check out Blue Jay Point Park if you have kids, and then walk down the canoe launch path to an area that overlooks the lake and a private island.  On a smaller scale, Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs is absolutely amazing as well. 

For hiking and biking trails, you can’t go wrong with Raleigh’s largest park in Umstead Park, where you can hike and bike for days on miles of trails.  The various Mountain-to-Sea Trails along Falls Lake are gorgeous hikes, and one of the routes connects right to the Wilkerson Nature Preserve in North Raleigh which has some amazing views, as does the Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary and the Clemmons Educational State Forest in Clayton. 

The network of Eno River Trails in Durham are also amazing hikes as the leaves are changing, and for a different experience, try the roughly six mile Art to Heart Trail, that takes you from the NC Museum of Art all the way to Downtown Raleigh.  And the Neuse River Trail and American Tobacco Trails are beautiful, long greenways that make for a great bike ride.

And for those who are willing to travel a few hours, the North Carolina mountains are absolutely breathtaking and have a TON of things to do, highlighted by the views of the famous Blue Ridge Parkway.

#2 – Local Activity Farms

There are quite a few kid friendly farms around Raleigh that have a ton of different outdoor activities.  Phillips Farm in Cary is one of the most popular ones as they have so many farm themed games, slides, and more, and have various different tractor and hay rides, along with a corn maze. 

Hill Ridge Farms on the north side of town in Youngsville is another all-around entertainment venue for the whole family with similar attractions like bounce houses, slides, various farm animals, and hay rides as well. 

#3 – Farmers Markets

On the topic of farms, number 3 is to visit one of the many farmers markets around the area for some fresh, local produce and support local, small business.  Just about every suburb has their own farmers market of varying sizes which are great to check out as each offers a great variety.  The State Farmer’s Market located just south of downtown is massive, is the one farmers market around that is open daily, and offers just about everything you can imagine.  North Hills also has their own market on Saturday mornings as well.

And on a similar topic, the Raleigh Market is a large flea market at the state fairgrounds held every weekend that is likened to treasure hunting, where you can finding some amazing antiques and unique items from locals.  

#4 – Attend a Special Event

Moving on to #4, which is to attend one of the many events in store this Fall in and around Raleigh.  There are so many I don’t have time to list them all, but Raleigh and its’ various suburbs always have a great lineup in the falls.  It’s when many suburbs have their annual town celebrations, like Fuquay-Varina on October 5^th, HollyFest in Holly Springs on Oct. 26, and Clayton Harvest Festival from Oct. 24-27. 

Raleigh itself has the Bluegrass Festival in Downtown on Sept. 27-28 and Falling for Local at Dix Park on Oct 5^th. 

There are also a number of Oktoberfest celebrations occurring all around Raleigh, some through the towns themselves and others through local breweries.  Apex always has a fun celebration, Lafayette Village in North Raleigh has their celebration on Sept 28^th, and there’s a large celebration at Koka Booth Amphitheatre on Oct 4^th. 

There’s also pop-up music festivals at North Hills until Oct 27^th on both Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

These events are all kid-friendly, some more than others so make sure you check, and for more exhaustive lists, Visit Raleigh and Triangle on the Cheap have some great blogs.

#5 – NC State Fair

And speaking of major events, number 5 is the largest event in the North Carolina State Fair, which will be at the NC State Fairgrounds from Oct. 17th through the 27^th.  The state fair has massive attendance numbers every year, and is always adding new attractions and especially new, unique food to try!

I will also have a video out on navigating the fair in 2024 to include where everything is, the best attractions to look out for, and most importantly, the easiest ways to park and get there.

#6 – Sporting Events & Tailgates

At number 6, we go into the world of sports, and the best fall sporting events are the famous NC State Football game tailgates.  Wolfpack fans go all out and the tailgating sprawls throughout the massive parking area and fairgrounds property.  And the Wolfpack are supposed to be pretty good this year, making it even better.

Carolina and Duke also have football games to enjoy if you prefer them over NC State, but the tailgates themselves are not known to be as much of an event.

And we can’t forget the Carolina Hurricanes, who’s season kicks off in late October, as well as college basketball that will start in early November!

#7 – Check out an Outdoor Museum

At #7, Raleigh is known for its’ museums, but the two I’m going to suggest specifically for the fall are the Durham Life and Science Museum as well as the NC Art Museum due to their outdoor offerings.

The Durham Life and Science Museum has interactive exhibits indoors, but their outdoor offerings shine, highlighted by their enormous treehouse style playground and train rides.  They also have farm animals as well as some free ranging animals like red wolves and black bears, and a dinosaur trail where you can dig for fossils as well.

The North Carolina Museum of Art is always fun to explore indoors, but they have numerous exhibits outside throughout their grounds at the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park.  There are some really interesting sculptures and art pieces, as well as some musical swings, that make for a fun afternoon.

#8 – Halloween Activities

Moving onto #8, you can’t talk about fall without Halloween activities.  From a pumpkin carving standpoint, Phillips Farm and Hill Ridge Farm offer this with hay rides leading to pumpkin patches, and at Spring Haven Farm in Chapel-Hill, you can carve pumpkins with goats!

There are quite a few farms around in general though where you can pick pumpkins and go through corn mazes beyond those listed here, and Visit Raleigh has a great list.

For those who enjoy a scare, the two main places around are the Haunted Forest at Panic Point in Youngsville, and the Clayton Fear Farm, where there are haunted trails, corn mazes, and haunted houses at Clayton Fear Farm.  On a lesser scale, Phillips Farms Haunted Farm has corn mazes and trails as well, and there are some others around too.

There are also ghost tours you can do, and we did one last year in downtown Cary talking about the spirits that haunt downtown to this day!

#9 – Outdoor Concert

At #9, enjoy an outdoor concert at one of Raleigh’s two main venues, the Red Hat Amphitheatre and the Coastal Credit Music Park at Walnut Creek.  The larger concerts are held at the Coastal Credit Music Park, where Post Malone, Kidz Bop, Whiskey Myers, and Creed are coming this fall. 

The Red Hat Amphitheatre is right in the heart of downtown Raleigh with some amazing skyline views, and has mid-level artists with some occasional a-listers, such as Meghan Trainor, performing.  And with it being downtown, you can easily grab food and drink before or after the show in the many nearby venues.

#10 – Enjoy Raleigh’s Brewery Scene

And to round us out at #10, Raleigh and its’ surrounding suburbs have a great craft brewery scene that have festive outdoor seating and patios.  There’s a variety downtown, such as Trophy Brewing, Crank Arm Brewing, and Wye Hill, which has possibly the best views of downtown.  And the Raleigh Beer Garden has an absolutely incredible outdoor space and now has putt putt to go along with it.

The suburbs each have their own, great spaces, highlighted by the Aviator in downtown Fuquay-Varina, and Downtown Cary Park has a bar of its’ own that you can grab a drink and relax at its’ brand new park.  So you could make multiple weekends out of visiting each suburb’s best breweries and enjoying their offerings.  And for those who enjoy wine, the Zinc House north of Raleigh is a winery that has live music and food trucks on the weekends; however, it is adults only, so keep that in mind.

And as a bonus tip, check out so popular roof top restaurants in downtown Raleigh on nice days like La Terrazza, Taverna Agora, the Raleigh Times, the Willard, 10^th and Terrace, and Wye Hill are some of the better rooftop, outdoor restaurants to consider.

There are so many other attractions to enjoy here that I can’t list them all, and make sure to check out our guide to the state fair!

Check out our other blogs on the ultimate guide to the NC State Fair, and the best things to do in Raleigh NC!

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