There’s a point every October when Crawford County seems to change overnight.
The mornings get a little cooler. The hills trade green for red, orange and gold. Pumpkins start appearing on porches, leaves crunch underfoot and suddenly staying home on a Saturday feels like a wasted opportunity.
So consider this your invitation to make the most of it.
You don’t need an elaborate itinerary. Pick a direction, grab a jacket and see where the season takes you. There are 31 days in October—and plenty of ways to spend them.
Getting There Is Half of It
Fall is one of those rare times when getting there can be just as good as wherever you’re going.
Route 6 gives you a good place to start. Follow it through Linesville, Conneaut Lake and Meadville, or keep going toward Saegertown and Cambridge Springs. Better yet, turn off when a back road looks interesting.
Head toward Pymatuning and make a stop at the Linesville Spillway—the famously quirky Crawford County attraction known as the place “where the ducks walk on the fish.” From there, the paved Spillway Trail follows the lakeshore for 3.25 miles, connecting the Spillway with the Linesville Fish Hatchery and the historic Messerall Truss Bridge, an 1876 bridge relocated and restored along the trail.
Or point the car toward Woodcock Creek Lake, Canadohta Lake, Guys Mills or the countryside surrounding Titusville.
Sometimes leaf peeping is better without much of a destination.
Just remember to pull over before taking the picture.
Walk Beneath the Leaves
Of course, there’s an even better way to see the colors: get out of the car.
Walk or bike a stretch of the Ernst Trail. Explore Sugar Run or Tamarack Trail at Pymatuning State Park. Or head toward Guys Mills and Erie National Wildlife Refuge, where the Tsuga Trail winds through meadows, wetlands, hardwood forest and cool hemlock thickets.
At 1.2 miles for the shorter loop—or about 1.6 miles if you keep going—Tsuga is the kind of October hike that doesn’t require giving up the entire day.
Bring binoculars, too. Fall migration continues into October, when Crawford County’s wetlands, lakes and forests can offer a mix of migrating birds and arriving waterfowl.
A cool morning, changing leaves and a trail through the woods? That’s a pretty good way to spend a few hours.
See Fall From a Different Seat
You can drive through fall foliage just about anywhere. Around here, you have a few other choices.
The Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad’s Fall Foliage Rides run October 1–16, carrying passengers through the Oil Creek Valley during one of the most colorful times of year. The roughly three-hour trip combines fall scenery with the history of the region that helped launch the world’s petroleum industry.
These rides are popular, so this is one October adventure worth planning ahead for.
Pymatuning State Park offers another perspective on October 10 with Fall Foliage Pontoon Rides. Boats depart at 1, 2 and 3 p.m., giving passengers a chance to see the changing shoreline from the water. Advance registration is required.
And if the weather cooperates, there may still be time for one last paddle before the kayak or canoe gets tucked away for winter.
Ride through the leaves. Walk beneath them. Paddle past them.
Fall looks a little different from every angle.
Find the Flavors of Fall
October is a good month to slow down long enough to taste where you are.
In the Titusville area, pair a day of fall scenery with a stop at Orr’s Brewing Company or Titusville Iron Works Tap House after exploring Oil Creek State Park or riding the Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad. It’s a good way to turn a morning outside into a slower afternoon in town.
For a taste of the harvest, stop at Heagy’s Orchard for apples and cider, head to Al’s Melons for pumpkins and seasonal produce, or make your way to Davenport Cidery & Winery for a drink surrounded by the orchard.
In Cambridge Springs, Riverside Brewing Company offers a place to settle in for a meal and a local beer after a day outside, while The Rambler offers another option with a little local character of its own.
However you put the pieces together, leave some room for the stops that aren’t the main event.
A train ride. Fall color. Apples or pumpkins in the back seat. A local meal or drink. Maybe a small-town downtown you hadn’t planned to explore.
That’s a pretty good October day in Crawford County.
One Very Busy Fall Saturday
If there’s one Saturday when deciding what to do might be the hardest part, October 10 could be it.
The 36th Annual Pumpkin Fest will be underway in Conneaut Lake October 9–11, bringing a full weekend of food, vendors, activities and plenty of pumpkin-centered fun.
Or, if you reserved a spot, spend part of Saturday afternoon seeing Pymatuning’s fall color from one of the pontoon rides.
Then there’s downtown Meadville, where Witch Walk takes over that evening. Witches, warlocks and other characters fill downtown for an evening of costumes, shopping, entertainment, a Mystic Market, Psychic Fair and plenty of seasonal weirdness.
Lake, pumpkins or witches?
There really isn’t a wrong answer.
Keep the Fall Fun Going
October 10 isn’t the end of it.
On October 17, Boogey Fest brings another fall celebration to Riverside Brewing Company in Cambridge Springs. From 2–6 p.m., the family-friendly portion includes live music, tractor hayrides, fires, outdoor games and a ride through Cambridge Springs history. After 6 p.m., the celebration moves indoors for a 21-and-over after party with more live music, a costume contest, fall cocktails and a special beer release.
Later in the month, the Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad trades fall foliage for Halloween fun with its family-friendly Halloween Train on October 24.
And on October 28, Pymatuning State Park invites visitors into the woods after dark for an Owl Prowl—a chance to learn about the park’s nighttime residents and listen for owls calling through the forest. Advance registration is required, so plan ahead if an evening listening for owls sounds like your kind of October adventure.
Save Something Spooky for the End
As the days get shorter, Crawford County starts leaning into Halloween.
Throughout the county, watch for trunk-or-treats, community celebrations and other Halloween happenings as October winds down.
Then save some energy for the big finale.
The 59th Annual Meadville Halloween Parade takes over downtown on October 31. This year’s theme, “Twisted Tales,” takes inspiration from the wonderfully strange world of Tim Burton, giving floats, costumes and parade entries plenty of room to get creative.
Nearly six decades of Halloween parades is a tradition in its own right—and a fitting way to end a month that starts with colorful hillsides and finishes with downtown streets full of costumes.
Make a Few Days Count
Here’s the thing about fall in Crawford County: you don’t have to experience it all the same way.
You can plan an entire weekend around the season or steal away for an hour after work.
Take the train. Hike the trail. Ride a bike. Watch migrating birds. Find the perfect pumpkin. Drink something made from an apple. Explore a downtown. Take a hayride. Get a little scared. Stand beside a lake at sunset.
Or just get in the car, turn off the GPS for a while and take the long way home.
There are 31 days in October.
Make a few of them count, plan you visit at VisitCrawford.org—or download the Visit Crawford app.
