This Weekend’s Escapes: Where to Go From New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, and More (October 28, 2026)

If you only go once, go Halloween weekend. The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze fills the grounds of Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson with more than 7,000 hand-carved, lit pumpkins, and this year’s trail is the longest in the event’s history, with a new Creature Feature Forest of pumpkin movie monsters that nods to the property’s past life as a drive-in. The season runs on select nights through November 8, so this is the last full weekend to see it near its peak spook.

Skip the car. Metro-North’s Hudson Line runs from Grand Central to Croton-Harmon in under an hour, and the manor is a short walk or rideshare from the station. It works for families with kids old enough to stay up past dinner, and for couples who book the 18-and-over Gourd & Goblet Tavern, a seated VIP stop inside an 18th-century inn on the trail. The one tip that matters: no tickets are sold at the door, so reserve a timed slot through Historic Hudson Valley before you board the train.

Photo: Historic Hudson Valley

Galena does Halloween like a small town that has been practicing for nearly half a century, because it has. The 46th Annual Halloween Parade & Festival rolls down historic Main Street on Saturday, October 31, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., and the 19th-century brick storefronts make a better backdrop for costumes than any suburban cul-de-sac. With the late-autumn hills around town, it is the most atmospheric Halloween night within a tank of gas from the city.

Galena is roughly three hours west of Chicago, so leave Saturday morning, browse Main Street’s shops in the afternoon, and claim your viewing spot early, because the curb fills well before the first float. Bring folding chairs or a blanket. This one is made for families, though couples will find plenty to linger over on Main Street once the parade wraps. Stay over at the DeSoto House Hotel, open since 1855 and right on Main Street, and use that extra hour Sunday for a slow breakfast before the drive home.

Photo: Enjoy Illinois

This is the weekend North Georgia has been building toward. The Georgia Forestry Commission and FOX 5’s Leaf Watch have pegged the mountains to peak from the final week of October into the first week of November, and Brasstown Bald, at 4,784 feet the highest point in the state, gets the show first. On a clear day the observation deck looks out over four states, and the Atlanta skyline, about 80 miles away, can show up on the horizon.

Plan on about two and a half hours from downtown, and take the Russell-Brasstown Scenic Byway for the last stretch. Admission is $8 per person 16 and older, which includes a shuttle up the steep 0.6-mile paved summit trail (walk it if your calves are feeling brave), and the last shuttle leaves at 4:30 p.m. Posted hours vary across sites, so call the visitor center at (706) 896-2556 before you go. Couples and solo hikers should add a stop at Vogel State Park on the way back, where the lake loop is short, flat, and should be framed in color this weekend.

Photo: Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest / USFS (CC BY 2.0)

Texas does not hand out fall color easily, which is exactly why Lost Maples matters. The canyons along the Sabinal River shelter a stand of bigtooth maples that usually turn red and orange from the last two weeks of October through the first two weeks of November. This weekend falls right in that window. Check the park’s foliage reports or call the recorded line at (830) 966-3413, option 3, before you commit to the drive, since color depends on the weather.

Lost Maples sits about five miles north of Vanderpool, roughly three hours from Austin through the Hill Country. Reserve a day pass in advance through Texas State Parks reservations; parking is limited and fall weekends sell out. Adult entry is $6 and kids 12 and under are free. Solo hikers will love the East and West Trail loops, where the best color tends to hide in the shaded side canyons. Arrive at opening, before the lot fills and while the light is still low and gold, and if you want to stay over, look for a cabin on the Frio or Sabinal rivers through Airbnb.

Photo: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

When the mornings turn sharp, the right answer is hot water. The Glenwood Hot Springs Pool bills itself as the world’s largest hot springs pool, a full city block of mineral water steaming against canyon walls that have just gone gold and rust. Halloween weekend gives it a fitting extra: a short, steep trail from 12th Street and Bennett Avenue climbs to Linwood Cemetery and the memorial marker for Doc Holliday, who died in town in 1887 (where exactly he is buried is still debated, which only adds to the mood).

Glenwood is about 160 miles west of Denver, roughly two and a half to three hours on I-70 through Glenwood Canyon. Check COtrip before you leave, because late-October storms can close the canyon with little warning. This is a couples trip: soak Friday night, hike the cemetery trail Saturday morning, and book a room at the Hotel Colorado, a grand 1893 hotel with its own collection of ghost stories. The pool’s own lodge offers soak-and-stay packages, but weekends book up, so reserve now or plan a Sunday night stay and take the extra hour home Monday.

Photo: Glenwood Hot Springs Resort

Sometimes the best escape is the one you can reach by train. Olvera Street’s free nine-day Día de los Muertos festival runs through November 2, with community altars on display, a nightly Novenario procession starting around 6 p.m., and afternoon entertainment and face painting on Saturday and Sunday. The oldest street in Los Angeles, lined with marigolds and candlelight, is the most meaningful place in the city to spend this particular weekend.

Make a full downtown loop of it. Take Metro to Union Station, which sits right across Alameda Street, then walk to Gloria Molina Grand Park to see its 17 community altars, which stay up through November 2 and culminate in Noche de los Muertos on Sunday, November 1. LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes is steps from Olvera Street if you want a quieter look at the holiday’s history. It is ideal for families and just as good solo, and the tip is simple: arrive before sunset, grab a French dip at Philippe the Original two blocks away, and walk back as the candles come on. Confirm the evening schedule on the event site before you go.

Photo: Olvera Street Events