Massachusetts in the Fall
What could be better than Massachusetts in the fall?
- Fall Festivals to take the kids to
- Pumpkin picking and carving watchful eyes
- Haunted Happenings in Salem
- Historic sites surrounded by fall color
- Fall color arriving at the coastline for late arrivals
Autumn is a state of mind, more than a time of year…
Jeff Foliage
What does this time of year mean to you? It may be nothing more than escaping the heat of summer knowing full well, that what follows the short autumn days is the least looked for season of the year. (except skiers, they for some reason look forward to it). So let’s talk about Autumn in Massachusetts
Festivals!
What are some of your favorite things to do during the autumn weekends when the days start to get shorter? Are you gathering wood and preparing for the coming winter? Or do you live in or near a town with a special fall festival?
The autumn arrives and kids are back in school for another year many people try to wrap as much as they can into the weekends as possible. Fall festivals are a perfect way to get out and explore the local countryside. My festival page (seen here) has the Topsfield Fair and the BigE which are big festivals for Massachusetts. I did a quick search and found a listing of 35 festivals happening this year between Sept and November.
Here is the link I found for 35 Massachusetts festivals. I saw a few that I never have visited… Who am I kidding, there are a ton I’ve never even heard of! There are craft Fairs and Harvest farm fairs and this one, the Fluff Fest caught the attention of my sweet tooth 🙂
Pumpkin picking, pumpkin festivals, and more
I’m usually so very busy during the September and October fall foliage season that I rarely get to go to most of the events I write about. I have a friend at New England Events that have a great listing for Massachusetts pumpkin festivals.
Haunted Happenings in Salem
Salem’s scary haunted fun starts in September and builds to a crescendo on Halloween. Each weekend builds with more and more people arriving. Check the Haunted Happenings website to know what is happening each day of the month.
Don’t care for haunted fun? Try the National Park. (More below) Salem was the first National Historic Site in the country. The Friendship of Salem has just returned (2019) and you can visit the historic Customs House which is available to visit and learn about Salem’s maritime history. Different history? How about the House of 7 Gables or Fort Pickering on Winter Island?
Historic Massachusetts under fall colors
- Salem and Saugus National Historic Sites
- Old Sturbridge Village
- Lexington and Concord
- And so many more…
When it comes to history, Massachusetts is the birthplace of America. From Lexington and Concord’s, “shot heard round the world” to the many preserved homes of the Founders of the Constitution of the United States. The ones I have listed here are but a drop in the ocean of what there is to explore.
Salem and Saugus National Historic Sites
Since I have in the past been a National Park Ranger at both sites, I will start here.
You can visit either of these National Historic Sites between May and late October and go on free Ranger-led tours.
Old Sturbridge Village
Travel back to the 18th century by visiting Old Sturbridge Village. You have over 30 different buildings to visit and two covered bridges. One is a real covered bridge that came down from Vermont and the other is… Well, I’ll let you decide if it’s real or not!
Sturbridge Village can be found west of Boston in Sturbridge Massachusetts. Their website is OSV.org.
Lexington and Concord Massachusetts
“The shot heard round the world” No other colony had rebelled in opposition with armed resistance to the British Empire (but if that is not true let me know). Visit The National Park which lies between Lexington and Concord along the battle road. This road is the route taken as the British troops marched on their way back to Boston. My articles on this subject start with a visit to Lexington Green.
Fall Colors Arrive at the Coastal Areas
Your opportunities are still available to those who get to New England late. Most people think the colors of New England are over on Columbus Day but late October to November is when the coastal areas really shine. Below are a couple of images from late October and neither are ON the coast but inland a bit. Another big benefit is that all the tourists have gone home… Except for you who knows this little secret.
A Dimmer Switch and not a Light Switch controls ALL the Fall Colors
Well, as we close out this look at the Massachusetts fall colors, we have to remember one thing. The fall colors don’t just turn on one day and off the next day and then we’re done. I feel that most people think the fall colors work off a light switch. You flick the switch and they are ON at full peak fall colors…
You have to think of them, more as a dimmer switch that you start at the lowest level and each day you turn it ever so slightly until it’s full on. Then each day you start to turn it back down until you hear it click and that is the signal for the leaf to fall to the ground.
Here is the funny thing, EVERY single tree, bush, and blade of grass has its own dimmer switch. All of these dimmer switches are on their own schedule and they start turning on because of the shortening of the days, some start turning on because of disease, and some turn on because of some other factor. This is why you never see the fall colors perfectly throughout an area where you are standing. These dimmer switches are controlled by the length of our days, rain, temperature, disease, and myriad other factors.
The Massachusetts dimmer switches will turn on and off at their own schedules and usually, they are later than up in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. They are also a bit before Rhode Island and Connecticut, but not always.
Have a great foliage trip and I hope what I’ve written helps. There is so much information out there and I try to bring it into focus and make sense of it. At the top of the pages, I have sections for fall festivals, planning, and sections for touring ideas and so much more.
Jeff Foliage Folger
Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage
- Visit my Fine Art America Gallery
- Visit my Amazon store to pick up New England-related materials
- Visit my Pictorem Gallery (Free shipping in the US and Canada)
- My Facebook foliage page
- Threads.net/@Jeff_Foliage
- Follow our new Fall Foliage FB Group!
- You can visit Lisa’s Artist Facebook Page by clicking here
So, I get so excited for Fall starting the first of August. By the time the Marshfield Fair comes around mid month I am really getting amped up!!! A few things my family and I always do;
East Middleboro -H fair, no rides just an old fashioned agricultural fair. Labor Day Weekend
King Richards Faire in Carver, which we also go to Labor Day weekend, but it runs through October.
AD Makepeace Cranberry Harvest Celebration in Wareham.
I also love going to P-Town the last week or two of October. The colors on Cape are amazing and the traffic is very light.
Interesting article One day I hope to check it all out….