From scenic hikes to outdoor festivals and Halloween haunts–there’s no shortage of fall activities in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Queen City outdoes itself when it comes to fall festivities which was exactly what I was looking for.
Having lived in Florida for 12 years, I was desperately missing the fall vibes and decided to head to North Carolina for the month of October for a change of scenery. Not only is the city beautiful in the fall, there are lots of great things to do during the season.
Fall Activities in Charlotte, North Carolina
Oktoberfest Olde Mecklenburg Brewery
Technically referred to as Mecktoberfest, Olde Mecklenburg Brewery is Charlotte’s oldest independent brewery. They have two locations for festivities: LoSo and Ballantyne, which fall on different weekends in September and October.
You can expect lots of people, competitions, German beer, German food favorites and live music from German bands. We went to the Ballantyne location and it was pretty packed. Lines moved pretty quickly for drinks and food, a few people dressed up and overall it’s just a fun social event to hang out outside.
Oktoberfest at Carowinds
Another option for Oktoberfest festivities is Carowinds amusement park. There’s a few activities and live music at various times. But mostly, there’s beer and German food like brats and pretzels.
Crowders Mountain State Park
Just west of Charlotte is where you can find Crowders Mountain State Park. It’s about a 35-40 minute drive to the park and it has several hiking trails to do. The most popular trail is the pinnacle trail and starts right outside the visitors center.
Most of the trail takes you through woods but eventually comes out on top of a peak and gives you great views of the area. I went in the first week of October, so a bit too early to catch any fall colors but the view is still great.
Rural Hill Corn Maze
For something a little different, head to the Rural Hill Corn Maze to get lost amongst the corn stalks! Find your way out and head to the pumpkin patch or jump on a hay ride. There are food trucks and local breweries there also!
Carolina Renaissance Festival
Throughout the month of October and into November is when you can head north to Huntersville for the Carolina Renaissance Festival.
If you’ve never been to a Renaissance Festival, it’s a re-creation of a 16th Century European Marketplace with characters, activities, theater, entertainment, food and drinks, and much more.
Carolina Balloon Fest
The Carolina Balloon Fest is up in Statesville, about 45 minutes north of the city and is the second oldest hot air balloon festival in the country.
This was my first hot air balloon festival and it did not disappoint. This is a huge production of tents, local vendors, live music, food stalls, activities and of course, the hot air balloons.
You can watch them inflate, take tethered rides or actual rides (you’ll need to arrange with the individual balloons ahead of time). At night, they have them all lit up and do some synchronized glows. You can also walk right up to them and talk to the owners.
We bought tickets a few weeks ahead of time, which you’ll want to do. This event does sell out!
Charlotte Craft Beer Week
If you’re a beer drinker, you can partake and Charlotte’s Craft Beer Week to try local brews and visit different breweries. You can download a free Craft Beer Passport that lets you know of upcoming events and special offers throughout the week. You can collect points by checking in and redeem them later for merch.
There are over 100 events during the week including bar crawls and sip & shops.
Leaf Peeping Road Trips
I had never gone ‘leaf peeping’ before–like purposefully going somewhere just to look at the leaves. But since I was in North Carolina, I knew there were some beautiful places just outside of Charlotte to go see. I knew it was a popular thing, I just didn’t know how popular.
My parents and I decided to go up through Blowing Rock, a small, popular town to explore but it was bumper to bumper getting through that town. So much so that we didn’t even try to look for parking and just kept moving on.
We had tickets for Grandfather Mountain to do the swinging bridge at the top, but the line to even get up to it was at a standstill. We ended up parking at a lot near the trailhead and hiked up to it instead. It’s about .4 miles and a nice trail up and back. The views are great, but we actually found the drives up to the park to be prettier in terms of color.
The Linn Cove Viaduct is another super popular spot along the road for photography and you’ll see cars lined up off the road leading up to it. Traffic was moving so slow, I actually jumped out of the car and caught up to my parents down the road ha.
If you decide to go, be prepared with snacks and a full tank of gas because you’ll likely be stuck in traffic for hours.
Pumpkin Picking
There are a couple places within the Charlotte vicinity to visit where you can pick your own pumpkin from a patch.
Hodges Family Farm
If you’re looking for a close pumpkin patch, Hodges Family Farm is located in the northeast part of Charlotte and is a cute spot decorated for fall. There’s several fall photo ops for families, animals to go see, a petting zoo at different times and hay rides available.
There’s wagons to carry your pumpkins once you pick them out and small decorative pumpkins to choose from also. But there’s also shop stalls to browse and a must-try: the apple cider donut and coffee stand. We went back for more donuts because they were so good and picked up some kettle corn at a different stand on the way out too (also delicious).
Carrigan Farms
Carrigan Farms is another local-ish spot to pick pumpkins right off the vine. It’s about 40 minutes from Downtown Charlotte, directly north of the city.
There’s a fee to enter and each ticket includes a hay ride to the pumpkin patch, petting zoo and you can choose your own pumpkin. A food truck is available on weekends that serves apple cider donuts and apple cider slushies. Just remember to bring cash as credit cards aren’t accepted at the farm!
Scarrigan Farms
You can knock out two things on this list at once–Scarrigan Farms is the haunted trail located at Carrigan Farms, so once you pick pumpkins, you can head to the haunted trail at sundown.
The trail is about a mile long through wooded and open areas. The goal is to get scared so be prepared for anything! You’ll need to reserve a time in advance online, so make sure to plan ahead.
Scarecrow Hollow
Every year, the Daniel Stowe Conservatory displays scarecrows decorated by the community. You can find them in the Children’s Garden and vote on which ones are your favorite.
Scarolina Theatre
The Carolina Theatre originally opened in 1927 and just reopened after being closed for the last 50 years. A renovation project has restored it to its 1920’s grandeur and now it’s open for movie nights.
On select nights throughout October, the Carolina Theatre will show old scary movies. What makes this a spooky option for October is that the theater is allegedly haunted.
Scarowinds
Each fall, Carowinds amusement park transforms into Scarowinds, a Halloween event where the park is decked out in fall decor with haunted houses, scare zones and live shows to go to.
We went early so we could ride some rides and for whatever reason, I just assumed it was a small theme park since I’d never been. I was wrong. It has numerous roller coasters and thrill rides–and they will definitely get your heart racing. The Fury has been awarded ‘Best Steel Rollercoaster’, so you know it’s legit.
Scarowinds has about 5 haunted mazes (though there’s only one path through, so more like a haunted house) to walk through which are fun. Each one is themed and decked out with decor and costumes.
Visit a Haunted Trail
Charlotte seems to have quite a few haunted attractions whether it’s haunted trails through the woods or haunted houses. You’ve got a few options to choose from (including Scarrigan Farms listed above). A few other options are:
Lake Hickory Haunts
About an hour northwest of Charlotte is where you can find Lake Hickory Haunts, a haunted theme park with 13 attractions. It’s next to a lake with immersive experiences and additional activities. It’s also been voted as the #1 haunted attraction in North Carolina and the Carolina’s on a few occasions, so definitely worth checking out if you’re up for getting scared.
The 13th Acre
Another option is The 13th Acre, a haunted trail about 40 minutes southeast of Charlotte. This one gets the award for the Carolina’s longest haunted attraction. It spans over 25 acres and takes you through the forest with different themed areas. Once you get out of the woods there’s a DJ, food and drinks to enjoy.
Great Elizabeth Pumpkin Wall
If you’re driving near Elizabeth at night, make sure to stop by the Great Elizabeth Pumpkin Wall. The neighborhood comes together to carve pumpkins and then displays them on a wall for people to see all lit up at night.
Each year is a different word illuminated above the pumpkins. When I went, it just so happened to be ‘Elizabeth’.
Carolina History & Haunts
If you want the spookiness of the season without the heart attack, you can opt for a ghost tour through Charlotte. The Carolina History and Haunts tour will take you through Uptown by guided lantern to give you tales from the grave about local history.
Tours are year round (mostly on weekends) and are approximately an hour and a half long. This is a walking tour, so make sure you’re prepared for the weather and have comfortable shoes.
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