Apple picking in North Salem, corn mazes on the North Fork, the Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze, Sleepy Hollow in October — and the fall class sign-up window. Honest about which ones are free.
Northern Westchester orchards open Labor Day weekend; Long Island corn mazes run through October. Go on a weekday or early Saturday — weekend afternoons are packed.
North Fork corn maze, pumpkin patch, pig races, hayrides and a barnyard adventure
Long Island's biggest corn maze, hayrides and u-pick pumpkins
Three-acre corn maze, pumpkin patch and hayrides on NYC's last working farm
Hay maze, pumpkin picking and weekend fall fun at the Yonkers store farm
Westchester's pick-your-own apples, pumpkin patch, hayrides and cider donuts
U-pick apples and pumpkins, corn maze and live music weekends
Apple and pumpkin picking with a bakery and hayrides in northern Westchester
Westchester's oldest working farm — u-pick apples, pumpkins and weekend hayrides
Apple and pumpkin picking on the East End
Pumpkin patch, animal farm, pony rides and fall festival for little kids
This is the Halloween capital of America. Timed tickets for the Blaze sell out weeks ahead; Sleepy Hollow's parade and the daytime zoo and museum events are the toddler-safe picks.
7,000+ hand-carved illuminated pumpkins at Van Cortlandt Manor — Hudson Valley's signature fall night
The Blaze comes to Old Bethpage Village Restoration — thousands of glowing pumpkins on the village green
5,000 artist-carved pumpkins light a trail through Old Westbury Gardens
Headless Horseman rides, storytelling and Irving's Legend brought to life at Philipsburg Manor
The village that owns Halloween — costume parade, street fair, hayrides and lantern tours
Daytime trick-or-treat trail and costume contest among the animals
Not-so-scary Halloween party for little kids — costume parade, crafts and trick-or-treat stations
Kids' Halloween weekends with trick-or-treating, costume contests and rides
Daytime Halloween Family Fun with lights-on haunted house and pumpkin carving for younger kids
Village fairs, the Oyster Festival and county-farm festivals — most are free to attend, with rides and food extra.
Free county-farm hayrides, pumpkin painting and barn animals
Long Island's biggest waterfront festival — kids' rides, tall ships and shucking contests
Carnival rides, live music and food at Heckscher Park
Kids' rides, games and food along Pondfield Road
Village fall fair with rides, petting zoo and live music
Last rides of the season plus fall crafts and entertainment
19th-century agricultural fair with livestock, crafts and games
Fall is when weekly after-school slots get set for the school year. 62 Westchester and Long Island programs, filtered by town and subject.
Hoff-Barthelson, Scarsdale and Bronxville music schools, Steffi Nossen dance, Random Farms and Play Group theatre — fall slots are set in September.
Westchester Skating Academy, IceWorks, Gold Medal Gymnastics, fencing clubs and swim schools.
theCoderSchool Roslyn and Syosset, Race Hub STEM, Science Museum of Long Island workshops.
RSM Scarsdale, Kumon, National Scholastic Chess Foundation.
Northern Westchester has the orchards: Outhouse Orchards and Harvest Moon in North Salem, Wilkens Fruit & Fir Farm in Yorktown Heights and Stuart's Fruit Farm in Granite Springs — all with pumpkins, hayrides and cider donuts from September through October. Stew Leonard's in Yonkers runs a smaller pumpkin patch for toddlers.
Schmitt's Family Farm in Melville has the island's biggest corn maze; Harbes Family Farm in Mattituck adds pig races and a barnyard; Queens County Farm's Amazing Maize Maze is closest to the city; White Post Farms in Melville and Lewin Farms in Calverton suit younger kids.
Thousands of hand-carved, illuminated pumpkins arranged into a walk-through display at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson (and a Long Island edition at Old Bethpage). It is glowing rather than scary — fine for toddlers — but timed tickets sell out weeks ahead; Rise of the Jack O'Lanterns at Old Westbury Gardens is the Long Island alternative.
Sleepy Hollow's daytime parade and street fair, Halloween at Playland Park, Boo at the Zoo at Long Island Game Farm, the Long Island Children's Museum Spooktacular and Bayville Scream Park's lights-on Kids' Days. Legends Weekend at Philipsburg Manor is best for ages 6 and up.
Sleepy Hollow's Halloween parade, Muscoot Farm's fall festival, the Oyster Festival in Oyster Bay, the Long Island Fall Festival in Huntington and the Bronxville and Scarsdale fall fairs are free to attend; farms charge $10–$30 for hayrides and picking.
Most weekly classes set their fall schedule in late August and fill during September — music lessons, gymnastics, fencing and swim slots go first. See GOkidOZ New York's 62 after-school listings by town.
Lyndhurst by candlelight, LuminoCity, Magic of Lights at Jones Beach and 23 December and February break camps — the winter guide is ready when you are.