The combination of beer, apples and foliage make fall the best time to spend a weekend at a festival. Today we offer the second edition of our guide to fall festivals – this one focusing on our home state of New York. Hop on a bus or train for one of these five New York fall festivals easily accessible from New York City by public transit.
Hudson River Craft Beer Festival
When: September 14, 2019
Where: Beacon, New York
The easy day trip to the hip town of Beacon is enhanced this September with its annual craft beer festival. For $40 you can spend the afternoon sampling over 180 beers while overlooking the Hudson River. Make it a weekend getaway with a stay at the local Roundhouse hotel and a visit to the always impressive DIA:Beacon.
How to get there: Take Metro-North to Beacon.
Rochester Fringe Festival
When: September 10-21, 2019
Where: Rochester, New York
For 10-days, Rochester is taken over by lights, colors and creativity during its annual Fringe Festival. Join thousands of locals and visitors in enjoying everything from a sound performance in an igloo to magician performances. Along with theater, head to a beer garden, outdoor concert or comedy show.
How to get there: Take the Greyhound bus from Port Authority
Ithaca Apple Harvest Festival
When: September 27-29, 2019
Where: Ithaca, New York
If biting into a fresh, crisp is your idea of the perfect start to fall, head to Ithaca’s annual Apple Festival. Along with apple products ranging from hot cider to donuts to lip balm, the event also highlights the region’s artists and craftspeople. It also doesn’t hurt that the festival almost always coincides with fall foliage in the area
How to get there: Both Greyhound and the Short Line buses have routes from Port Authority to Ithaca.
Glimmerglass Film Days
When: November 7-11, 2019
Where: Cooperstown New York
Cooperstown may be known as a hotspot for baseball and craft brews, but it’s also home to a four-day film festival with an environmental bent. Visitors can expect everything from shorts to feature length documentaries with a focus on films that explore “our complex relationship with the natural world”. Tickets start at $90 for access to unlimited films with higher priced tickets that include food and beverage.
How to get there: Take Adirondack Trailways from Port Authority to Cooperstown.
Rosendale Pickle Festival
When: November 24, 2019
Where: Rosendale, New York
An easy bus ride from NYC, the Rosendale Pickle Festival is a delicious and lighthearted event for all ages. Along with seemingly unlimited pickles, festival goers will find vendors with local crafts and other grocery products. Kids will love the pickle throwing contest and, perhaps, the pickle juice drinking competition.
How to get there: Take Trailways Bus to Rosendale Station from Port Authority. Rosendale Chamber will be running shuttles to the festival grounds.
For more suggestions on events and festivals this fall head to I Love New York.
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram