Fall is by far my favorite season of the year. Being a local Rochesterian, I love taking friends from RIT to discover some of my favorite things in fall.
Here is my fall bucket list:
Go Apple Picking!
There are lots of orchards not too far off campus. If you do not have a car, there are a couple ways to still make it apple picking. Quite a few clubs and organizations will go in the fall with their members, and you also have the option to rent a Zipcar for the day.
Bake Apple Crisp
After picking apples (or buying some from the grocery store), I love to make apple crisp. I prefer making it from scratch, but you can buy apple crisp kits at the store as well that have all the ingredients measured for you already (like the sugar and cinnamon).
Go Pumpkin Picking
It wouldn't be fall without pumpkin picking. I have a few local favorites when it comes to picking pumpkins: Powers Farm Market, Zarpentine Farms, Growmore Farms, Wambach Farms, Stoke Farms, ... I could go on.
Carve a Pumpkin
If you go pumpkin picking, carve the pumpkin! If you are living in the residence halls and do not want to deal with all the guts of the pumpkin, I recommend getting a baby pumpkin and painting it (it lasts longer). Otherwise, carve it up! (But no candles in RIT housing; get electric instead).
Go to a Park
One of my favorite things about Rochester in the fall is seeing the leaves change. Rochester has quite a few great parks in the area that would be perfect for a fall walk, looking at all the colorful leaves. We also happen to be driving distance from Letchworth, the number 1 state park in the country - and it is GORGEOUS in the fall.
Enjoy a cup of hot apple cider
Mmmmmm. This can be accomplished right on campus! Many of the coffee locations serve up special fall drinks, including apple cider (hot and cold). I love warming up from a brisk fall day with a nice hot apple cider with some powder cinnamon sprinkled on top.
Go to a Fall Festival
If you are not able to attend any of the summer festivals in Rochester, you have a few opportunities in the fall. I also try to make it to the Apple Festival in Hilton. RIT's College Activities Board took a bunch of buses to the event this year so students without cars could make it to the event. I also attended a mini-festival in Clarence, NY, at the Great Pumpkin Farm. It had all the classics - fried food, a corn maze, a haunted house, pumpkins, and a hayride.
Haunted House/Hayride
Speaking of haunted houses... When it gets closer to Halloween, grab some friends and find a haunted house or haunted hayride near campus. There are quite a few that pop up near campus in the fall - and many offer student discounts with your RIT ID.
Get Lost in a Corn Maze
Another fall favorite of mine is going through a corn maze. I know it's corny, but I have an aMAZEing time. There a few different place off campus that have corn mazes. Some are haunted, and some are not. I personally prefer a not-haunted, day-time corn maze. I love haunted houses, but I would hate to have the feeling of being STALKed in a corn maze...
These are my top fall bucket-list items. Hopefully, it'll give you some ideas for your own fall bucket-list.
