Well, the secret’s out! Fall is one of the best times to visit Garrett County! 🙂

Ok, so that may not be a secret to many, but to some, the beauty of our fall season has yet to be discovered. The fall foliage alone is a good reason to visit, but we’ve also got a few note-worthy events happening. Whether it’s watching a parade or two with your family during Autumn Glory, sitting with your friends for trivia at a local pizza-brew place, dressing up for Halloween to support a local non-profit, or just driving around to catch the colors, grab your boots and scarves and flannels and come see us this October! It truly is a wonderful time to be in Garrett County…

Local Events and Dates to Note

51st ANNUAL AUTUMN GLORY FESTIVAL
Wednesday, October 10th through Sunday, October 14, 2018

You can’t talk about fall in Garrett County without mentioning what some locals consider the best time of the year! Our Autumn Glory Festival has been recognized nationally as one of the best fall festivals and if you come for nothing else, come for the foliage (more on this below)! There are parades, craft shows, antique sales, turkey dinners, a kick-off reception (Brian and I dress up each year and attend 🙂 )…it really is a great time to visit! My kids especially love the parades – the “big one” is on Saturday the 13th at 1pm in downtown Oakland.

TEAM TRIVIA at MOUNTAIN STATE BREWING CO.
Thursday, October 25th from 6:30pm – 8:30pm 

I haven’t attended yet, but I get the feeling it’s a good time. Mountain State is also one of our favorite restaurants and I always highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new place to eat. Brian and I did some team trivia at a pizza place when we were visiting Charleston, SC this past spring and it was tons of fun! We’re going to have try things out at Mountain State next.

A SPOOKY SOIREE at LAKE POINTE INN
Wednesday, October 31st from 6pm – 8pm

This is a new event and I’m intrigued! Lake Pointe Inn is such a neat place and Garrett Lake Arts Festival, the non-profit organization in charge, is directed by a good family friend, so it’s definitely worth mentioning! Costumes are encouraged and couples tickets are available. If my kiddos didn’t have trick or treating on the same night, I’d try to convince Brian to go with me!

FALL FOLIAGE DRIVING TOURS
All of October

As I mentioned above, the fall foliage here in Garrett County serves as good reason to visit us in October. The reds, oranges and yellows are usually especially spectacular and can be found when driving throughout the county. There’s a short and long tour available on the Chamber’s website. Last year, Hannah and I explored part of the tours and were amazed at the hidden roads and beautiful scenes that we found. We also included the tours in our newest Insider Guide specially made for couples looking to getaway during fall. Warning: Our colors aren’t where they normally are as of today, September 27th. Some say they aren’t going to be as vibrant, some say they aren’t going to stick around as long. I’m going to choose to believe that they’ll be awesome no matter what (positive thoughts, friends!), but according to this chart, we’ll be peaking right around mid-October.

This first picture was taken two years ago on my way to a morning engagement session at the lake… (along with the foggy one at the top, too)

This was taken at the lake near the 219 bridge between McHenry and Oakland…

I hopped out of my car for this one! Taken from what is now the Aquatic Center at the lake…