From Oktoberfests and fall foliage chairlift rides to mountain biking, live music, arts festivals, and even Bigfoot, Mid-Atlantic ski resorts have plenty planned for Fall 2026.
The first snowflakes might still be a couple months away, but fall offers plenty of reasons to head back to the mountains.
Across the Mid-Atlantic, ski resorts are preparing for one of their busiest non-winter stretches of the year, with Oktoberfests, fall festivals, scenic chairlift rides, mountain biking, live music, arts and crafts, and even a celebration devoted to Bigfoot.
For skiers and snowboarders, fall can also be a particularly enjoyable time to visit a familiar mountain. Trails that will soon be covered in snow are framed by autumn colors, chairlifts offer a much different perspective without skis dangling beneath your feet, and hints of the approaching winter season are everywhere.
Here are some of the fall events scheduled at Mid-Atlantic ski areas in 2026.
Pennsylvania
Seven Springs Mountain Resort
One of the region’s longstanding autumn traditions returns to Seven Springs Mountain Resort, where Autumnfest will be held during the first three weekends of October: October 3-4, 10-11, and 17-18.
The festival combines fall foliage with live entertainment, local artisans and crafters, family activities, and scenic chairlift rides over the Laurel Highlands.
Seven Springs’ summer activities also continue on weekends into October. The resort’s fall operating schedule includes activities such as scenic chairlift rides, the alpine slide, and disc golf, weather permitting.
Blue Mountain Resort
At Blue Mountain Resort, fall festivities begin with Oktoberfest on September 26-27. The free event is expected to feature German food and music, a biergarten, vendors, family activities, and scenic chairlift rides.
Then, every Saturday and Sunday in October, Blue Mountain will host its Foliage Fest. Visitors can take scenic lift rides, listen to live music on the Summit patio, carve or paint pumpkins, roast s’mores, and enjoy the changing colors from the top of the mountain.
Blue Mountain’s other activities continue into the fall as well, including downhill mountain biking and its Summit Adventure Park.
West Virginia
Snowshoe Mountain Resort
Snowshoe’s summer calendar stretches well beyond Labor Day.
The Ballhooter Music Festival runs September 4-6, bringing live music to the mountaintop village over Labor Day weekend. Snowshoe also continues its strong mountain biking focus into the fall, with racing scheduled during September and October before the bike park closes for the season.
Fall also provides a chance to watch the transformation taking place around the resort as Snowshoe prepares for its targeted November 25 opening day. Among the projects nearing completion this year is the new Shavers Center, part of the resort’s ongoing redevelopment of the Village area.
Timberline Mountain
A particularly colorful weekend is planned at Timberline Mountain October 2-4, when the resort hosts its sixth annual ARTober Fest.
Presented in partnership with ArtSpring WV, the festival combines local art with live music, food and family activities. Saturday’s schedule includes indoor and outdoor art markets, chairlift rides, hayrides, a craft tent, beer tent, silent auction, and live music throughout the day.
Canaan Valley Resort
Just down the road, Canaan Valley Resort heads into September with outdoor activities including hiking, biking, golf, and scenic chairlift rides.
The resort’s Mountainside Music Series continues through September 4, while a guided Douglas Falls/Blackwater Canyon hike is scheduled for September 5. On October 3, Canaan Valley will host Family Trail Days, including a guided eight-mile “Walk Between the Parks.”
Virginia
Massanutten Resort
Massanutten Resort will hold its annual Fall Festival on Saturday, October 10 from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Held directly on the ski slopes, the festival will feature live music, food trucks, local artisans, beer and wine, and children’s activities. Scenic chairlift rides will also be available separately, although the resort cautions that ride vouchers are limited and can sell out.
Visitors this fall may also notice a significant addition to the resort. Massanutten is preparing to open ShenandoahH2O, a new five-story, 140-room hotel connected to its indoor waterpark, in October.
Bryce Resort
Bryce Resort will bring a taste of Bavaria to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley with Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 10.
Scheduled from noon to 5 p.m., the event will feature German food, beer, and live music. Bryce follows that two weeks later with a Trunk or Treat event on October 24.
Bryce’s Bike Park also continues operating through the fall, with lift-served mountain biking normally extending into November.
Wintergreen Resort
Wintergreen Resort has assembled one of the region’s more extensive fall calendars.
It begins with something a little unusual: the Blue Ridge Bigfoot Fest on September 26. The free festival includes speakers and researchers discussing the legendary creature, along with live music, food, drinks, and scenic chairlift rides.
Wintergreen will offer additional fall foliage chairlift rides on October 10, 17, and 24. The October 17 rides coincide with the resort’s fourth annual Oktoberfest, which includes live music, artisan vendors, axe throwing, Bavarian food and beverages, and scenic rides aboard the Blue Ridge Express.
The mountain takes on a different personality around Halloween. Wintergreen’s Spooktacular Haunted Chairlift Rides run October 29 through November 1, sending guests down the Blue Ridge Express after dark past Halloween scenes before arriving at campfires, activities, treats, and nightly family-friendly movies at Checkerberry Cabin.
North Carolina
Sugar Mountain Resort
One of the longest-running Oktoberfest celebrations at a Mid-Atlantic ski area returns to Sugar Mountain Resort October 10-11.
Sugar’s 36th annual Oktoberfest runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, with Bavarian music, German food and beverages, arts and crafts, a costume contest, children’s activities, scenic chairlift rides, mountain biking, and a preseason sale at the resort’s sports shop.
Admission, parking, and shuttle service are free. And, according to Sugar Mountain, the festival takes place “rain, shine or snow” — with that last possibility presumably welcomed by skiers eager for winter to arrive.
The Countdown to Winter
Fall has become an increasingly active season at Mid-Atlantic ski areas. Mountain biking has extended lift operations well beyond summer at several resorts, while scenic chairlift rides have turned ski lifts into prime leaf-peeping platforms.
For skiers, there is another attraction.
By October, snowmaking systems are being tested, lift maintenance is wrapping up, trail work is nearing completion, and resorts are beginning to shift their attention toward opening day. A fall festival might involve pumpkins, beer, live music, or a leisurely chairlift ride through red and orange leaves, but winter is increasingly visible in the background.
And if temperatures cooperate, it won’t be long before those same chairlifts are carrying skiers uphill again.
Event schedules, activities, and operating hours are subject to change. DCSki recommends checking directly with each resort before making a trip.
