Saratoga Springs In The Fall Is a Love / Hate Relationship

I visited Saratoga Springs in the fall – and I loved it! But, it definitely wasn’t perfect. There are a few caveats that I wish I’d known before visiting, because it won’t be for everyone.

There’s no horse racing, which is the main reason to visit Saratoga Springs. And it rained almost every day of my trip. But that didn’t take away from the quaint and cosy small town vibes. Where I could shop locally, enjoying a brew at the cafe, and still enjoy those beautiful fall colours!

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Is Saratoga Springs Worth Visiting In The Fall?

The main perks of visiting Saratoga Springs in the fall is that you’ll get to see the the changing of the leaves, and there are less tourists. But the rainier weather and less opening hours makes it more of a challenge to find things to do in Saratoga Springs in the fall.

Don’t Visit Saratoga Springs In October If You’re Interested In Horse Racing

If you’re interested in seeing a horse race in Saratoga Springs, the fall is not the time to visit. Horse races run from mid July until the beginning of September. So you might be able to catch one in September if you’re lucky!

But considering the horse races are a main attraction of Saratoga Springs, you might want to reconsider your timing. Otherwise, you can read my post on alternate things to do in Saratoga Springs, to decide if it’s worth not visiting on race day.

historic saratoga race course stone sign entryway among flowers, fall coloured trees above, and brown brick pillars attached to black iron gates.

The Fall Foliage Can Be A Hit or a Miss

The main benefit of fall travel is the colourful fall foliage. Let’s just say New York State does not disappoint in the fall, the leaves are beyond incredible. But the timing is is everything when visiting Saratoga Springs in the fall and it’s hard to know when the right time is…

If you visit too early, the leaves might not have changed colours yet. But if you visit too late, all the leaves might have already fallen, leaving the trees bare (which never looks good in pictures!). Trust me, you’d rather fully green trees than no leaves at all!

I visited Saratoga Springs in mid October and I think the leaves were at their peak (which was a bit surprising coming from Montreal in the fall where the leaves had already completely all fallen!).

Saratoga Springs in October felt like it was prime fall foliage colours! But of course this changes based on the weather every year.

a cozy street in downtown Saratoga springs. Two trees cover the left and top of the photo, the one on top if still green, the blue sky is peaking through. Below it is a small tree and the leaves have started to change colour to orange and yellow. These trees lead you eye to the buildings lining a wide sidewalk. The tallest building is only five stories hight, most are only two. There's often a shop or restaurant on the first floor, two of which have an outdoor patio on the sidewalk. The tree is adding some nice shade to the sidewalk and patios below. The sidewalk is empty, you can slisly make out two figures walking all the way at the end of the sidewalk

Saratoga Springs Fall Weather Is Unpredictable

The weather in Saratoga Springs in the fall is far from predictable. It can range from a high of 22°C (72°F) in September to a low of 0 °C (32 °F) in November. Keep in mind, even if it’s warm during the day, it will cool off a lot at night (so don’t forget to pack warmer clothes too)!

	High	Low	# of Rainy Days
September	22°C / 72°F	11°C / 52 °F	9
October	15°C / 59 °F	5°C / 41°F	8
November	8°C / 46°F	0°C / 32 °F	6

stats from Weather Spark

And let’s not forget about the fall rain… The rainiest months are actually in the springs from March to May, and the winner is July with almost 12 days of rain throughout the month. But fall months in Saratoga Springs aren’t too far behind.

The good thing is that there are actually quite a few museums in Saratoga Springs to visit if it happens to be raining when you visit. But then you run in to another problem with fall travel to Saratoga Springs, which are fall opening hours…

geyser creek trail in saratoga springs-in the fall: A calm river runs down, there's a path on the side. But it's not a normal walking path. It's a white yellow rock, it comes out of the wall and leads all the way down. There's a man in the distance walking along the side of it. The trees are fall colours and are reflecting in the river below and rise up into the sky above.

Don’t Forget to Pack my Fall Travel Favourites

There are a few essentials for fall in Montreal. The weather can be unpredictable, so I love wearing my Columbia Newton Ridge hiking boots daily. They’re a bit warmer for cooler weather, and they’re waterproof to keep my feet dry. You’ll also want to have a mini travel umbrella handy in case of rain too!

To stay warmer in the fall, I love my puffer jacket which packs up small to travel with as well. And if you need added warm, pack a very light but warm merino wool sweater.

You might be interested in: my printable packing list

it's raining in Saratoga springs in the fall. The view of Broadway street from a car windshield, there are rain droplets all across the image. The street is a dark grey. There are cars parked on either side of the four lane two way street. A large tree takes over the top right corner of the image, although it's mostly still green, there's a few at the top that have started to change to yellow. the other trees along the sidwalk are much small, and some are orange and yellow but there are still some green ones too. Behind the trees you can barely see some short red brick buildings hiding behind. — *Exploring Saratoga Springs from the car!*

Museums Have Fewer Opening Hours In The Fall

It’s very nice that Saratoga Springs has a lot of museums but they have fewer opening hours in the fall. Be very wary of the dates when you book your trip to Saratoga Springs, choose your days of the week wisely.

All museums now close on Mondays and some are even closed either Sunday or Tuesday.

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame (which is a must-see in Saratoga Springs) is one of the museums that might be closed both Monday and Tuesday … which unfortunately was exactly when I was visiting.

Other Saratoga Spring attractions also have fewer opening hours or are completely closed in the fall. For example, The Congress Park Carousel is only open on the weekends in the fall. And the Gardens at Yaddo are completely closed for the season starting in October.

So the lack of opening hours and closures definitely led to a lot of disappointment when I visited in the fall. But we should have done a more planning beforehand to know the closures (p.s. check out my digital travel planner for exactly this purpose!).

To make my timing even worse, it was an entire day of rain on Monday when I visited. So not only were all the museums closed, but I couldn’t do any of the outdoor activities either.

a view of the congress park carousel in Saratoga Springs. Right in front, with almost a spot light on them are two white horses with brown socks above their hooves. There are more horses all the way around the carousel, but on the right is also a two row purple bench. No one is on the carousel as it is closed for the season. — *Looking through the window at the closed Congress Park Carousel*

A Lot Weather Dependant Activities In Saratoga Springs

With fall being a bit unpredictable with weather, it doesn’t help that they also have a lot of weather dependant activities. Of course you can do these if it’s a bit colder or in the rain – but they’ll be less enjoyable.

I walked along Broadway Street hiding in the stores and cafés until the rain would slow down… which it never did. So also trudged through Congress Park in the rain to see all the beautiful fountains.

I would actually say you can do most of the outdoor activities in the rain, but I recommend avoiding the Vale of Springs Trail in the rain as it can be quite slipper.

geyser creek trail saratoga springs. AA path along a non moving river. Trees line one side of the river, while a walking path is on the other. The walking path is attached to a giant white rock protruding from the side cliff and becoming the trail. — *You have to walk on wet rocks on a part of the Vale of Springs trail…*

Indoor Activities In The Fall

If you are traveling on a Monday and it’s raining, here are some other indoor Saratoga Springs activities you can do.

Enjoy A Day At The Spa

Saratoga Springs are known for their mineral baths, so there are actually a few spas in the city. You will most likely have to book a spa treatment more in advance though. So just keep an eye on the weather before you leave in case if you want to book a treatment during your stay.

A popular, historic spa is the Roosevelt Spa & Baths.

A very symmetric photo of the Saratoga Springs Roosevelt Baths on the outside. There's a reflective pool surrounded by grass on all four sides ,you can see a slight upside down reflection of the building behind it. There are two long covered hallways leading to the centre building. The hallways are open with rounded archways. The centre building is a matching red brick with stone accents, like the six pillars in the middle.

It's a very grey day, completely overcast with clouds. And it's raining, as you can see the rain droplets in the reflective pool in the centre.

Try Local Microbrews

There are also quite a few microbrews along Broadway street in downtown Saratoga Springs. You can also hang out trying local beers at one of the breweries in the city, like Whitman or Druthers Breweries!

Turn it into more of an activity and print out my Microbrewery scorecard (you can also use it digitally!) to rate and compare each unique brew!

Other Indoor Activities To Enjoy

Buy a new book at Northshire Bookstore and head to one of the many cafes along Broadway street to read it.

Or head to Saratoga Tea & Honey Company to sample different tea at their tea bar (this would be my indoor activity of choice along with my tea journal for note taking!).

If you’re interested you can also check out the Saratoga Casino. Or, if you want to escape the rain entirely, you can always drive just outside Saratoga Springs to Albany to shop at Colonie Center, an indoor mall.

a vertical photo inside Druthers brewery with a pub snack, the menu for ordering more, and a flight of six beers to share among two people.

There Are Also Less Tourists In The Fall!

Just to end on a positive note, when visiting Saratoga Springs in the fall, there will be WAY LESS tourists. Summer brings flocks of people to the races and the natural springs. So without those to visit, the fall season is a lot less crowded.

This brings some perks, like the streets being quieter, being able to eat any restaurant I wanted with no wait times And it’s still populated enough to feel busy. It was never too empty like a ghost town – which I’ve had before in the fall.

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broadway street on a sunny day in saratoga springs new york. It's a view of the wide sidewalk iwth a commercial building and appartments above it. A single tree sits on the edge, separating the pedestrians from the cars. But there's no one walking on the street.

A Must Do Fall Attraction Near Saratoga Springs: The Adirondack Train

If you do decide to visit Saratoga Springs in the fall and the leaves are at their peak, you have to ride the Saratoga Corinth & Hudson Railway.

It’s about a 20 minute drive from the city but the train takes you through the fall coloured Adirondack mountains. If you want to appreciate the Saratoga Springs fall foliage, this is the activity to do!

Just be weary of opening hours. Once again, they have less hours during the fall (sometimes only running on the weekend).

driving through the adirondacks in the State of New York. There's an out of focus fence at the bottom of the photo (that's how you can tell you're in a faster moving vehicle).
But everything else in the photo is perfectly in focus. A lake takes over the bottom third of the image, you can still see a reflection of the scene above: red, orange, yellow, and green trees create a forest and line the mountain above. Covering parts of the mountain are some floating clouds from the overcast sky.

Saratoga Springs Festivals In The Fall

Another benefit, if you time it well, is that you can visit during some fall Saratoga Springs Festivals. September hosts a few fall festivals near Saratoga Springs. Check out the Adirondacks Ballon Festival in Queensbury, and Farm Fest in Clifton Park.

But if you want to stay in Saratoga Springs, you can enjoy Giant PumpkinFest to witness the largest pumpkins ever!

Their largest fall festival is the Saratoga Fall Fest in October. It’s a one day event with trick or treating, a pumpkin rolling challenge, and they even show a free movie in the evening. You’re also encouraged to dress up in costume!

If you’re there for a few days, you can also take part in the Great Saratoga Pumpkin Hunt. This is a two week scavenger hunt at the end of October that the whole family can enjoy!

See all the festivals in Saratoga Springs for October.

a cat in a back pack sticks his head out on the left side of the photo as he crosses Broadway street in Saratoga Springs after it's just rained. The street has puddles in the middle, and is a reflective grey. Parked cars, trees, and buildings line either side of the street.

So, Should You Visit Saratoga Springs In The Fall?

Honestly, I probably had the worst luck with my timing and the weather when I visited Saratoga Springs in the fall. I missed race season, and visited on Monday and Tuesday (when all the museums were closed), and of course rained all day Monday. But yet I still loved the city.

I loved the vibe, the trees were gorgeous, and I was still able to learn about some of the city’s unique history and enjoy most of the activities. It just made me want to come back when more was open and with better weather!

So, should you visit Saratoga Springs in the fall?

Yes and no. It really depends on you, and what you’re expecting from your trip to Saratoga Springs. If you were interested in seeing a horse race, the fall in Saratoga Springs is NOT the time for you to visit. But, if you want to enjoy the Saratoga Springs fall foliage, and enjoy the city at your own pace, then you might love this time of year.

If I were you, as I said, I would at least try to avoid visiting Saratoga Springs on a Monday in the fall. And, if your main priority are to see the leaves, aim to visit Saratoga Springs in October.

Otherwise, you might want to look into Saratoga Springs in September. You’ll most likely have better (warmer) weather and better opening hours.

Book your stay: 11 Saratoga Springs Hotels Perfect For Your Budget & Needs

the perfect fall scene in Saratoga Springs. A vertical image. Fallen fall leaves litter the ground from the bottom up until about a third of the way up. Then you can see from grass and a pond, with a slight reflection. Beyond the grass is a red brick building, that goes into a grey sky and finally a tree with yellow and orange leaves breaks into the frame from the right side covering the sky and the top third of the photo.

Need A Place To Stay In Saratoga Springs

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Saratoga Springs. Honestly you can’t ask for a better location for the price. The hotel has an amazing lobby to hang out in, is pet friendly, and offers a free breakfast. The only downside is that it would really benefit from an update right now! See availability and room rates on Booking.com.

For a luxury hotel stay, The Adelphi is the only hotel to stay at in the heart of Saratoga Springs. You will feel like royalty when you stay here. See availability and room rates on Booking.com.

I’d also recommend The Springwater Bed and Breakfast, especially if you’re planning on going to a race. They offer a lot of room options (even some entire apartments!) at different price points. See availability and room rates on Booking.com.

For more accommodation options in Saratoga Springs, on Booking.com, or read more of my recommendations for hotels in Saratoga Springs.

The Adelphi hotel in Saratoga Springs from the outside. A navy awning lines the bottom floors, which is most likely the lobby with a restaurants. There's a sign that says: The Adelphi Hotel and on the right side you can see Morissey's Drink.

Above the awning is a unique art decor architecture with white pillars and grey painted bricks. The windows are in pairs in between the thin white pillars, they're arched and tall rather than wide. There are three stories above the awning.

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My Must Haves For Fall Travel In Saratoga Springs