Every year as the season changes into autumn, hotels in the Northeast U.S. see an influx of "leaf peepers" — travelers who will fly or drive hours away to have the full fall foliage experience.
"Especially over the past few years, we've seen a giant uptick in foliage season," said Courtney Cunningham, sales manager at Lark Hospitality in the Stowe, Vermont, area. "It's always been a busy time of the year, but I think (because of some of the) trends and Instagram and influencers and all of those things — in Stowe in particular — (there's been) an increase in visiting year over year."
Lark Hospitality, which manages nearly 100 independent hotels with a significant presence in the Northeast, has two Stowe properties — AWOL Stowe and Bluebird Cady Hill Lodge — and Cunningham said she starts planning for the season about six months out.
According to CoStar data, the North Vermont submarket — where Stowe is located — saw its highest average daily rate in October 2025.
Stowe is just one of many markets in the Northeast that benefits from an annual pilgrimage of fall travelers. Upstate New York, much like Stowe, is just a few hours' drive away from a handful of major cities and attracts urban dwellers who want to get out and enjoy nature at one of its most picture-perfect times of the year.
"It's romantic for couples. It's great for families, so everybody loves leaf season," said John Flannigan, founder and CEO of Wylder Hotels. "There's nobody who doesn't like leaf season."
Flannigan founded Wylder Hotels after decades in the hotel industry, mostly based in the urban setting. He saw the industry, specifically flagged hotels, fixating on urban growth. Meanwhile, he was regularly escaping to Montauk where he bought a house.
"I really started really enjoying the two-to-three-hour drive away properties that felt very away and gave me that feeling of being very away, but yet I didn't have to fly six, eight, 10 hours to get to them, so that really resonated with me," he said.
Wylder has two properties — Wylder Hotel Windham in upstate New York and Wylder Hotel Tilghman Island in Chesapeake Bay — with plans to open more East Coast hotels. Flannigan said Wylder looks for historic properties that have soul that he then renovates and modernizes for more elevated experiences. Bringing storytelling to the hotels is also how he said his properties stand out amid the fall foliage season.
"You have to tell a story," he said. "All of our hotels have been revivals of past glory. They were all famous hotels that had a heyday, and so, restoring that heyday and bringing that back to life brings soul to a property."
During the fall, that means programing that gives guests both new and traditional fall experiences, even bringing in local businesses for classes such as candle making or wellness opportunities such as saunas or sunrise yoga.
"You're always going to have your s'mores kit," Flannigan said. "You're always going to have your hot toddy. You're always going to have a fall menu that has comfort food. ... Then there's the new stuff that we're always layering in to mix it up."
Both Flannigan and Cunningham said their hotels attract "leaf peepers" due to their vicinity to nature, but curating the fall foliage experience means providing places on property for guests to relax and enjoy the season.
"We like to have fire pits all around the property," Cunningham said. "We have fire places in the highly curated lounge spaces to really bring in that cozy fall energy. We have lots of spaces for people to gather and connect, so they're not just in their hotel rooms each day. ... You can settle in, leave your car for the afternoon and just kind of enjoy walking around the property and the area, and really just experience nature."
One example Cunningham gave of curation is a toast bar the hotel sets up with locally sourced bread, spreads and toppings.
As hoteliers plan for creating these experiences for guests each fall season, they also have to contend with slightly varied timeline each year. Peak leaf season can change annually, so hoteliers have to stay aware of weather forecasts to best manage revenue and operational strategy.
"It's different every year," Flannigan said of upstate New York's leaf season. "It generally starts somewhere in late September and ends in mid-to-late October. ... It can vary by a week or two here and there."
He said the fall foliage season lasts around a month, and while bookings dip as November begins, it's still a really beautiful time to visit the region.
"Demand has started to shift to either end of foliage season as well," Cunningham said of the Stowe market, "which is wonderful to see an (extension of) that season for us a little bit in terms of pricing and demand."
The Northeast's mountain regions also see a busy ski season in the winter months, but Cunningham said winter bookings are much more dispersed across December through March.
"Foliage season — it's like everybody comes at once. All of the businesses are absolutely bustling for these six weeks," she said. "The entirety of town is firing on all cylinders."