Fall RVing offers the perfect blend for road-tripping — crisp air, colorful trees, and festive locales. If you plan your RV trip during October, you’ll be able to tell ghost stories around the campfire and have a bunch of spooky spots to check out with the family.
Halloween is a fun and historical celebration of the things that scare us. Many of the coolest places to visit for Halloween season — like Salem, MA — have scary backstories that nonetheless offer a window to understanding our history.
Halloween destinations also offer a healthy dose of fun with events like pumpkin patch days, fall festivals, and more. That’s why we think spooky road trips are the best road trips this time of year — check out the below to see a few of our favorite spots for a fall family adventure.
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Blue Ridge Parkway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Referred to as America’s Favorite Drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway meanders from Shenandoah National Park to Smoky Mountains National Park — covering a 469-mile stretch of historic towns, colorful foliage, and fun fall events.
Plan a stop in the Roanoke area — known as one of the most haunted cities in southwestern Virginia. Don’t worry though, it’s not too scary. Roanoke just features its fun share of stories due to its rich history as an early colonial settlement. You could tour historic homes, haunted hotels, the Roanoke Pinball Museum, or hit up an area pumpkin patch/corn maze with the kiddos.
From there, the name of the game on this parkway is fall foliage. Road-tripping on the Blue Ridge in October will treat your eyes to an explosion of colors over the rolling mountains of Appalachia. Don’t miss a stop at Mabry Mill along the way and be sure to take time to enjoy the Linn Cove Viaduct as you roll over it.
Linn Cove Viaduct
Savannah, GA to Charleston, SC
Savannah literally calls itself America’s Most Haunted City. How could a Halloween road trip fail when it starts here?
Check out the 6 most haunted places in Savannah with the family to get a fun dose of fright while also soaking in the city’s rich history. Savannah is right on the ocean, so you could also take your RV out to places like Tybee or Hilton Head Islands to check out a Georgia coast framed by fall colors.
The route from Savannah to Charleston runs mostly along Highway 17 — a good local road that’ll take you by adorable small towns and wildlife refuges. Upon reaching Charleston, you’ll find yourself in another town that’s rich in haunted history.
Check out places like the Battery Carriage House Inn — where the ghosts of Civil War soldiers are said to roam the grounds. Or, once the kids are asleep, head over to the Blind Tiger Pub— an illegal prohibition-era speakeasy that’s said to be haunted by angry spirits (no pun intended).
St. Augustine, FL and The Florida Coast
St. Augustine, Florida bills itself as the oldest city in the U.S. With that history comes a special beauty — the city center features colonial architecture that is widely recognized as some of the most beautiful in the country.
St. Augustine’s haunted history features places like a haunted city gate, a haunted lighthouse, and even a haunted Seafood Bar & Grille (long story).
From St. Augustine, RVing with the family along The Florida coast is a must. Whether you roll north or south, you’ll have plenty of options from Ponte Vedra Beach to the beaches of Daytona.
Salem, MA to Acadia National Park (Maine)
No spooky East Coast road trip would be complete without a visit to Salem, MA. This infamous town is the site of the 1693 Salem Witch Trials. Rather than shying away from this history, Salem talks about the past and celebrates the present through a series of haunted events that happen through October.
From Salem, you can load the family into the RV and roll along the coastal Highway 1 toward Acadia National Park. Along the way, you could make a stop in Portland, ME for haunted history and pumpkin patching. Route 1 also takes you along Maine’s jagged coast where you’ll see the ocean crashing onto rocks and crisp fall foliage in one single vista.
Western Ghost Town Tour
We can think of no better time than Halloween time to explore some Western ghost towns. Places like Virginia City, Nevada really own their Ghost Town reputation by offering things like walking ghost tours and the famous Bucket Of Blood Saloon — open since 1876.
Okay, so Virginia City might not really be a ghost town with all those places still open, but it’s still a fun town that embraces its ghostly heritage. Two Guns, AZ — on the other hand — is a true ghost town that even features an abandoned zoo you can tour. While we haven’t seen any evidence of the zoo being haunted, we can’t rule it out either.
Bodie, California is one of the most famous and well-preserved Ghost Towns in the U.S. October is also the perfect month to head up there because its windy mountain road is virtually inaccessible in winter.
Bodie features over 170 well-preserved buildings that look like they simply paused in time back in the late 1800s — we’re sure ghosts are around but haven’t yet heard any specific stories, so you’ll have to go see for yourself!
Dark Sky Parks
International Dark Sky Parks dot the U.S. and many of them make for excellent Halloween road trips. They often feature RV campgrounds and provide the perfect setting for scary stories around the campfire. Here are a couple examples:
Glacier National Park can be beautiful in early October. You’ll also see fewer crowds that time of year so you can easily camp in one of the park’s many dark sky areas to see a night sky as you’ve probably never seen before.
The Cosmic Campground in southwestern New Mexico is an International Dark Sky Sanctuary where you could take your RV and feel like you’re camping right under the Milky Way. This eerie campground is very remote, so be sure to pack accordingly.
Fall is one of the best times for RVing because it offers milder weather, (generally) fewer crowds, and fun activities like ghost tours and pumpkin patches. Halloween road trips are a splendid way to get the family out before the cold sets in and while fun activities are still happening.
Check out our RVs for rent to celebrate Halloween with a Fall journey that your whole family will enjoy.
