Life

20 Fun Fall Date Ideas For Your Bucket List

by Meghan Bassett

When fall rolls around and the weather starts to cool off, all I want to do is snuggle up and be romantic. There are so many new things to do to savor the last moments of bearable outdoor temperatures! The bucket list of fun fall date ideas is endless whether you’re staying in or venturing outside.

Fall is my favorite season to get creative with date ideas. The trees are changing colors, pumpkin spice-flavored everything is at your fingertips, and you can find about a million excuses to cuddle under a warm blanket with your partner. It’s a perfect orange and red-colored world when I’m lucky enough to just start dating someone new during the fall. Everything is exciting and romantic, just begging you to spend every moment doing something new.

Even if you aren’t in a brand new dating situation, these fall date ideas can continue to make that fire burn bright between you and your loved one. I’ve got a list of the best fun and inexpensive fall dates for you and your sweetheart to hit up this year. The season will be over before you know it, so get out there and start checking off this fall date bucket list!

1. Go Apple Picking

There’s nothing like strolling through an apple orchard and stealing a kiss in between the apple trees. It’s the best way to spend a leisurely, romantic afternoon together.

2. Go To The Pumpkin Patch

Remember going to the pumpkin patch as kids? I guarantee it’s so much more fun as adults, especially adults in love. You can pick out the biggest and best pumpkin for your front porch, and then go for a hayride at sunset with spiked hot chocolate.

3. Go To The Corn Maze

Getting lost in rows and rows of corn might seem terrifying on your own, but when you have your sweetheart by your side, it suddenly becomes an insanely fun game. Plus, just think about the epic game of hide-and-seek you could have?! Talk about bringing the fun back into dating!

4. Make These Chai Spiced Apple Ciders And Cuddle Up

Something as simple as making a warm, indulgent drink like this chai spiced apple cider from The Kitchn can be the best date ever. Take a couple blankets, and curl up on the front porch to watch the world go by. It’s a great way to take some time to slow down with your partner and enjoy each other’s company.

5. Make A Fort

I have to admit, this is my favorite thing to do on rainy fall nights, even when I’m alone in my house with my dog. It would be infinitely more fun to build and spend the night in a massive blanket fort with a sweetheart. All the cuddling!

6. Go Tailgating

Do you both love sports? Pack up some grub, and head out to your favorite team’s game for the day. Tailgate before and enjoy the pregame festivities with each other! If the major sports are too pricey, hit a local college game. They are just as much fun to tailgate at, if not more so.

7. Haunted House

Get ready to get really close with the one you love as you wander through a spooky haunted house. This is the perfect excuse to literally jump into your partner’s arms. Just saying.

8. Pumpkin Beer Brewery Tour

With all the craft breweries around nowadays, you can’t drive five minutes without finding a brewery serving up some wicked pumpkin beer. If you two are pumpkin beer lovers, plan a tour of three or four different breweries to try their seasonal offerings.

9. Go For A Drive To See All The Colors

If you are lucky enough to be close to the mountains or areas that are bursting with fall colors, taking a long romantic drive with your partner is a must. Make a pit stop for a picnic, or a quiet stroll in the forest. Just be sure to bring a blanket. You know, in case things start getting toasty…

10. Bundle Up And Star Gaze

Whether you go camping, head to a nearby park, or pile a ton of pillows and blankets into the back of a pickup, star gazing can be done easily, and only costs a little gas money.

11. Have A Halloween-Themed Movie Night

With Halloween just around the corner, staying in with your favorite scary movies and a bunch of junk food is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the holiday, even before it’s actually here. Snuggle up and pick the scariest movies you can find.

12. Have A Chili Cook-Off

For all my fellow foodies, this is about the best date idea since dinner and a movie. Each of you brings your best chili recipe to the table, and you can be the judge of who is the true winner. A little healthy competition can be a turn on.

13. Hit A Festival Or County Fair

Festivals and county fairs don’t get the credit they deserve anymore. Even if you are a big city dweller, getting out to a small town festival or county fair is a charming way to spend a day, especially on a second or third date. Buy cotton candy, play games, ride the rides, and kiss at the top of the Ferris wheel. It doesn’t get much better than that.

14. Hit The Park

On a crisp fall day, hit up the park with blankets, hot (preferably spiked) chocolate, and a book or crossword puzzle. Spread out under a tree, and spend some quality time together.

15. Pumpkin Carving

Getting a little messy is a surefire way to a successful date, isn’t it? Pumpkin carving is the epitome of romantic mess during the fall. Grab your carving gear, and have a contest to make the best Jack-O’- Lantern! Don’t forget to save those seeds to toast up later for a victory snack.

16. Bake Together

The options are endless when it comes to fall baking. Make a pumpkin or apple pie, cookies, brownies, or, if you’re feeling adventurous, apple cider caramels. Even if you both are novices in the kitchen, it is exciting to learn how to make something new together. Devouring your masterpiece later is a pretty sweet bonus for the end of the date. This is also a great way to use those apples you got from the apple picking date idea above.

17. Watch A New Show Together

Everyone has a show they’ve been dying to watch or catch up on. So load up on the food and wine, and then make your bed or couch your home for the day or night. It’s time to get your binge on.

18. Go For A Bike Ride

The sound of crunching leaves beneath the tires of your bikes is an ideal symphony to accompany you and your date as you explore the city and its parks. Be sure to find a couple fun places to stop on your route. Major bonus points if you surprise your partner with a stop at their favorite cupcake shop or restaurant.

19. PSL It Up

Pumpkin Spice Lattes don’t last forever, so take advantage of the season and PSL it up one morning. Go for a walk or spend hours drinking PSL after PSL in the coffee shop. It’s time to really connect, people.

20. Make A Warm Fall Dinner Together

Cooking together is a great test of your partnership to make sure you can work together and not drive each other completely insane. Heat things up and get romantic over a candlelit meal.

For more fall ideas, visit Bustle on YouTube.

Images: Pixabay; Joy; Kam Abbott; Angela Severn; The Kitchn; Twilight Taggers; 1070 The Fan; Sean MacEntee; DieselDemon; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Northeast Region; Zach Dischner; Double Feature; Jazz Guy; Anita Ritenour; Don Hankins; William Warby; Benny Mazur; Shardayyy; Oregon Department of Transportation; r reeves; Rachel Hathaway; Denise Mattox/Flickr