Fall in Crozet
Fall is the season Crozet is built for. Apples come in from August and run through November, pumpkins from September, and three separate festivals land inside six weeks — the Fall Into Fun Festival at the orchard, the Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival at the park, and the Artisans Studio Tour that opens private workshops around Crozet, White Hall and Free Union.
It is also the season the rest of the region discovers Crozet. The Blue Ridge Parkway is fifteen minutes west and it fills up; Carter Mountain gets genuinely crowded on October weekends; and Chiles moves to reservation-only ticketed entry for weekend picking that month, which catches people out every year. The trade is worth it. If you are visiting to decide whether to move here, October is the month that sells the place — just know you are seeing it at its busiest.
Events
Third weekend in September · Sept 19–20, 2026
Early October · Oct 4, 2026
Mid-October · Oct 10–11, 2026
Late October · Oct 24, 2026
Late October
First weekend in November
Sundays through late October
Saturdays, 8am–noon, through the season
Activities
Apples run August into November and pumpkins from September, with Fuji, Jonathan, Rome and Stayman among the varieties on the rows. This is the orchard's biggest season and the reason half of Charlottesville drives west on an October Saturday.
The season's opening act, and the one worth bringing children to. Old-fashioned apple butter made in the pot with visitors taking a turn at the stirring, wagon rides out to the rows, and pick-your-own apples and pumpkins running alongside it.
The autumn half of the park's twice-yearly juried show, and one of the best-attended family events in central Virginia. Regional artisans across pottery, textiles, glass and wood, the Western Albemarle High School band and jazz band playing, and food trucks doing kettle corn and homemade ice cream.
Free to drive, always, and it is the single biggest argument for living on this side of the county in October. Humpback Rocks is the short steep classic; Skyline Drive runs 105 miles north from the same gap if you want the long version.
A self-guided tour into the private working studios of potters, painters, jewellers and fibre artists, most of them scattered through the countryside northwest of town. It is the late-autumn event locals actually plan around, and the drive between studios is half the point.
Roseland Polo runs Sundays until the end of October, and autumn is the better half of the season — matches move back to a noon start with gates at ten, instead of the five o'clock starts used to dodge July heat. Free, and the vineyard is in harvest at the same time.
A 5K and 10K run on the volunteer-built trail system, in the last week of October when the temperature finally cooperates. Small, local, and the clearest look you will get at who actually lives here.
The Blue Ridge Tunnel holds 50 to 65 degrees year-round, which makes it a strange thing in August and a genuinely good one in November. Two and a quarter miles each way, free, and quiet once the leaf traffic on the Parkway thins out.
Food & drink
Fall oyster roast; in 2026, November 7, 4 to 6 pm
Apple and autumn celebration on October weekends, 10 am to 5 pm (Visit Charlottesville)
Day trips
Pick-your-own apples; tickets for ages 12 and up on peak fall weekends (Sep 12 to Nov 15 in 2026)
Downtown with the American Shakespeare Center's Blackfriars Playhouse
Costs of Fall
Fall is the season with the widest spread: the single best thing to do — drive the Parkway when it turns — is free, while the orchard weekends that everyone wants are the one time of year Crozet asks you to buy a ticket in advance.
Fall, answered
When is peak fall foliage near Crozet?
The Blue Ridge crest turns before the Crozet valley does, because the ridge sits more than two thousand feet higher — so the Parkway and Skyline Drive go first and the orchards and town streets follow. Exact timing moves year to year with temperature and rainfall. Mid to late October is the planning window, not a guarantee.
Do you need a reservation to pick apples in Crozet?
On October weekends, yes. Chiles Peach Orchard requires reservation-based ticketed entry for all picking on weekends that month, and it is enforced. Weekdays through the season are much easier. The orchard does not allow dogs at any time.
What festivals happen in Crozet in the fall?
Three, inside about six weeks. Fall Into Fun at Chiles Peach Orchard the third weekend in September, with apple-butter making and wagon rides. The Crozet Fall Arts & Crafts Festival at Claudius Crozet Park in mid-October, with juried artisans and the Western Albemarle band. The Artisans Studio Tour the first weekend in November, opening private studios around Crozet, White Hall and Free Union.
Does polo still run at King Family in the fall?
Yes, through late October, and the autumn matches are the better ones — noon starts with gates at ten, rather than the five o'clock July and August schedule. Admission is free. Weather and field conditions can cancel.
Sources
- Dates confirmed August 2026 · Recurring events follow the pattern shown — confirm the year's dates before you travel
The fall dates that matter
Recurring events with the pattern they follow, so this holds up next year and the year after. Specific 2026 dates are given where they are confirmed.
| Event | When | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fall Into Fun Festival | Third weekend in September Sept 19–20, 2026 |
Chiles Peach Orchard |
| Foxfield Fall Races | Early October Oct 4, 2026 |
Garth Road — Charlottesville, not Crozet |
| Crozet Fall Arts & Crafts Festival | Mid-October Oct 10–11, 2026 |
Claudius Crozet Park |
| Crozet Book Fest | Late October Oct 24, 2026 |
Crozet |
| Crozet Trails Crew 5K/10K | Late October | The Crozet trail network |
| Artisans Studio Tour | First weekend in November | Studios around Crozet, White Hall, Free Union |
| Roseland Polo — final matches | Sundays through late October | King Family Vineyards |
| Crozet Farmers Market | Saturdays, 8am–noon, through the season | Behind the Blue Goose, Crozet Ave |
Dates confirmed August 2026 · Recurring events follow the pattern shown — confirm the year's dates before you travel
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