Sleepy Hollow’s Secret Shoulder Season
Story by Reyn Smith and Jack Sloan. Photos by Nicolas Galvis
Edited by Mia Madonna
The chaos and ghoulish excitement of Halloween has spread virally to Sleepy Hollow, filling the quaint streets with hundreds of visitors just as wild as the monsters they dress as. After a recent spike in popularity on social media this upstate town—just an hour's train ride north of Grand Central, best known for the legend of the Headless Horseman—has become an October bucket list destination. From personal experience, I assure you that the prime time to visit Sleepy Hollow is not during this halloween madness, but instead during the first two weekends of November.
“From personal experience, I assure you that the prime time to visit Sleepy Hollow is not during this halloween madness, but instead during the first two weekends of November.”
The notion of November 1st becoming the first day of mistletoe and holly has robbed November of its autumnal charm. Upstate New York in November is peak season for peacefully peeping foliage, and provides refuge for us city dwellers. Coming from California, where the only time I saw the seasons change was while binge watching Gilmore Girls, I was ecstatic to come and see the fall colors for the first time. By some stroke of luck, or maybe just poor planning, my friend’s and I’s trip to Sleepy Hollow for Halloween didn’t end up happening until mid November. It was as simple as boarding the Metro North Hudson line to the Tarrytown station, watching the skyscrapers vanish behind us. While the Hallowen decorations came down in the East Village, and the Bryant Park Winter Market ran in full swing, we cried real tears upon stepping off of the Metro North and into the serenity of Sleepy Hollow. The Californians of our NYU group jumped in the piles of orange and red leaves. The Floridians covered their mouths in autumnal awe.
Incredible frolicking pictured above
The day stretched out endlessly, and the local Sleepy-Hollow-ians must have thought us high or mad at our complete enamoration in even the simplest front yard or iconic New England style homes. Following the recommendation of a local taco shop (which, despite my California pride, I’ll admit was pretty amazing), we hitched an Uber to Rockefeller State Park, just a few minutes from downtown. Now fully immersed in the woods, the thoughts of the city distant as ever, we ran and jumped through the leaves like animals. We threw ourselves into the murky but charming pond with desperate excitement, in awe of the setting sun. We barely felt the chill of the cold water and November night as we huddled together on the Metro back, seeing New York with new eyes.
“We threw ourselves into the murky but charming pond with desperate excitement, in awe of the setting sun. We barely felt the chill of the cold water and November night as we huddled together on the Metro back, seeing New York with new eyes.”
May you, urbanite reader, see this same beauty, just an hour North.
