The HomeExchange Blog

Nine miles from Gettysburg, South Mountain Fairgrounds hosts the National Apple Harvest Festival across two October weekends, with 300+ craft vendors.

Cohocton’s Fall Foliage Festival turns 61 this October, drawing free crowds to the Finger Lakes for a parade, 150 vendors, and a quirky tree-sitting contest.

Venice is aligning with Athens and the Balearics as nine European destinations adopt quotas, timed entry, and visitor caps to manage overtourism in 2026.

Railbookers reports a 186% jump in UK rail bookings and an 11-day average trip length for 2026, pointing to a new wave of slow travel across Europe.

Hackers are phishing hotel staff to send fake confirmation texts with real trip details. Here’s how to spot the scam before you click.

A new global survey of 32,500 travelers across 35 countries found that 85% want sustainable travel in 2026, but many still don’t know where to start.

Leavenworth’s 2026 Oktoberfest just opened tickets for three fall weekends, only 2.5 hours from Seattle by car, right in the Cascades’ peak color season.

Hawaii Island’s new short-term rental registration rule is in effect: $250–$500 permits, annual renewal, grace period through 2026.

Nine of 2027’s federal holidays land on a Monday or Friday, plus a 4-day Thanksgiving bridge, without spending a single PTO day.

Eleven lighthouses, five state parks, 300 miles of shoreline: Door County peaks every October, a short road trip from Chicago or Milwaukee.

Three hours from Chicago, Galena, Illinois packs 1,000 historic buildings, nine Civil War generals, and an October fair into one Mississippi River town.

Bayfield, Wisconsin’s ten orchards open fall first. Its 64th Apple Festival (Oct 2-4) draws 60,000+ visitors and a USA Today top-10 harvest festival nod.

Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta returns October 3-11, 2026, with a Route 66 centennial theme, 500+ balloons, and a citywide road construction pause.

Baxter State Park spans over 200,000 acres in Maine’s North Woods, four times the size of Acadia, with fall colors arriving weeks before Portland’s coast.

Plainfield, New Jersey advanced a third short-term rental ordinance in ten months, capping stays at 15 a year and barring non-owner-occupied rentals.

Portsmouth, Virginia currently has no rules for short-term rentals. A draft ordinance would require owner-occupancy and a zoning permit for the first time.

Congaree National Park has never charged an entrance fee, yet it remains America’s 10th least-visited park. The NPS turns 110 on August 25, 2026.