10 Fall Date Ideas to Kick Off the Season in Upstate, SC

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Are you looking for fall date ideas in the Upstate? If you are hoping for a date that represents the season, you’ve come to the right place. We have tons of date ideas to chose from to help you embrace fall and the ones you love. 

Dates are fun and necessary for healthy relationships. Now that the temperatures are dropping, it’s time for some festive, fall-themed dates. These can be family date activities, Daddy and Daughter/Son dates, Mother and Son/Daughter dates, romantic couple dates, or any combination. All will provide memories and fall fun!

Looking for more fun things to do this fall in the Upstate? Don’t miss our Ultimate Guide to Fall in Greenville and Spartanburg.

PSL Date

Is anything more fall than the delicious aroma and taste of the beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte? Grab frothing, steaming cups of fall in liquid form and simply turn off all electronics and talk until the drinks are gone. You can visit the favorite national chain that made the PSL famous or one of the Upstate’s many independent coffee houses to sample their take on the recipe. Local tip: our friends at Off the Greenville Greenville put together an awesome list of the area’s best fall drinks.

Apple Date

Apple picking is FUN. There are many great orchards in the Upstate and within a short drive where you can pick your own apples, or if you are unable (or unwilling) to do the hard labor, at least find a roadside stand offering the delicious fall fruit and support our local farmers. Read our Guide to UPick Apple Orchards Around the Upstate. If apple cider donuts are more your speed, you could also partake in our Apple Cider Donut Tour. Pro tip: Jeter Mountain Farm has a hard cider flight that you’ll definitely want to do if you love hard cider.

Jeter Mountain Wagon

Fall Leaves Date

One of the best things about living in the Upstate is our changing of seasons. This year the leaves are supposed to be extra colorful and vibrant. You can take a day trip up to the mountains to see the artistry in expanse or just a drive around town to your favorite park will also result in visions of festive fall color. Take some pictures of the changing trees and landscape and make sure you get a few selfies with the colorful backdrop. Pick your favorite leaf to bring home and display in your scrapbook beside your pictures of the day. See our list of Fall Leaves Near Greenville.

Watch the Sunset

Find a place to watch the sunset. Or, if you’re an early riser you can enjoy a sunrise! Check out this list of places near the Upstate to view the sunrise or sunset.

Farmers Market Date

Visit one of our local farmers’ markets such as the Hub City Farmers Market in downtown Spartanburg and enjoy the bounty of the fall harvest. Pick up fresh, local ingredients and make an entire meal from nothing but your finds. Make sure you try a new produce or recipe.

Haunted House Date

If your speed is more adventurous and you both love haunted houses, try Madworld Haunted Attraction right in Greenville. You can scream your heads off together, throw axes, play carnival games, compete at mini golf, and come home with lots of great fodder for nightmares. Perfect date. Madworld is open weekends through the first weekend in November.

Madworld Haunted Attraction

Fall Festival Date

Go as a couple or take the whole family to one of the many fall festivals near Greenville. Festivals celebrating apples, pumpkins, harvests, and all the other wonderful things that the fall months have to offer can be found at these gatherings. The wonderful thing about fall festivals in and around Greenville is that they are outdoors (for the most part) so it’s a good opportunity for your kids to be loud or run around.

Denver Downs Farm red barn

Dinner & a Movie

Let a movie and a meal whisk you away for an evening! Try one of our Top Date Night Restaurants in Downtown Greenville then go see a movie on the big screen. Prefer a more in-home date night? These are fun, too! You can grab pastrami sandwiches from your favorite deli and cue up “When Harry Met Sally;” take in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” while you dine on some Greek food; or get a sack of tacos from your favorite Mexican restaurant and enjoy the movie “Frida.”

Breakout Together

Teamwork makes the dream work! See if you and your spouse have what it takes to make it out of a local escape room. In 60 minutes or less, you have to figure out how to escape a specially-themed room that you are locked in using clues to solve a mystery. Themes at one of our favorite escape rooms include “Dr. Fratelli’s Cabin,” “The Starlight Motel,” and “Classified: Operation Nine Lives.” We like this date option because it’s always thrilling and unique while providing a fun indoor option when the temperatures start to drop.

Bonfire Date

If at all possible, take firewood, kindling, matches and have a real, flaming, crackling, outdoor bonfire because it is one of life’s purest pleasures. Graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate, and the appropriate tools to roast them into a s’more only add to the festive fall experience. However, if you do not have a safe place outdoors to set the blaze, never fear. Netflix, Hulu and Youtube all offer lovely video substitutions you can watch from the comfort of your living room while you microwave yourself a s’more!

Christmas Shopping Date

Ironic having a Christmas date on a Fall Date list? Maybe, but come mid-December, you will be glad you went on this date! Sit down together and plan out your Christmas list now, before things get Christmas crazy AND you can take advantage of all the end-of-summer sales. Planning early and working together to knock a few gifts off your list will make your life easier in a few weeks and it’s a fun date activity!

Thankful List Date

Fall reminds us to be thankful of things we may take for granted during the rest of the year. Pick up your favorite restaurant take-out for a romantic picnic at a local garden or a candle-lit dinner at home. Sit together and make a list of what you’re each thankful for this year. Be bold in the number of thanksgivings you ponder and write out. I bet you can come up with 100 things for which you are thankful if you silence your phones AND enjoy a dessert. When you get home, hang the list on the fridge, or better yet, frame it.

Pumpkin Date

Pumpkins mean fall and fall means pumpkins! There are so many things you can do with a pumpkin-themed date. You can pick your own pumpkins, carve pumpkins, paint pumpkins, roast pumpkin seeds, cook pumpkin pie, try pumpkin ice-cream, or all of the above and more in one day! See how many pumpkin-themed activities you can fit into your date. If you carve or paint your pumpkins, have a contest and ask your social media friends to vote for their favorite. Here’s a list of local pumpkin patches.

Sunflowers in front of a pumpkin patch with white and orange pumpkins.

Fall is a wonderful time to slow down and spend time with those you most love and the Upstate is the perfect place to take advantage of all fall has to offer. Enjoy your dates!

Do you have a favorite date for fall? If so, please share it in the comments!

Guide to Date Night in Greenville, SC

Hey YOU!
We have more ideas to share.

Here’s the full Kidding Around Date Night Guide and it’s loaded with places to visit and fun things to do.


Guide to Fall in Greenville, SC

Also, don’t miss our full FALL Guide to Greenville with lots of fun things to do ideas.

This article was originally written by Jamie Brown and has been updated by the Kidding Around Team.

parks with swings
About the Author
How does Kidding Around® bring readers high-quality and up-to-date content month after month and season after season? We have a dedicated team of writers and editors who regularly update our fabulous content to keep it current and relevant for our readers. This team combs lists of events, heads out into the community to experience new Upstate offerings, and communicates with local businesses. Many of our updated articles and event lists, like this one, reflect the contributions and hard work of multiple Kidding Around® team members.

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