The best fall guys trips follow the season's own calendar: elk bugling in the Tetons, the first northern lights over South Iceland, bourbon weekends in Kentucky and Bears football on the Chicago lakefront. Here are eight of our favorite fall picks, each with a more detailed list behind it, plus a desert golf shortlist to finish.
We had a lot of help this year from our friends in travel PR and our readers, who sent an overwhelming number of ideas for where to take the guys in the fall, and these are the picks we keep coming back to. Jackson Hole in September and October is the Tetons at their best, with aspens and cottonwoods turning gold across the valley and the elk rut underway. Bull elk bugle and spar in Grand Teton National Park, and a sunrise wildlife safari with EcoTours hands out Swarovski binoculars and knows which roads to take. Spend the rest of the day at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort on its via ferrata, a cliff route where you clip into fixed steel cables and climb iron rungs, or on a mountain bike, or fly fish the Snake River instead. End the night at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar for Wyoming whiskey, pool and line dancing. For a base, the mountain list covers four: the Wyoming Inn just outside Town Square, with a free shuttle around town, Rusty Parrot Lodge & Spa, steps from the square, the adults-only Hotel Yellowstone, and Darwin Ranch, an off-grid guest ranch in the Gros Ventre Wilderness that runs guided elk hunts in the fall. Seven ways to explore Vietnam on a guys trip, including Mekong river cruises, Ha Giang motorcycle adventures, Phu Quoc beach resorts, war history tours, and Ha Long Bay cruises. Seven ways to experience Southeast Asia's most compelling destination. Discover essential safety tips for your Mexican all-inclusive resort vacation. Learn how to avoid common dangers while maximizing fun at top destinations in Cancun, Cabo, and beyond. All inclusive 5 day Sri Lanka tour covering five cities, tea plantations, temples and wildlife, ideal for culture and nature lovers. A customizable Kauai tour with a private photographer, ideal for social influencers who love food, hiking and scenic photo spots. Promoted by FlowAds In South Iceland, September brings Réttir, the annual roundup when farmers bring their sheep down from the highland pastures, and October marks the start of northern lights season. Hotel Rangá, about two hours south of Keflavík, is set up for it, with outdoor geothermal hot tubs, a roll-off-roof observatory, a resident astronomer and a wake-up call when the aurora shows. Daytime brings ATVs to an ice cave, a monster truck glacier tour, a helicopter flight over a volcano, ice climbing or fly fishing the East Rangá River. Groups can also book a private candlelit Viking dinner inside the Caves of Hella. Why we picked it: a grill you can actually carry to the campsite, the tailgate or the cabin without borrowing a truck. Stainless, no propane tank to wrestle, and hot enough to cook for four guys rather than reheat for one. Promoted by FlowAds Frankfort, the Kentucky capital, is home to six distilleries including Buffalo Trace, plus the only boat-based bourbon tour in the country on the Kentucky River. The downtown bars are walkable, the free trolley covers the rest, and Canoe Kentucky can put the group on the river before the afternoon pour. September is Bourbon Heritage Month and early October usually brings the Bourbon on the Banks festival. Either way, book the Buffalo Trace tour months ahead, because it is the one tour in town that really fills up. The Ashbrook, The Delegate and The St. Clair put the group in the center of town. Chicago in the fall is a walking city. From September through November the trees along Millennium Park, the Chicago Riverwalk and the Lakefront Trail turn, the architecture river cruises run before the boating season closes, and a Bears home game gives the weekend its centerpiece. The calendar adds the Chicago Gourmet food festival in late September, then the Chicago Marathon, the Chicago International Film Festival and Open House Chicago in October. Between steakhouses and deep dish, add the Art Institute of Chicago and the Obama Presidential Center in Hyde Park, with The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago on the Magnificent Mile or Arlo Chicago near Millennium Park as the base. Our Chicago guide from a former local covers the rest of the city. Florida's Space Coast is about 45 minutes to an hour from Orlando International Airport, close enough to land in the morning and be on the beach that night if a launch is on the schedule. Spend a day at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, then book a morning charter out of Palm Bay and an afternoon of surf in Cocoa Beach. Each fall, the Fall is for Foodies program has local restaurants running prix fixe menus and dining deals into late October, and the Launches & Lagers Beer Trail ties the breweries into one passport, with a mission patch for collecting the stamps and watching a launch. Our Space Coast guys trip guide explains how to plan around the launch calendar. Loreto sits between the Sierra de la Giganta and the Sea of Cortez, and October and November are when the summer heat eases while the days stay warm. Stay at Villa del Palmar at the Islands of Loreto and spend a day fishing the Sea of Cortez from a 23-foot panga with Danzante Tours. Day two is golf at TPC Danzante Bay, the only course in Mexico in the PGA Tour's TPC network, where the 17th hole plays out above the water. Day three is for the desert, on an ATV or a day trip to the historic Jesuit mission at San Javier. Our reasons to visit Loreto and Loreto hotels guide cover the rest of the town. Sonoma County pairs more than 50 miles of Pacific coastline, redwood forests and the Russian River with harvest season at the wineries. Walk Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, play Bennett Valley Golf Course, then taste at St. Francis Winery, Rodney Strong or Benziger Family Winery. The beer drinkers get Russian River Brewing Company, and nights can run to Graton Resort & Casino, which books nationally known comedians and musicians. Portland, Maine brings coastal air, fall foliage and a walkable downtown full of lobster rolls, oysters and breweries, from a ferry ride through Casco Bay to tastings at Allagash Brewing Company. The Westin Portland Harborview is a good base camp, with Football Sunday specials at Congress Squared, the hotel restaurant, and DJ sets at Top of the East, its top-floor bar. Fall also brings back hockey season, so add a game with a loud local crowd. Desert golf season opens in the fall, when the heat breaks and resorts price below their winter peak. Four places make the shortlist. In Scottsdale, Boulders Resort & Spa quotes fall rates about 40 percent below winter and spring, and the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess sits beside TPC Scottsdale. Tucson, the first UNESCO City of Gastronomy in the United States, pairs desert golf at JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass with a crawl along its Sonoran Dog Trail. Greater Palm Springs cools to highs in the 70s to 90s in October and November, with the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA WEST and 36 holes at Indian Wells Golf Resort, next door to Tommy Bahama Miramonte Resort & Spa. Las Vegas puts desert courses a short drive from the Strip, so the group can play in the morning and hit the tables at night, and our Las Vegas guys trip ideas cover where to stay. Every pick above leads a longer list, and the right one depends on what the group wants the weekend built around. The football roundup covers 21 cities, from Soldier Field in Chicago to Notre Dame in South Bend and the blue turf in Boise. The smaller-city list runs from Buffalo Trace in Frankfort to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green and the reenactment weekends in Vincennes. The mountain roundup runs from the Tetons to the Poconos, with the elk rut, three Oktoberfests in New Hampshire and some of Montana's top fly-fishing rivers along the way. The warm-weather list covers the Keys, Baja, Puerto Rico and the desert, while the Europe list runs from Iceland's first northern lights to Oktoberfest in Munich. The wine roundup pairs its tasting rooms with something for the beer drinkers, from Russian River Brewing to rooftop football in the Hudson Valley. Experience the ultimate guys getaway at Hard Rock Punta Cana with all-inclusive dining, massive casino, luxury suites, and vibrant nightlife options. A. Erazo of Las Verandas on planning a Roatán guys trip: villas over hotel rooms, Black Pearl golf, sunrise fishing charters and what first timers get wrong. ManTripping: Men's Travel and Lifestyle Blog for busy men who love to travel. Promoted by FlowAds Promoted by FlowAdsWhat Do You Call Your "Guys Trips"?
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Frankfort, Kentucky - Buffalo Trace And A Bourbon Tour By Boat
Chicago, Illinois - Architecture, Football And Fall On The Lakefront
Florida's Space Coast - Rockets, Charters And Surf
Loreto, Baja California Sur - Golf And Fishing On The Sea Of Cortez
Sonoma County, California - Redwoods, Russian River Beer And Harvest
Portland, Maine - Casco Bay, Allagash And Hockey Season
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