Visiting Sleepy Hollow During Autumn

I first picked up THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW when I was in the 3rd grade. Before then, I knew of the Washington Irving’s popular story because of Scooby Doo. The story became a Halloween tradition for me. Each year, I watched a movie on TV and read the book.

When I first moved to New York City 24 years ago, I figured it would be a matter of time before visiting Sleepy Hollow. Every year, something seemed to come up and take priority. Finally, I made taking the trip to Sleepy Hollow, even though it was a last-minute decision.

My son had a morning soccer game, so after his game, my 2 youngest kids and I made the trip from Queens to Sleepy Hollow. There was a lot of traffic, so it took a little over an hour to reach our destination. Since it was a last minute thrown together trip, I hadn’t planned out our visit. When we arrived, every touristy spot was sold out. Still, we had a great time.

We started our trip by visiting the man himself, Washington Irving. Washington Irving’s grave is located in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. The cemetery is beautiful and a great place to walk around and enjoy the fall colors. Tourists hoping to grab a great shot surrounded his grave. A key word that many travel writers love to throw around is “picturesque,” and the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is absolutely stunning and that term is perfectly suited to describe the graveyard overlooking the town.

Visiting Sleepy Hollow during Halloween means weaving in and out of crowds. Even with it being busy, people were pleasant and everyone seemed to have a great time. After we paid our respects, we headed to the Old Dutch Church, which is referenced in the famous story. The church and graveyard are supposedly the home of the Headless Horseman. The church alone is a historical landmark and was founded in 1685.

From the church, we made our way to the visitor center to buy some apple flavored popcorn, pumpkin flavored caramel, pumpkin flavored coffee, pumpkin scented candles, and a few other snacks that were pumpkin and apple related. We tried to get into the Philipsburg Manor, but as I said, everything was sold out. I’m definitely going to go back during non-Halloween time to visit the manor, Irving’s Sunnyside home, and Rockefeller’s Kykuit estate.

If you’re planning on visiting Sleepy Hollow, do just that, plan. If you’re wanting to head up and see beautiful colors, then do that too. I absolutely loved walking around town, visiting the graveyard, and finding out what I should do the next time I’m there.