As summer comes to an end, many students around campus expressed excitement for the new semester and the swiftly-approaching New England fall. 

While most students look forward to spending the last few weeks of summer enjoying the warm weather and sunny days, many are also looking ahead to the fall, eagerly anticipating their favorite activities and sights. A number of students spoke to the News about the activities they are looking forward to during the months of September, October and November — a time some of them described as the most beautiful season at Yale. 

“The farmer’s market is autumn at its peak,” Nico Prescott ’25 said. “I go on Saturday mornings to buy the fresh soups and apples just coming from the orchard.”

The Wooster Square Farmers Market is a popular place for Yale students to visit. It takes place every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Elm City’s very own Little Italy and offers a wide variety of products ranging from local organic produce to seafood and specialty food items. 

For some, autumn’s sights are best manifested in the trees’ changing colors and falling leaves. 

“I love seeing the leaves on the trees in front of Sterling turn different colors over the semester,” Pranava Dhar ’25 said. “Walking out after a study session to those colors makes me happy.”

Sofia Manriquez ’25 said that taking a walk to East Rock, the hiking area and neighborhood close to campus, is another unmissable activity during the fall.

The greenery completely turns orange, red and yellow, she said.

“In the fall, a calming and beautiful walk is going up Science Hill and through New Haven suburban streets to Atticus Market, by East Rock,” Manriquez said. “The walk is beautiful in the spring too!”

Apart from the city’s natural beauty, the University’s campus also gets in the fall mood through the litany of themed festivities and activities that pop up around residential colleges. Last year, Saybrook College organized an Oktoberfest celebration where cookies and cider were offered. Students could also participate in pumpkin carving, cornhole and spikeball. This was capped off by a Bavarian-themed dinner featuring German potato dumplings, soft pretzels and apple strudel.

Some residential colleges, including Pauli Murray and Grace Hopper, organize trips to local apple orchards. Students can try their hand at apple picking, go on wagon rides and sample a wide variety of different apple types. 

The fall vibes also permeate through the local community as well, with several local restaurants and coffee shops tailoring their menus with pumpkin and cinnamon flavored specials. The Atticus Bookstore Cafe’s “French Toast Latte” and Donut Krazy’s Halloween-themed donuts make up some of the fan favorites, according to Valeria Daw ’25.

Another quintessential part of fall is Halloween. Celebrated on the week of Oct. 31, students dress up and partake in a variety of activities including trick or treating, the Yale Symphony Orchestra’s Halloween show, Hallowoads and local traditions like pumpkin carving. 

Additionally, fall also brings the beginning of performance season for many campus arts groups.

“I’m excited for the Yale School of Music’s concert season to begin,” Elisabetta Formenton ’25 said. “Especially because it’s going to be fully in person and the Horowitz piano series is back.”

Autumn officially begins on Sept. 22.