Fall is in the air! Penn State football is back at Beaver Stadium, students are back on campus and in school, the nights are getting cooler, and pumpkin spice season is in full swing across Happy Valley.

It’s one thing to walk around State College and take in the sights, smells, and sounds of Penn State’s campus and the downtown. But it’s another to be transported by your own personal tour guide who makes the journey entertaining and informative — not to mention restful and nice and dry! Enter Vamos! Lion Chariot, a locally owned and operated pedicab service.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote that “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” That sentiment can certainly be felt in Happy Valley when the arrival of Penn State students, thousands of football fans, and the refreshingly cool weather brings a renewed energy and reasons to get out and explore! Here are some of our favorite family adventures coming up in the next few months.

Visitors who travel to Happy Valley know that hotels and lodging fill up quickly during football season and special event weekends. It’s important to plan ahead, but it also helps to know all of the options that are available in State College and the surrounding areas. Centre County offers plenty of traditional hotels, bed and breakfasts, and lodges. Some of the lesser-known establishments offer breathtaking views and serene farm or forest settings.

Elevated on a hill overlooking busy College Avenue, the Centre Furnace Mansion has witnessed a lot. Now serving as the Centre County Historical Society’s (CCHS) headquarters, the mansion offers a glimpse of what life was like when Happy Valley was just beginning to develop.

Philipsburg is distinctive in many ways: the town’s forefather, Hardman Philips, was exiled to “the wilderness town” after taking part in a duel in England. Before that, Hardman’s brothers, Henry and James, both of whom died young, “lured” settlers to the unimproved lands by good old-fashioned false advertising.

Fall is my favorite season in Centre County, and I make no apologies for it. Football’s back, with all that comes with it: tailgating, grilling, seismic cheering at Beaver Stadium. Apples and pears and a beautiful array of root vegetables flood our farm markets in a final burst of harvest abundance. Sweaters and vests come out of storage as sweaty Summer slides into frosty Fall.

Enjoying Happy Valley’s farm-fresh ice cream is a great way to cool off with a sweet treat (or two) when the summer heat kicks in. Check it these delicious options.

There is nothing like experiencing gameday in Happy Valley – the tailgating is second to none and Beaver Stadium is the most electric atmosphere in all of college football. But if you’re making the trip out to State College, why not make a long weekend out of your football trip?