12 Fall Date Ideas to Kick Off the Season in Upstate South Carolina

Are you looking for fall date ideas near Greenville, SC? If you’re hoping for a date that represents the season, you’ve come to the right place.

Dates are fun and necessary for healthy relationships. Now that the temperatures are dropping, it’s time for some festive, fall-themed dates. Give them a try for family date activities, daddy and daughter/son dates, mother and son/daughter dates, romantic couple dates, or any combination thereof.

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

Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) Date

Is anything more fall than the delicious aroma and taste of a pumpkin spice latte? Grab frothy, steaming cups of fall in liquid form, turn off all electronics, and talk until the drinks are gone. You can visit the national chain that made the PSL famous or check out one of the Upstate’s many independent coffeehouses to sample their take on the recipe.

Apple Date

Apple picking is fun. There are many great orchards in the Upstate and within a short drive that allow guests to pick their own apples. If you’re unable (or unwilling) to do the hard labor, at least find a roadside stand offering the delicious fall fruit and support our local farmers.

Not sure where to go? Read our guide to U-Pick 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’s Cider Co. has six hard ciders on tap and you can order them as a flight — definitely worth doing if you love hard cider.

Fall Leaves Date

One of the best things about living in the Upstate is the changing of seasons. You can take a day trip up to the mountains to view the artistry in expanse, or just a drive around town to see 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 it in your scrapbook alongside 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 Spartanburg and enjoy the bounty of the fall harvest. The Saturday market runs from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., April through November, at Northside Harvest Park at 498 Howard St. There’s also a downtown pop-up on Morgan Square on second Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., May through October. Pick up fresh, local ingredients and make an entire meal from nothing but your finds. Be sure to 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, just outside Greenville in Piedmont. 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.

Madworld’s 2026 season kicked off on September 4. Nights fill up fast as Halloween gets closer, so check the schedule on madworldattractions.com before you go.

Fall Festival Date

Go as a couple or take the whole family to one of the many fall festivals near Greenville. These gatherings celebrate apples, pumpkins, harvests, and all the other wonderful things that the fall months offer.

The wonderful thing about fall festivals in and around Greenville is that they are outdoors (for the most part) so they’re a good opportunity for your kids to be loud or run around.

Dinner and a Movie Date

Let a movie and a meal whisk you away for the 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? Those are fun, too!

You can grab pastrami sandwiches from your favorite deli and cue up When Harry Met Sally or 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.

Escape Room Date

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 must figure out how to escape a themed room 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. It’s also a fun indoor option when the temperatures start to drop.

Got some time for a day trip? Head down to Columbia for Escape Productions’ Spy Game. It’s a unique take on the escape room-like puzzles that will have you outside investigating real places in Columbia. Read our review below.

Bonfire Date

If at all possible, take firewood, kindling, and 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 s’mores 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!

Thankful List Date

Fall reminds us to be thankful for the 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. 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 on a pumpkin-themed date. You can pick your own pumpkins, carve pumpkins, paint pumpkins, roast pumpkin seeds, bake 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 to get you started.

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 that fall has to offer. Enjoy your dates!

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