Hunter Mountain's Oktoberfest Isn't Called That Anymore

If you searched for Hunter Mountain's Oktoberfest dates this week, you probably got at least two different answers. One site has it starting in late September. Another lists a single weekend in October. A third still calls it Oktoberfest at all, which, as of this year, isn't technically true.

The mountain renamed the whole thing. What used to be one sprawling Oktoberfest weekend (sometimes stretched to two) is now a three-weekend series called Colors in the Catskills, and the operator's own 2026 materials spell out exactly what that means: First Leaves on October 3 and 4, Authentic Oktoberfest on October 10 and 11, and Costume Takeover on October 17 and 18. If your plans are built on what you remember from a few years back, or on the first search result that came up, you may be working from an outdated version of the schedule.

What Colors in the Catskills Actually Is

This isn't a rebrand in name only. Hunter Mountain's own 2026 tip sheet describes it as a refreshed format built around three distinct themes rather than one long beer-and-pretzels weekend repeated three times. Live music, craft and food vendors, and the steinholding competition carry over from the old format. So does keg rolling. So does the Scenic SkyRide up the Kaatskill Flyer, which is worth doing regardless of which weekend you pick since it's one of the more reliable ways to see full-color foliage from above without a hike.

What's new, according to the mountain's own materials, is hayrides added into the family-activities mix, plus a clearer separation between the three weekends so each one has its own identity instead of blurring together. The steinholding competition still functions as a qualifying round feeding into the New York State Steinholding Championships, so if you're the type who takes stein holding seriously, that hasn't changed. Neither has the Doxie Derby, the dachshund race that's become the festival's most photographed five minutes.

Three weekends, three themes: First Leaves (Oct. 3-4), Authentic Oktoberfest (Oct. 10-11), Costume Takeover (Oct. 17-18).

Why the Old Name Is Still Everywhere

Here's the part that actually matters if you're planning around this. A handful of travel round-up sites and event calendars are still running last year's framing, calling the whole run "Oktoberfest" and, in a few cases, listing dates that don't match what the mountain itself has published for 2026. One widely shared list has the event starting the last weekend of September. Another treats "Oktoberfest" as a single weekend rather than the full three-week arc. Last year's event, for comparison, kicked off the final weekend of September. This year's version doesn't start until October 3, and it runs a week later straight through.

None of that is a knock on anyone trying to keep a calendar current. Festival branding changes fast, and most sites that cover it are working from whatever press release they found first. The practical takeaway is simple: if you're the one hosting out-of-town family or planning a Saturday around this, check huntermtn.com directly rather than the first aggregator that shows up. Admission to the festival itself is free across all three weekends. The Scenic SkyRide is the one thing you pay for separately, and VIP packages that bundle a T-shirt, a mug, and priority boarding on the SkyRide line have historically run in the range other Vail Resorts properties use for similar add-ons.

Three Weekends, Three Different Nights Out

Splitting the format into three themes changes how you'd actually plan around it, since each weekend has a different center of gravity.

1. First Leaves (Oct. 3-4) leans into early foliage and functions as the quieter of the three, better suited if you want the SkyRide and the mountain views without fighting the biggest crowd of the run.
2. Authentic Oktoberfest (Oct. 10-11) is the one that keeps the steinholding and keg rolling front and center, and it tends to land closest to peak color and the fullest water flow at Kaaterskill Falls, which makes it the weekend most worth pairing with a falls hike if you're only doing one.
3. Costume Takeover (Oct. 17-18) closes the run with a lighter, more playful tone heading into the second half of October.

If you're picking one weekend rather than three, that middle one does the most double duty.

The Rest of the Calendar Doesn't Pause for It

Part of what makes early October in Greene County worth planning around is that the festival isn't the only thing running. The Catskill Farmers Market at 145 Water Street keeps its regular Sunday hours, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., through the last Sunday in October, which this year lands on October 25. That's produce, dairy, honey, and baked goods from the same growers who supply a lot of the county's farm-to-table kitchens, and it's a good stop the morning after any of the three Hunter weekends if you're staying local overnight.

A week from now, on Sunday, September 13, the Mountain Top Arboretum is running one of its forest bathing sessions, led by Beth Rennig, a certified Forest Therapy Guide who also holds NYSDEC hiking guide credentials. It's a 90-minute slow walk through the arboretum's 200 acres of meadow, wetland, and forest at 2,400 feet, registration is ten dollars, and space is limited. It's a different kind of fall Saturday than a festival weekend, but it's the same season and the same few square miles.

Where to Eat Before or After

Tannersville's Main Street sits close enough to the mountain that it works as a natural stop before or after any of the three weekends. Mama's Boy Burgers is the straightforward option if you want something fast and casual. Deer Mountain Inn, tucked into the woods just outside the village, is the better call if you want to sit down for fireside dining after a cold ride on the SkyRide.

Also on that same Main Street is Brave the Flames, a newer counter-service concept from Chef Chris Arquiett built around a simple idea: keep overhead low, keep technique tight, and let the food carry the price point rather than the atmosphere. If you want the more polished end of the county's food scene instead, Restaurant Matilda leans into the farm-to-table approach that's become standard across Greene County kitchens, sourcing from the same growers you'll see at the Catskill Farmers Market. And if you'd rather not leave the mountain at all, Van Winkle's Restaurant sits right inside the base lodge, which is the easiest option on a weekend when you'd rather not get back in the car.

None of these are exotic finds. They're the same Main Street most Greene County residents already drive past. The point isn't discovery, it's knowing which one fits the specific Saturday you're planning.

The Actual Takeaway

The rename itself is a small thing. What it's really testing is whether you're planning your fall around the mountain's current schedule or around what a search engine handed you first. Three themed weekends instead of one long Oktoberfest changes which Saturday is worth the drive, and the surrounding calendar, the farmers market, the arboretum walk, the handful of restaurants on Tannersville's Main Street, hasn't changed at all. It's still running exactly like it does every October. The festival just finally caught up to it.

If you're the kind of person who tracks details like this because you actually live here and plan your weekends around them, that instinct tends to carry over well when it's time to think about a home in these hills instead of just a Saturday in them. Daisy Blair has spent 26 years working Greene County and the surrounding Catskills, and the same attention that goes into knowing which festival weekend to skip is the same attention that goes into pricing a mountain property correctly. If that's a conversation worth having, Let's Connect.