As Cardinal News reported, in December 2023, a handful of Wintergreen homeowners watched their doorbell cameras catch something none of them could explain: a broad-shouldered, hair-covered figure ambling past their houses, sitting on patio furniture, disappearing back into the woods. The clips spread through neighborhood group chats and then onto Facebook. The Wintergreen Police Department started fielding calls. For a day, the mountain had a genuine, unsolved mystery on its hands.
It ended the way most mountain mysteries do. Someone posted a photo of oversized footprints in the snow, the prints led somewhere specific, and the department quietly confirmed the whole thing was a hoax without naming the resident behind it. Neighbors had their suspicions. Nobody said it out loud.
The Blue Ridge Bigfoot Fest debuted in September 2024, came back bigger in 2025, and returns for its third year on September 26, 2026, free to enter from noon to 7pm with an expert speaker series, live music, artisan vendors, and chairlift rides down to Checkerberry Cabin sold separately (chairlift tickets run $12 for ages 13 and up, $8 for ages 6 to 12, and $5 for resort lodging guests and current season pass holders, with kids 5 and under riding free). It's a strange, specific piece of local history for a festival that a lot of visitors will assume is just generic Halloween-adjacent programming.
Wintergreen's fall calendar is spread across several sources, and dates can vary by page.
Checking Wintergreen's Fall Chairlift Dates
Search for "Wintergreen fall foliage chairlift rides 2026" and you'll likely land on an event page still live on the resort's own domain listing scenic rides on October 11, 12, 18, and 19, timed around what reads like last year's Oktoberfest weekend. That page remains indexed, although its dates are from a prior season.
The dates that actually apply to this year come from a different source: a regional roundup of Mid-Atlantic ski resort fall programming published in late August 2026, which lists Wintergreen's 2026 Colors of Fall scenic chairlift rides on October 10, 17, and 24, with the October 17 ride landing squarely on Oktoberfest weekend.
| What You Might Land On | What's Confirmed for 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Colors of Fall rides | Oct 11, 12, 18, 19 | Oct 10, 17, 24 |
| Overlaps with | Not specified | Oktoberfest (Oct 17) |
| Source freshness | Undated event page still indexed from a prior season | Published Aug 30, 2026 |
The two pages list dates for different seasons. If you're planning a weekend around foliage from the chairlift, check whether the page you're reading is for this fall or an earlier one.
Oktoberfest Moves Its Stage This Year
Oktoberfest itself is confirmed and specific: Saturday, October 17, 2026, running the resort's fourth annual celebration with live music, artisan vendors, axe throwing, and alphorn performances that carry across the mountain. Pricing follows the same structure as the Bigfoot Fest's chairlift add-on: $12 for ages 13 and up, $8 for ages 6 to 12, $5 for resort lodging guests and current season pass holders, and free for kids 5 and under.
The one genuine change for 2026 is where the music happens. The stage moves off its usual spot and sets up just below the terrace on Upper Dobie, which means the sightlines and the walk from parking will feel different even if you've been to the last three Oktoberfests. Bring your own chairs or a blanket, since seating isn't provided at the new location.
Because this date now overlaps with a Colors of Fall chairlift ride, October 17 is shaping up to be the single busiest Saturday on the mountain this fall. If you're the kind of resident who'd rather see the foliage without a festival crowd around it, the October 10 or October 24 ride dates are the ones to book instead.
Halloween on the Blue Ridge Express
Later in the month, the resort runs its Spooktacular Haunted Chairlift Rides from October 29 through November 1, sending guests down the Blue Ridge Express after dark past Halloween scenes staged along the slope before they land at Checkerberry Cabin for fireside drinks, treats, and family-friendly activities. It's become enough of a fixture that longtime residents plan their trick-or-treating and their haunted-ride night as two separate outings rather than one, since the chairlift event runs on its own evening schedule distinct from any neighborhood trick-or-treat timing.
The Corn Maze Doesn't Answer to the Resort's Calendar at All
Drive down off the mountain to Blue Toad Hard Cider in Roseland and you'll find the Blue Ridge Mountain Maze running an entirely separate fall operation, unconnected to anything on Wintergreen's own event page. This year's hours run Fridays from noon to 6pm in October and November, Saturdays from 10am to 10pm, and Sundays from 10am to 6pm, with the five-acre maze joined by farm animals, a night maze for the Saturday evening crowd, and live music on Saturdays alongside Blue Toad's cider on tap.
It's easy to assume the maze and the resort's fall festivities are part of one coordinated season because they're a five-minute drive apart and both show up under "things to do at Wintergreen." They're run by different operators on different clocks. A weekend that looks quiet on the resort's calendar can still be a packed Saturday night down at Blue Toad, and vice versa.
Building Your Own Weekend Instead of Borrowing One
None of this means the fall calendar is unmanageable. It means you may need to check several listings: the resort's current ticketed events, older resort pages, and Blue Toad's separate weekend schedule down in Roseland. Knowing which is which is most of the work.
If you want a quiet foliage ride, October 10 or 24 beats October 17. If you want the festival energy, October 17 gives you Oktoberfest and a chairlift ride in the same afternoon, plus whatever's happening at the maze that same Saturday night if you're willing to make it a full day off the mountain and back on. If you're chasing a specific memory from a specific festival, check the page's publish date before you build a plan around it. The resort's website is one source, so compare its event listings with the current dates before you commit.
That kind of detail, knowing which version of a place is the real one right now, is the same instinct that matters when you're trying to understand what a property here is actually worth versus what an old listing or an outdated comp says it's worth. If you're weighing a move at Wintergreen or Roseland, or just curious what your place on the mountain could sell for this fall, Sherry Millard has spent two decades sorting the current picture from the outdated one. Get Your Instant Home Valuation to see where your property stands today.
