Yakima, WA – 9/17/25

The Yakima Valley was selected as the sixth best place to visit among twenty communities in the USA TODAY 10 Best Destinations for Fall. The selection was done by online votes casted by USA TODAY readers and the public between August 11th and September 8th.

The USA TODAY 10 Best is a travel and lifestyle section of USA TODAY, focusing on twenty expert recommended choices and selected winners chosen online by viewers, with the top ten receiving recognition. For the past two years, the Yakima Valley has been featured as a top wine destination, ranking number four this year and as the winner in 2024.

“We're excited that the Yakima Valley has been recognized as a great place to visit in the fall given our many harvest events and celebrations, great weather and fall beauty,” said Yakima Valley Tourism CEO John Cooper. The Yakima Valley the only community in the top ten from the Western U.S. This is the third time the Yakima Valley has been recognized by the USA TODAY 10 Best programs. Earlier this summer the Yakima Valley placed 4th best wine region and in 2024 it was awarded first place wine region.

The 2025 top 10 winners for best place to visit for fall are:

1. Mackinac Island, Michigan
2. Rochester, New York
3. Lafayette, Louisiana
4. Gatlinburg, Tennessee
5. Allegany County, Maryland
6. Yakima Valley, Washington
7. Saratoga County, New York
8. Sleepy Hollow, New York
9. Branson, Missouri
10. Burlington, Vermont