Day trips under 3 hours from Long Island to take this fall

A tank of gas and a bucket list are all that's needed for a fall day trip packed with novel experiences less than three hours from Long Island.

Here are same-day excursions to the legendary home of fiction's headless horseman, an iconic seaport across Long Island Sound and museums dedicated to preserving 200-million-year-old dinosaur tracks and the life and legacy of a New York Yankee catcher.

Sleepy Hollow, New York

DRIVING DISTANCE FROM MELVILLE: 1 hour 

Sleepy Hollow is anything but sleepy in autumn. The charming Hudson River town, which officially changed its name to Sleepy Hollow from North Tarrytown 30 years ago, celebrates Halloween inspired by an Early American horror story — Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

Irving’s classic short story almost comes alive in an 18-foot-tall sculpture depicting the Headless Horseman chasing Ichabod Crane. It’s located a few feet from the bridge where, according to legend, the horseman hurled his pumpkin head at the timid schoolteacher (located near 362 N. Broadway). For more Irving lore, guided tours are available at Sunnyside, the National Landmark Hudson River home the author designed and lived in for over two decades (3 W. Sunnyside Lane, Irvington, 914-366-6900, hudsonvalley.org; $20, $16 ages 3-17).

Pumpkins light up the night at the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, returning for the 22nd year with 23 illuminated carved pumpkin displays including classic movie monsters and storybook characters. Stop along the trail for beer or cider at the Gourd & Goblet Tavern, an 18th century pub, or for popcorn, a Halloween treat bag and photos with your “headless” host at the Headless Horseman's Hideaway (Sept. 20 and 25-30, Oct. 1-31, Nov. 1 and 6-8, Van Cortlandt Manor, 525 S. Riverside Ave., Croton-On-Hudson, pumpkinblaze.org; $24 for Blaze, $42 includes the Hideaway, $64 includes the Tavern).

Another annual event, Twilight Village at Sleepy Hollow, recreates the Sleepy Hollow of Irving’s imagination, featuring arts and crafts vendors, storytellers, fire performers and a sound-and-light show in which “the Headless Horseman makes a dramatic appearance re-creating his midnight ride,” says Karen Clark, director of marketing for Historic Hudson Valley (Oct. 2-31, Philipsburg Manor, 381 N. Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, 914-631-8200, hudsonvalley.org, $25-$35).

Little Falls and Paterson, New Jersey

DRIVING DISTANCE FROM MELVILLE: 1 hour 

Yogi Berra, Alexander Hamilton and comic Lou Costello are among the famous figures celebrated in these neighboring communities that also are noted for one of the nation’s biggest waterfalls and a vibrant farmer’s market.

Little Falls, New Jersey

A Little Falls visit ain’t over till it’s over with a stop at the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center. Exhibitions explore the “character, humility and values” of the malaprop-prone but beloved baseball star whom museum interim executive director Eric Longo called “an inspiration on and off the field." Through September, a temporary exhibition highlights Berra’s meetings with every U.S. president over a 70-year period beginning with Harry Truman (open Wednesdays through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m., campus of Montclair State University, 8 Yogi Berra Dr., 973-655-2378, yogiberramuseum.org; $10-$15).

“We’re a small town with a lot of history,” Little Falls Mayor James Damiano says of the community founded in 1711, which still bears traces of the 100-mile Morris Canal that ferried goods through town in the 19th century. Little Falls’ Main Street features small restaurants such as Ethan & the Bean cafe and coffee shop, which Damiano says is “a nonprofit run by people with disabilities” (98 Main St., 973-826-9880, ethanandthebean.com). Just off Main, the bustling Little Falls Farmers Market attracts up to 40 vendors and 2,000 shoppers to taste and/or buy microbrews, gluten-free baked goods, empanadas and more, Damiano says. “One of our biggest hits is actually our pickle guy, who does all kinds from spicy to different flavors,” he says (open Sundays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., May to October; 225 Main St., littlefallsnj.gov).

Paterson, New Jersey

Visit one of nation’s largest waterfalls in the community founded in 1792 by then-U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. The Great Falls that so impressed Hamilton, with a 77-foot plunge into a 300-foot-wide Passaic River chasm, are now the pride of Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park (72 McBride Ave. Extension, 973-523-0370, nps.gov; free.)

Paterson also honors a local hero at Lou Costello Memorial Park, where a life-size bronze statue of the classic movie comedian titled “Lou’s on First” pays homage to his iconic “Who’s on First” routine with his partner-in-comedy, Bud Abbott.

 
Rocky Hill, Connecticut

DRIVING DISTANCE FROM MELVILLE: 2 hours 

Close your eyes and let your imagination run wild — if not the dinosaurs themselves — at Dinosaur State Park, the museum that preserves one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America.

"The discovery of these dinosaur tracks 60 years ago unexpectedly transformed a construction site into one of Connecticut's greatest scientific and educational treasures," says Emma Cimino, Connecticut State Parks acting commissioner.

The moment you pass the park gates, you’ve entered a mini-Jurassic World — albeit minus the rampaging T. rex. A path painted with three-toed dinosaur tracks leads to a geodesic dome under which 750 dinosaur footprints have been preserved in place. Inside, a diorama depicts land animals from the Triassic period; a life-size model of Dilophosaurus, the giant carnivore believed to have left the prints, looms overhead. (400 West St., 860-529-5816, ctparks.com; park grounds, picnic area, nature trails and arboretum open Mondays to Sundays 9 a.m. to 30 minutes before sundown, exhibit center open Tuesdays to Sundays 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; $6, $2 ages 6-12, free for children under 6)

Kids can learn about geology firsthand while mining for gemstones and fossils ($10 to $38 per bag of mining rough, for sale in the bookshop) and make casts from actual dinosaur footprints (free, but visit the website for a list of materials you'll need). Take a hike through the 60-acre park’s arboretum, which is filled with conifers and other plants from the late Triassic period, when dinosaurs ruled Connecticut.

Mystic, Connecticut

DRIVING DISTANCE FROM MELVILLE: 2 hours and 30 minutes 

FERRY FROM LONG ISLAND: An hour and 20-minute Cross Island Ferry ride from Orient Point to New London, Connecticut, and a 10-mile drive east to Mystic.

Take a deep dive into New England’s maritime industry, culture and history in the former shipbuilding center.

Nowadays, “Mystic is a foodie destination,” says Christophe Regan, manager of Olde Mistick Village, an open-air shopping center where dozens of independent shops sell hot sauce, tea, Scandinavian imports and other goodies (27 Coogan Blvd., 860-889-3793, oldemistickvillage.com). Inside, Jealous Monk, the village’s European-style beer hall, serves 32 draft beers and double-cooked Belgian frites in a beer garden warmed by a firepit.

Downtown dining options include Mystic Fish Camp fish shack (4 E. Main St., 860-984-6545 , mysticfishcamp.com), Mystic Park Ice Cream (10 Cottrell St., 860-326-8822, candyfudgeicecream.com) and — movie fans, take notice — Mystic Pizza, the pizzeria that inspired the 1988 Julia Roberts romantic comedy hit (56 W. Main St, 860-536-3700, mysticpizza.com).

For another slice of local history, visit the Mystic Bridge Cultural District, where Mystic Drawbridge has been opening once an hour for maritime traffic for over a century and Mystic Seaport Museum showcases whaling exhibitions and a seaport village (75 Greenmanville Ave., mysticseaport.org, 860-536-4941; $25-$35).

Nearby, Mystic Aquarium houses thousands of species of marine mammals, fish and reptiles. It’s also introduced a new Pathways to the Deep STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) attraction with interactive experiences featuring electric boats and a virtual immersive submarine deep dive (55 Coogan Blvd., 860-572-5955, mysticaquarium.org).

If you’d rather be immersed in crisp autumn air, the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center offers 10 miles of birdlife-filled trails and exhibits on the region’s habitats and wildlife (109 Pequotsepos Rd., 860-536-1216, dpnc.org; $10, $7 ages 3-12).