Fall-ify Your RV Without Turning It Into a Hobby Lobby RV

My general rule is that thou shalt not unpack the autumn decorations until the day after the Labor Day Big Bear Rodeo comes to a close. Once the Big Bear Lake Rodeo Queen has been crowned, the cowboys have gone home and the last bale of hay has been hauled away, I consider summer officially dismissed. That’s when the wicker pumpkins come out, the orange-hued pillowcases take over the house and Leo the Norwegian Forest Cat, may or may not find himself wearing his festive orange-and-white bow tie against his better judgment.

This year, however, Mother Nature apparently didn’t receive my decorating schedule. Here in our little rural Southern California mountain town, we had the remnants of a tropical storm heading toward our valley, bringing the kind of weather that makes you look outside in August and think, Well, I guess we’re doing fall now. So I gave myself an executive exemption from the post-rodeo decorating rule and started dragging out the pumpkins early. Sometimes autumn doesn’t wait politely until after Labor Day. Sometimes autumn kicks open the front door while your inflatable backyard pool is still sitting there looking confused. Do you see me complaining?

Thankfully, we weren’t expecting the kind of winds that required pulling the boat out of Big Bear Lake or truly battening down the hatches. This is not Fort Myers, Florida. But there was definitely that unmistakable feeling that summer at 7,000 feet was packing its tiny suitcase and getting ready to leave. As bucolic as summers are here in Big Bear Lake, I am unapologetically one of those women who sees the first orange leaf and immediately starts searching for her UGG hiking boots.Give me crisp mornings, Black Oaks turning gold and the ability to hike uphill without sweating like I’m actively being slow-roasted, and I am ready for autumn.

This is also the season when Adventure Dog and I start heading into the forest ridiculously early because the Black Oaks look their absolute best when that gorgeous morning light hits them. I throw on one of my gently thrifted hiking rompers, lace up my boots and we’re in the wilderness while normal people are still drinking their first cup of coffee. Hiking without wondering whether I’m going to perish from heatstroke? What a luxurious concept.

The Motorhome Has Storage Compartments. I Have Pumpkins.

So yes, this year I will admit that the fall decor came out before the backyard blow-up pool had even been packed away. And because our big October vacation is basically one long Eastern Sierra leaf-peeping road trip, I knew some of those autumn decorations were coming with us in the motorhome. Before you can say oat-milk pumpkin spice latte, no, I am not suggesting everyone needs to bring six wicker pumpkins on a camping trip. But if you have enough storage compartments for six wicker pumpkins, I think we can all agree you’ve crossed a very important line from camping into glamping.

I’ll always love being that slightly smelly camper girl sleeping in the wilderness with Adventure Dog and my fantastic pop-up tent, but I’ve also learned to fully embrace motorhome life. Our beloved 1999 Fleetwood Storm is basically our twenty-five-year-old home away from home, and autumn is when I appreciate her the most. When you’re chasing aspens at 9,000 feet in October and nighttime temperatures start dropping into the twenties, suddenly four walls, a furnace and a bathroom that is not outside feel extremely glamorous.

Thrifting My Way Back Into Mother Nature’s Good Graces

That’s why my favorite fall RV decorating ideas are also practical. Yes, I want the wicker pumpkins and cute autumn pillow covers, but give me a giant fall-colored throw blanket that I can actually wrap around myself when the temperature plummets. My favorite fall Snuggie is obviously coming too. Will it smell like campfire smoke by approximately night two of a three-week RV fall road trip? Absolutely. By week two, will I smell like campfire smoke too? Also absolutely. That’s October camping, baby.

Meanwhile, chasing RV decorating ideas for fall does not have to mean going full bougie and spending half your vacation budget on decorative pumpkins. I picked up an impressive collection of autumn treasures at our local Dollar Tree last week, although here in Southern California in 2026, calling anything in that store a “dollar” has become more of a nostalgic reference than an actual pricing policy. Half the stuff seems to cost five bucks now, but we’ve all quietly agreed not to discuss the Dollar Tree fake news. Instead, we obediently fill our carts with Hello October oven mitts, five-dollar plastic fall-colored tablecloths and questionably constructed, made-in-China white pumpkin cookie jars that will obviously never see a cookie because they’re destined to hold treats for Vacation Dog. Then we hustle toward the checkout with our completely unnecessary autumn haul faster than you can say Pecan Maple Gluten-Free Cronut.

Is It Even Autumn If the RV Doesn’t Smell Like Pumpkin Spice?

One of the less glamorous realities of motorhome life is this: Why does the motorhome always smell like…motorhome? And dog butt. I swear you can’t get rid of that dog odor easily. Until now! Did you know you can make your dog smell like a Pumpkin Spiced Latte as well? Thank you to whoever invented Pumpkin Spiced Doggo Deodorizer from Shark Tank. You have made many It-Girls with Labroodles named Teddy very happy.

But back to oh God, where is that motorhome smell possibly coming from? You can clean every surface, open every window and swear you emptied the tanks correctly, yet occasionally that unmistakable Eau de Black Tank decides to make a surprise appearance. This is where autumn becomes my favorite season for cozy RV ideas, because suddenly it’s socially acceptable to make every square inch of your home on wheels smell like cinnamon, apples, cloves and a pumpkin pie exploded inside a craft store.

Let’s face it, if we are camping, that means I packed the motorhome fridge with camp food like my rustic Elk and Sweet Potato Chili. Did we pack the Fall Colors Febreze? Because the Smelly Campers are here! Camp farts happen. We all know it. And now I’m not talking about the dog. I buy autumn-scented Febreze like I’m preparing for a national pumpkin-spice shortage. By October, our Fleetwood is Febrezed into submission with scents that should probably have names like Finicky Squirrel’s Cinnamon Nut Stash. Whatever the bottle actually says, I want enough cinnamon floating through the motorhome that the black tank understands it has lost this battle.

And yes, buy the fall candles. Buy the apple candle. Buy the pumpkin candle. Buy the one that supposedly smells like an autumn cabin, even though apparently an autumn cabin smells suspiciously like four cats live there and Adventure Dog who may or may not have been eating donkey poop on the trails this morning. Just remember one very important rule about candles as fall motorhome decor: put every single one away before driving anywhere. Ask me how I know. There are few sounds less relaxing than hearing glass and candle wax ricocheting around the motorhome while you’re climbing a Sierra mountain pass. Secure the pumpkin spice before putting the motorhome in drive.

Cinnamon brooms and cinnamon-scented pinecones are another one of my favorite weapons against mysterious RV odors. I swear by them at home too—I even put cinnamon pinecones near the cat box. When Trader Joe’s rolls out the cinnamon brooms every autumn, I behave like someone just announced they’re being discontinued forever. I buy an unreasonable quantity and shove them anywhere questionable smells might congregate. Is thirteen cinnamon brooms excessive? Perhaps. Does the interior of my motorhome smell like a motorhome? No further questions.

Pumpkin Spice Happy Hour Is Still Happy Hour

Of course, making the motorhome smell like autumn is only half the job. Eventually, fall RV camping needs to taste like autumn too. After spending the day hiking beneath golden aspens, nothing beats coming back to camp, lighting the fire and wrapping both hands around something hot, spicy and perhaps just a little boozy.

A Pumpkin Spice Black Russian makes a dangerously delicious fall happy-hour cocktail, especially when the sun disappears behind the Agnew Pass at Silver Lake Resort, and the temperature immediately drops approximately forty-seven degrees. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with adding Pumpkin Spice Baileys to your late-afternoon coffee. It’s October. You’re on vacation. You’ve been hiking all day. Nobody sitting around your campfire is going to judge because this is vacation.

No autumn camping day is truly complete until happy hour begins around the campfire with a mug of something warm spiked with cinnamon, cloves or whatever homemade fall-spice concoction I’ve packed into the motorhome. Hot mulled wine is one of my absolute favorites after a long day of Eastern Sierra leaf peeping, which brings me to an extremely important pre-trip question: Did you pack the mulling spices? Please tell me you packed the mulling spices.

Forgot the Mulling Spices? Welcome to Camping in 2026

The good news is that camping in 2026 is substantially more civilized than it used to be. Depending on where you’re staying, many RV resorts and campgrounds will accept packages for guests, which means forgetting something doesn’t necessarily require driving forty miles to a tiny mountain market and paying ten dollars for a loaf of “fresh-baked” bread that appears to have been fresh sometime during the previous presidential administration.

Forgot the mulling spices? Ran out of Mrs. Meyer’s Acorn-scented Autumn cleaning spray? Apparently failed to bring the seventh wicker pumpkin required to complete your tablescape? Check your campground’s package policy and you may be able to have your forgotten essentials delivered while you’re traveling. This is modern camping at its finest. We may be parked in the middle of BFE surrounded by 10,000-foot mountain peaks, but heaven forbid I run out of apple-cider-scented organic countertop spray.

Dress Code: Aspen Chic With a Hint of Campfire Smoke

And finally, if you’re planning an October leaf-peeping road trip through the Eastern Sierra, don’t let all those Instagram photos of golden aspens beneath brilliant blue skies fool you. It gets cold. You’re camping in mountain country, often exploring elevations around 8,000 or 9,000 feet, and freezing nights, wind and even early-season snow can absolutely crash your autumn vacation.

This is why I pack my beloved fleece overalls for evenings around the campfire. I own them in three colors, and no, this is not excessive. It’s logistics. On a three-week fall-color camping trip, pair number one will smell like a forest fire surprisingly quickly. Pair number two buys me several additional respectable evenings. By pair number three, we’ve all accepted that everything in the motorhome—including Adventure Dog, my hair and probably the wicker pumpkins—smells faintly of wood smoke.

And really, that’s exactly what I love about fall RV camping. The motorhome is cozy, the cinnamon broom is doing battle with the black tank, there’s mulled wine warming on the stove, six completely unnecessary wicker pumpkins are taking up valuable storage space and tomorrow morning we’ll wake up and chase another grove of golden aspens somewhere down Highway 395. If that’s what happens when you Fall-ify your RV, then scoot over, Hobby Lobby. I’ve got this.