November sees the United States celebrate Thanksgiving and get ready for the festive season ahead. Twinkling lights are strung up, sweaters come out and the focus shifts to the great indoors. You can still catch the last of the autumn colours in the Great Smoky Mountains. The weather in Arizona and Texas is mild enough for one last hike. And high in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado skiers are beginning to hit the slopes. For adventurous travellers, November in the US is a month of endless possibilities.

Nashville in November is all about the annual Country Music Awards. The biggest names in Country descend on the Bridgestone Arena for a glittering night of music, tears and celebrations. The real action, however, is found in the bars and clubs around town where labels host charity events, listening lounges and showcase events featuring up-and-coming stars. Honky Tonk Highway and Lower Broadway are great places to start but the backstreets of SoBro and Gulch are worth exploring too.

Birdwatchers and nature lovers will want to visit Socorro in November when thousands of stunning sandhill cranes descend on the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge as they migrate south for the winter. You’ll witness one of nature’s great spectacles as these elegant birds dance and sway and languidly take flight over this fragile wetland in the New Mexico desert. At the end of the month (or in early December) the town holds the annual Festival of the Cranes, a celebration that features workshops on birding, photography and mindfulness.

Locals will tell you that November is the sweet spot for visiting New York during the holiday season. The temperature is not yet bracing; the streets are less crowded; and the department stores have unveiled their gorgeous Christmas window displays. Most of the seasonal markets have also opened and the famous Radio City Rockettes' Christmas Spectacular kicks off in the middle of the month. Then there’s Macy’s Annual Thanksgiving Parade, a breathtaking cavalcade of awe-inspiring floats and balloons, famous around the world.

Love this? Follow us on Facebook for more travel inspiration and expert tips

Every November the Gaylord Hotel in National Harbour holds ICE!, a magical display where beloved Christmas classics are brought to life with larger-than-life ice sculptures. Master ice carvers from Harbin in China descend to chip away at 1,000 tonnes of ice to create scenes from festive tales like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, The Grinch, A Charlie Brown Christmas or The Polar Express. The temperature never gets above 12°C (9°F) but cosy blue parkas are provided to fight the chill.

If the delightful weather is not enough to draw you to Scottsdale in November – temperatures range from a very agreeable 11-25°C (51-77°F) – then there are plenty of other activities guaranteed to tempt you. The McDowell Sonoran Preserve is gorgeous this time of year, offering stunning wilderness hiking, biking and horseback riding. The city’s famous Desert Botanical Garden is in full bloom. And the world’s best filmmakers and actors are in town for the annual Scottsdale International Film Festival.

Here are 24 of the best things to do in Scottsdale

November marks the start of the dry season in Florida’s Everglades, with many regarding it the best time of the year to visit this vast subtropical wetland. The dry conditions and lower temperatures mean fewer annoying insects like mosquitos and biting flies. And as the water levels drop, wildlife sightings become more common. You have the best chance of getting a snap of one of the Everglades' elusive alligators or crocodiles if you go on a ranger-led tour.

What better place to celebrate Thanksgiving than on the very spot it all began? Plymouth, of course, is where the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621, after the Mayflower made land here. Now a whole weekend in November, usually just before Thanksgiving, is dedicated to celebrations, feasts and festivals, culminating in America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Parade. Rich in historical traditions, the parade is regarded as one of the best Thanksgiving parades. And definitely worth rugging up against the Massachusetts chill to witness first hand.

November is the ideal time for a leaf-peeping road trip through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee. This region is one of the last places in the US that leaves reach their peak colour, meaning this perennial favourite is ablaze with yellow, orange and red. The national park is also very close to Dollywood and its Smoky Mountains Christmas spectacular that lights up every November too. It’s been voted America's Best Christmas Event for more than a decade.

Sitting on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River in northeast Missouri, the tiny city of Hannibal is the site of Mark Twain’s boyhood home. His adventures here as a young boy heavily influenced his books, most notably Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and the house now serves as a museum to his life and his work. Twain was born on 30 November 1835 and each year the museum marks the occasion with an “Old-Fashioned Birthday Party” (that’s his 70th birthday party pictured). Games include Pin the Stache on Twain, Hide the Button and Musical Moustaches.

The Sonoma Valley may be less famous than the Napa Valley but that means you get more grapes and more space, especially in November. The vines are turning red and yellow, the 19th-century adobe buildings that surround Sonoma’s central plaza glow in the autumnal sunshine, and the annual Wine & Food Affair is in full flow. Drop by the valley at the end of the month and you could catch the wonderfully quirky Geyserville Tree Lighting and Tractor Parade of Lights.

Skiers keen to hit the slopes in November should head to Arapahoe Basin in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. The runs here have among the highest summit elevations in the US and the resort is often the first in Colorado to open to the public. In a good season A-Bay, as it is known, can be the first place in the country to offer lift-served powder turns. Make sure you check out ‘The Beach’ right next to the frontside lifts. It’s home to parties, reunions and just gatherings of old friends and new.

It’s a given that you’re not going to Seattle for sunshine in November. It is wet and cold but then that’s what makes it such a great place to get cosy. Pike Place Market on the waterfront offers all kinds of warming autumnal treats like pumpkin pie lattes, crème brûlée Danishes and nourishing seasonal soups. Elsewhere in the city the comforting vibe continues with atmospheric candlelight concerts held in intimate romantic venues across town and tasting sessions at Seattle’s legendary urban wineries.

Wurstfest has been drawing visitors to the German-influenced Texan Hill Country town of New Braunfels every November since 1961. Touted as a “10-Day Salute to Sausage,” locals see it rather as ‘bonus’ Oktoberfest, where they get to celebrate their German heritage and culture in beer, song and sausage once again. Today over 100,000 people come from all over the world to “Sprechen sie fun!”

Southern charm: 50 cutest small towns from Texas to Tennessee

What’s not to love about Kauai in November? The temperature hovers around 23°C (73°F) every day and it's one of the most affordable times of the year for flights and accommodation. Then there’s the island itself. Emerald green and gorgeous, it offers stunning coastlines, epic surfing, delicious food and an interior full of canyons and waterfalls just waiting to be explored. Kayak around Hanalei Bay, marvel at Waimea Canyon and dine on the freshest seafood. You’ll soon forget that winter is just around the corner.

Every month is saturated with festivals in the Big Easy and November is no exception. Time your trip for the Bayou Classic Parade (pictured), a jubilant street procession that's linked to the Bayou Classic – a hotly anticipated game between rival college football teams the Grambling State Tigers and the Southern Jaguars. You can also get your fill at the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival, which attracts the finest purveyors of the classic Louisiana sub, or get cultural at the annual New Orleans Film Festival.

Alabama's sugar-white shores are criminally underrated – and the chance for some winter sun and sand should be more than enough to attract you to this Gulf Coast city in November. Still, there's more to see besides. Seafood lovers should time their trip for the annual 'Experience the Oyster' festival, which showcases the finest Gulf shellfish, while the Frank Brown International Songwriters' Festival in neighbouring Orange Beach is sure to entice music buffs. 

Winter sun destinations you'll want to book now

You could visit Sin City at any time of year and find events and activities enough to pack out your calendar. And that's true of November, which sees Vegas begin to glitter all the brighter as it reigns in the holiday season. Beeline for the Ethel M Botanical Cactus Garden (in adjacent Henderson), whose annual Holiday Cactus Garden Lights show celebrates its 30th birthday this year. There's also SEMA, which originated as a car show, but now includes a stellar music festival that attracts names such as Wiz Khalifa and Imagine Dragons. 

Oregon's coastline – with its mist-hung forests, plunging cliffs and isolated, rock-strewn beaches – has no shortage of drama year-round. And, given that November is still at the tail end of whale-watching season, you might just spot these mammoth mammals frolicking off the shores. The Depoe Bay Whale Watching Center is one of the finest places to glimpse the animals and there are typically volunteers on hand to help you too.

While sister city Philadelphia gets a larger share of the love, Pittsburgh makes for a wonderful autumnal city break too. Rib-sticking comfort food such as fry-stuffed sandwiches and pierogis will ward off the chill, while November's Light Up Night firework display is an annual highlight. Meanwhile, you can dodge the rain in world-class art institutions such as The Andy Warhol Museum.

Utah's famous southern parks, including the mighty red landscapes of Zion, have had their struggles with overtourism in recent years –particularly in summer, when the site heaves under the weight of surmounting tourist numbers. Those who come outside of peak season, meanwhile, will be richly rewarded with quieter trails, lower temperatures and some eye-popping fall scenery. Check the NPS website for information on shuttles, which decrease through the season.

Now discover the rest of the world: where to travel in November