Attended 2024's Oktoberfest, which was held on four (4) consecutive weeks in September through October in the Anthony Wayne Recreation Area near Bear Mountain State Park. Admission was free and there was a $15 ($11 online) fee for parking. There was a short parking lot entry wait when I arrived at around 2pm on a Saturday. After scanning your parking pass, you are then directed to park on the (mostly gravel) parking lot. From there, it is a short walk across the parking lot to the entrance. Security does a quick check on bags before allowing you in. Lots to eat and drink here with a variety of food trucks on site, as well as lots of beer as expected. The food prices range from $8 snacks to $15 meals. Beer ranged from a $7 cup to $20 refillable mug to $30+ refillable stein. The lines can be long at times so plan ahead. I'd expect earlier visits would shorten those wait times significantly. One worker did mention that due to a weak wifi signal in that area, the credit card readers were taking very long to complete transactions. It took me about 3 tries and 5 minutes to pay for my beer. There were a few activities like cornhole, jenga, axe throwing (fee) and live music. There were also some kids activities (bouncy house)...not sure if there was a fee for that. read more

Bear Mountain Oktoberfest - Festivals Near Me - Bear Mountain, New York

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It's been a great ride with this place always had good food and drink and vendors not to mention the entertainment. But hate to say after 34 years they have cancelled the event this year "2025" and they don't plan on returning. read more

A bit shocking, to be honest. We were nervous when we saw that it was an Oktoberfest celebration and some of the featured food was jerk chicken and Belgian waffles, but we figured we'd give it a shot. The good thing is that it was pet friendly. The VIP experience (which we wouldn't normally do but it was a birthday celebration) was incredibly overpriced and really surprisingly bad. The food was pretty bad (the wurst was mediocre, the potato pancakes terrible , and things like the red cabbage tasted like it came from a jar), they only had 2 types of beer (Spaten and Spaten Oktoberfest). The Stein and shirt were fine and "VIP parking" was nice but none of it was worth the money. If I go back again I definitely would not pay for the "VIP experience" since it felt like anything but VIP. I'd consider trying it again and paying as I go, but not sure. Very disappointing overall. read more

I was excited to attend my 1st Oktoberfest.... From reading the site it seemed to be a super fun event. I was greatly disappointed when I got there. The food was satisfactory nothing to drive 2 hrs for and the event was a bit boring. There was not many food options. I would though give it another chance next year and hopefully there's more and a bit more for kids read more

Location was not at Bear Mountain as we expected per the name, so there is no beautiful setting. Instead, it was at a big, recreation area. We drove 50 minutes to this event and it was a total letdown. From the people to the food (Perogis to waffles), everything was a letdown. Maybe our expectations were too high, and that's on us. I will and on a positive - the beer was delicious. I hope everyone else had fun, but for us, this was not worth it. It was more of a carnival-style-event, than an Oktoberfest event. read more

After 34 years Bear Mt decided to cancel this event for 2025. The group that managed this event after the plandemic really messed up. They couldn't get cars parked in a timely manner and traffic backed up onto the Palisades Parkway creating a dangerous situation. Trying to force attendees to use their phones, digital wallets and credit cards instead of CASH was a huge inconvenience. And the beer was all crap too, the authentic german brews on tap here at prior to covid never came back. Most of the vendors were absent last 2 times I went so I knew this event was destined to fail. read more

Moving it from the beautiful lakeside near the zoo, carousel, peddle boats, etc. to a parking lot with nothing to see or do was the death knell. read more

Terrible Oktoberfest. Long long lines for beer and terrible food. Barely any vendors and not by lake anymore. Would not go back.

I was very excited to stay here, but the disappointment was evident very early. This room was sub par and needs to be taken out of rotation as it is awful. There were red droplets on the shower curtain and once you are able to close the bathroom door, you cant move because the bathroom is beyond tiny. The green light on the exit sign stayed on all night and you can't sleep. There was a stain on the blanket and gunk in the sink. I was also surprised to see a spider in the tub, and the tub is the size of a cereal box. My check in was 9/28/24. read more

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Awful Octoberfest. Only thing I liked was the music. Limited vendors. Food choices were meh. But what really got to me was the Bouncy House charged $10 per child. The guy says they can go on as many times as they like, but the lines were outrageously long, kids cutting the line. No organization. Not enough activities for kids. Definitely an adult affair. Ice cream in a bubble cone was $14. Not family friendly. read more

The food was not good, a real insult to Germany. Half the vendors weren't even German! The location is really was the worst part, this used to be on a lake and you could walk to the zoo. There's just really not enough to do in this location to justify the parking fee. They should really make an effort to make better German food and get better vendors. read more

Awesome weather. Food was good bit a bit pricey. Fun filled day. Beer was good. Mikitary folk and hardware was a kool touch. I felt that a couple of the vendors were snobbish especially the Stein and shirt stand where this person( unfriendly) seemed more intent in letting us know she owned all the beer stands. Over all the wife and I had a good time. Yours truly Ozone Park retired. read more

So much fun! Great food ,music and decent mini vendors at that sell ptetty god mercants

Worst one ever - I have been going for years. The food in the VIP tent was cold. Spatziel was mushroom soup with a small noodle - definitely not spatziel. Servers did not keep the sternos on so the food was cold. Muddy everywhere - no cardboard or anything put down. Potatoe pancakes are burnt and cold. No soda was put out for non-drinkers/designated drivers. 5 cans and that was for everyone. Less food and desserts than in other years. No German chocolate cake. Even though we paid for the VIP had to walk in the rain to get waffles. No vendors showed up. Bear Mountain should not have required us to come on this day. Should have been rescheduled. The servers did not clean the tables at all. They just stood around complaining if they had to walk to get more food. I would never pay to go again. So wrong of the organization to not cancel/reschedule. Overpriced and poor at best. Mud was up to our ankles - higher than our shoes. Shame on you for not rescheduling. You owe us free tickets. So disappointed. If I could have rated this less than one star - I would. read more

The music was fantastic - they were called Alpine Squeeze and many people were up and dancing while they played. The problem for me and my group was the LONG WAIT for the food. It was only served at 2 locations, which was ridiculous for all those people. We waited in line to order for 45 MINUTES. The food that we had was great, but they had run out of potato pancakes, stuffed cabbage and perogies when it was our turn in line. Ugh. Get the food organized! read more

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The Oktoberfest is Exit 17 on the Palisades Interstate parkway. Don't follow the signs or the website. It will take you to the Recreation area where the Merry-Go-Round is and that is it. Once you get to the right place there is plenty of parking. There is German style foods; chicken schnitzel, bratwurst, red cabbage, pierogis, giant soft pretzels, hot dogs and chicken fingers as well. Sodas and water are under the tent where the food is. There are several beer vendors. Spaten, Shock Top, and other brands. The souvenir steins are refillable for a modest ($12.) one stein is quite a bit of beer, though. Glasses of beer are also available. There is a bandstand with German music, vendors, beanbag toss games. It is kid friendly. read more

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This is just not the real deal anymore. Loved going to it year after year while it was by the lakeside. Awesome times, views, hikes.. an all around great day each time. Came to the new location, and it's just sad. Hanging around a parking lot field, no views to speak of.... unless trees and a large parking lot do it for you. Better off finding breweries or towns doing their own thing. Bring it back to the lake side! Sure it seemed like a hassle traffic wise at times, but the payoff was good. read more

What a cluster f*ck!!! We went on 10/11/15 and it was PACKED like sardines. In order to buy food and drinks you need to buy tickets. 30+ minutes later then we had to fight our way through the tightly packed lines (with a double stroller btw)... Once we made out way to the back of the food line which was out by the road I purposely times myself for fun... 45 min just to get to the food tent... Then another 20+ minutes zig zagging in the tent to reach the food... Just the "German" food, NOT INCLUDING PRETZELS or BEER!! The location was way too tight of a space to hold all those people... Here's an idea to the ppl who put on this event... Put it back at Bear Mountain State Park and if you run out of parking spots, have people park at the Anthony Wayne Rec Area and bus them into Bear Mnt!!! Never again will I return if it's at AWRA. read more

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I wanted to go on a day road trip to take photos of Bear Mountain fall foliage. To entice my friends along I mentioned there was an Oktoberfest going on but we had to leave early in the morning. We were excited to try something outside of our routine, and were actually shocked at the number of people also wanting to try something different. It was as if everyone in the Hudson Valley wanted beer. Although we arrived as the festival started at noon, the line into the parking lot was almost a mile long probably from both directions. Oktoberfest got more and more filled as the day went on. The first round or two of beer was manageable, but after that, all the beer lines were about 20 minutes long. No wonder everyone brought their own huge beer steins to fill (larger, cheaper and why not get one for each hand?). We are doing that the next time we come. The crowd definitely reminded me of a weekend night in Hoboken fratboy-land, without the yahoos and cat fights. Girls were waiting in line at the guys rest rooms. What made up for all the lines were the stunning fall foliage, clouds and sun on the lake. Everyone was clicking photos and sending them which was probably why the cell towers were overloaded and barely functioned at all. We skipped the food lines that were longer than at Disneyland, and headed up to the glorious mountaintop for stunning views all the way to Manhattan. Then after a long traffic jam of cars on the parkway trying to get to the roundabout and into the front entrance of the park, we got to West Point and ate without a wait. Bear Mountain Oktoberfest was a fun festival and worth the hassle, but probably not every year, so everyone please stay home in 2015 ;) read more

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I wish I could give zero stars. Since they moved it out of the Bear Mountain grounds, they took all the entertainment out of it too. Our day was ruined. You can no longer walk around and enjoy the nature, the lake, the views of the mountains. Literally nothing for kids either. No Belgian waffles we loved to buy. The food is substandard, even worse than it was before covid. You are not even allowed to bring in a bottle of water with you, but have to stand in lines to buy one for $3. Longest lines everywhere - to buy beer, to buy food, to buy water. The grounds are fenced and not nice looking. Reminds more of a livestock corrals. We will visit the Bear Mountain again, but not this disaster called Anthony Wayne Recreation area. read more

--Bring your own stein or otherwise pay $25-29 for one (the first fill is included). If you bring your own, its $12 for a fill. --Lines get super long, like long circa when Furby just came out at Walmart, so do yourself a favor, and like others said, get back on line when you're half empty so you can get a new glass as you are finished. It's actually just one endless cycle. Buy one, sip, get back on line, empty, fill, repeat. --They do have picnic tables and BBQ pits so I mean you can bring your own smorgasbord to eat and drink if you really wanted to, but the prime, hip tables get taken fast so go early. --The parking also fills up I think before the sun even rises so best of luck with that ish. I had my Pops drop me off and I was golden ponyboy. Oh and dont be a jackass that parks on the goddamn parkway... really people?! here are over 3 different lots. Just wait a damn 10 mins in line and you'l get a spot within the park. Otherwise I have no pity if you get bumper brushed... Ya own fault fool. --The so-called German food sold here is a joke. It's run of the mill type deli crap you buy anywhere,but if you are hungry after drinking like a burly Visigoth, go for it I guess. It's a bit overpriced, hence why I say bring a fanny pack with some slimjims and go-gurt. -- If you get bored, you can always venture into the zoo also via the underpass tunnel. Only open til 4 or so but hey, ANIMALS ARE COOL!!!!!! --When its under 55 degrees, bring a jacket, scarf, gloves etc. It's right by Hessian lake and when the breeze comes off that water, holy hell, you'll be able to cut glass. I think early in the season you can still do paddle boats but that might only be in Sept I'm not sure. --Also, don't invite Louis R to go with you bc then he'll act all manly and chug two steins, Louis He-Man Woman Pimpin style and try to swim the lake to impress you. Then you'll have to show him who's boss and jump in to save him when he gets a cramp, and hope that his stream of tears doesn't increase the volume of said lake and cause some sort of freak tidal wave, and drown all the drunk patrons of the German cultura....Goddamnit it Louis, keep your pants on!!! read more

The band was the best part. Food is good, but really no ambiance. This is essentially a field of grass with tents and an overpriced bounce house. read more

I've been coming here for years (actually decades now) and there's a reason why I love celebrating Oktoberfest in Bear Mountain The atmosphere is fantastic. It's very laid back, fun and family friendly. There's plenty of cool local kiosks that set up shop here every year and there's always something cool to buy. The selection of nuts and candies for sale here is always solid. I'm not sure if the overabundance of native American shops really reflects the German/Oktoberfest feel, but it doesn't detract from the experience. The view here is fabulous and it's always nice to take a little walk around Hessian lake if you're looking to get a few minutes of peace and quiet from the hustle and bustle. This place gets very crowded quickly and if you want to get a decent parking spot (which you need to pay a park fee of $8 for) - you'd better get here pretty early. My only gripe is that the actual German food is average at best. The bratwurst and knockwurst (for example) are all mediocre and is obviously churned out quickly for mass consumption. But the star here is the abundance of beer and definitely buy a (or bring back your old) giant steins so you can qualify for the beer refill price which is pretty good. I'll be back next year, and the year after ... and after .. read more

Bear Mountain Oktoberfest - Oktoberfest - Festivals Near Me - Bear Mountain, New York

I went with my family expecting something great given last years reviews but it was disappointing. There wasn't any child friendly games or even a bounce house. It says family friendly but in reality it's only family friendly 12 and up. read more

Worst Oktoberfest I have ever been to. DO NOT GO!! Terrible parking full of rocks that can damage your car. Food over price and terrible. Nothing to do or see. I will never go again to this dumb. They used to host a wonderful Oktoberfest in a different location. Here it's honestly a waste of time and money and if you have children there is nothing for them to do. What a shame how they have ruined this event. Very disappointed. read more

I am so saddened they relocated the Oktoberfest from The Bear Mountain Inn to the Anthony Wayne Rec Area. We had been going several times a year when it was at the Inn. The location couldn't have been more perfect. Although crowded, you really felt like you were in a small village in Germany. The lake, the grounds, the leaves aglow.... really was like being in the old country. Now, it's under a tent next to a huge parking lot with a surface similar to that of the moon. And don't even get me started on the ridiculous ticket system. I am not taking anything away from the staff, they do work very hard to please. But We will never return to Anthony Wayne. Would give 0 *'s for location if I could. If you want to attend a tailgate party, go to a Giants or Jets game. An Oktoberfest it ain't. read more

I came here with some friends after a hike and it was okay. Not super packed with people but there was definitely a crowd. Food was super expensive as you can imagine; bratwurst was $7, four pieces of pierogi was $5, combo plates seemed to have been worth it though I think. I got spaetzle and potato salad which were $3 each and a decent amount of food. There were plenty of areas to sit and chat too. I didn't get any beer but there were plenty of choices! A nice place to have a look but I wouldn't go out of my way to come here and I definitely wouldn't buy anything here as everything is super expensive. read more

Bear Mountain Oktoberfest - Festivals Near Me - Bear Mountain, New York

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October is my favorite month but celebrating Oktoberfest on September is something else. The sight and sounds of German-inspired stage performance by talented artists are awesome. The German-inspired beer and food within your reach are delicious. All of this combined with a lot less crowd and a lot cleaner portalets is... great! I am becoming less and less beer drinker and enjoying more the fanciness of the wine but that doesn't mean I will skip a cup/glass of beer and good chats with friends. Prost! read more

One of my favorite Oktoberfest festivals in the area. we really enjoyed this festival. There was a German band playing Polka music and dance. The German food was authentic, though there is a long wait in line. it's not expensive. The beer collection is big and as you would expect the beers are amazing. It's surrounded by mountains and the whole family can enjoy he festival as there is a playground with inflatable games for kids. read more

Bear Mountain Oktoberfest - Festivals Near Me - Bear Mountain, New York

I'm kind of bummed out that I never got to experience Bear Mountain Oktoberfest pre-Anthony Wayne Recreation Area. I've heard great things about how it was back then. Unfortunately, I only know of what it's like at the Anthony Wayne Recreation Area now - 40-50 minute waiting times on lines for both drinks and food, and endlessly searching for a place to sit. Fortunately, though, I found Porto-Potty alternatives when I walked up a bunch of stairs and found park bathrooms (go here if you can!). Unfortunately, I probably will not be back to Bear Mountain Oktoberfest :( but, hey, I got a pretty cool looking stein to take home. Prost! read more

Huge mistake moving this event to Anthony Wayne Recreation Center. This area doesn't have the logistics to handle the amount of people attending. This is especially error-some since the Bear Mountain area does have the capacity to handle the crowd. Over an hour wait to just get INTO the parking area. A stain on an otherwise good event. Skip it until it's moved back to Bear Mountain! read more

Awesome festival! What's awesome: -Beer -Pretzels bigger the your head -Beer -Beautiful scenery -Beer -Live Music -Beer I could not think of a better venue (other than Munich, Germany) than Bear Mountain, to have an Octoberfest! The fall scenery is absolutely stunning! The area that the park is in, has a pond next to it and is surrounded by tree covered mountains. If you like German beer this is the place for you and if you like massive amounts of beer your in for a treat. Make sure you get one of those huge one liter mugs to fill with a beer of your choice. I had a few of the König Ludwig Dunkle, which is a nice darker German beer, but the Warsteiner Octoberfest beer was also pretty good. They did have beer from other breweries (that I would consider semi-craft beer) like Brooklyn Brewery and I think I saw a Magic Hat beer, but don't quote me on that. The food isn't that great... It's more about production than anything else, so don't expect anything spectacular. However, the giant Pretzels are definitely worth it! The live music is what you expect from an Octoberfest, German polka type music. After a few liters of beer, I kind of got into it, especially when the played Sweet Caroline. It's definitely a cool spot to check out. I know some people that will go every weekend, but I think once a year is enough for me. read more

Bear Mountain Oktoberfest - Yes!!!! - Festivals Near Me - Bear Mountain, New York

We went yesterday, a perfect fall day. Apparently everyone else thought the same, and the festival was not prepared for us. Traffic was horrendous, spilling into the highway. Turns out it was because of the inefficiency of the of the parking attendants. Letting one car in at a time at a snails pace, into the giant parking lot with ample space. This is the first year they had someone at the gate checking bags and sending people back to their cars if they brought food or even a bottle of water. We brought a bunch of food as we did every year, so this was a problem for us. But fine, if that's the rule, we abide by it. The issue was the lines for food and beer took at least an hour to get through. When you have small children you cannot wait one hour on a line for food. Absolutely ridiculous. They won't allow outside food or drink but were not properly prepared to provide food or drinks when we have no choice but to pay for it. This year they skimped on a lot, very few vendors, no Belgian waffles or corn as we expected. Another thing, the porta-potties were inside the gates this year, pretty gross and took up a ton of space. They used to be outside by the parking lots in the past. We brought a big group of over 30 people, and raved to them about this event. Needless to say everyone was extremely disappointed and won't be returning next year, and we feel like fools. read more

Come here for a good time, but watch your stuff. -Come early or you will have to park far far away, unless it's raining. -Get there early if you want to get a picnic table. -Bring your big ass stein or buy one and fill it up at the many beer gardens. They take credit cards! -Start to line up for beer when you are about halfway done with yours so you will be empty by the time you get to the front. -Don't put your jacket down somewhere unguarded as my friend's wife got her jacket and wallet stolen, but later found the jacket near a garbage can, without the wallet. -The bratwurst is delicious, or maybe I was drunk, or maybe both. -People are very friendly, or maybe just really drunk. -Live Deutsche music is fun to dance to when you are drunk. -The toilets are quite nasty and it's unfortunate because you will be using it a lot. Overall, a fun time, just remember to have a DD and watch your stuff. read more

Bear Mountain Oktoberfest - Bring snacks that go good with beer - Festivals Near Me - Bear Mountain, New York

40-50 minute wait to get in from the highway. 30-45 minute long lines for food and beer. Water and soda are only available at the tables that sell beer. Food, beer, and music are good, but not worth the waits. Also very little for children to do despite what the wesite says. Not sure if this is different from earlier years, but definitely not worth it as it is now. read more

I wish I could give this negative stars, yes it was that bad. 35 minutes waiting to get in to park, we had prepaid the parking. The food was maybe the worst shit I had ever eaten, it took 30 minutes to get through the line for a knockwurst that tasted like cold bologna. The line for the beer initally was only about 10 minutes, by the time I wanted a 2nd beer the line was at least 30 minutes long, so I skipped it. The selection of beer was pitiful. Spaten, Spaten Octoberfest, and a couple of other equally forgetable beers. 4 vendors, selling crap. A band that sucked. Their games consisted of 2 games of cornhole. It was laughably bad except it cost $82.00 for 2 people. There were dozens of people that complaining, and leaving early.m Save you time, money and energy, it really was that bad, maybe even worse. read more

Festival has now been moved to the anthony wayne rec area due to better parking. Was in a nicer location before around the lake. No matter what still same festival. Great people and fun vendors. Food for sale is ok. The band is different each day and has been great. Fun traditional oktoberfest music. The beer selection is great. Beer is sold in cup or stein. Big tip if you buy in stein form they charge you for stein. They do refills in their stein for cheaper price. They also let you bring any size stein from home and only charge you a refill price. read more

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3.5 Stars! Well, this is our first time visiting the Bear Mountain Oktoberfest so we can't really compare it with the previous year's event. We were here on a cold Sunday afternoon. After reading a lot of the bad reviews here on Yelp, we thought the event is going to be really crowded but well, it wasn't that crowded when we were there. The line to get the food & beers weren't that bad. Maybe it was a cold day, not that many people wants to hang around at an outdoor event. It's expensive but we had a great time with our friend here eating, having some beers, while listening to some live music. The parking wasn't bad. We didn't have to look for a parking space. The parking lot is huge! Plenty of empty space when we were there. Wish they sell more beers other than just the Warsteiner. Well, we don't think we'll be coming back again this year to this event but next year, maybe we will... read more

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my husband and I drove from Long Island with another couple and rented a hotel thinking this would be a full day affair. we walked in and was like "where is the rest?". this is advertised as the largest Oktoberfest and was one of the smallest I have ever been too. very little vendors who weren't quite ready at opening. I was looking forward to a pumpkin beer! Nope, no pumpkin beer! only pumpkin cider which I tried but didn't like at all....really had heart set on the beer. ok, so now my other 2 things I really wanted was kettle corn and perogies I did get the kettle corn and that was amazing as it was freshly made there!!! so yummy!!! moved on to the perogies which I couldn't believe were nothing more than your typical boiled frozen Mrs. T perogies. They should have been fried! my husband couldn't wait to have the bratwurst and it was cold! my friends got perogies and potato pancakes. they had same opinion of perogies and the pancakes were all grease! we were def disappointe. we made the best of it but left by 2pm! went to a local brewery! don't advertise as being the largest when it clearly is not even close to that. finished walking and looking at everything in under an hour. sorry, just being honest!!! read more

I went to the Bear Mountain Oktoberfest for the 1st time this past weekend, so I can only talk about my experience at the Anthony Wayne location. First off, the trails around here are weak. There aren't many trail signs. In addition, the peak elevation doesn't seem to be that high. In regards to the actual festival...I recommend going early. My friend and I went early to hike and by the time we got back down it was around 11:45 and they were already letting people in. The place is a ticket system ($2/ticket). Refill of steins are $12. They have a small selection of draft beers (pilsners, oktoberfests, wheat beers, dunkels, etc...) The refill prices are worth it, especially if you buy a stein there ...I believe the steins they sell are 1L because i brought my own 3/4 L stein and the one they were selling looks bigger. The food was mediocre at best. Wasn't impressed with the spaetzle. The spread is interesting...and they do have vendors on the outside area near the beers while the german food is located in the middle underneath a tent. Early on, it's easy to get beer and food because there are no lines. However, by noon, the place picks up and gets busy. read more