By Sarah Wengert
On the heels of Labor Day tend to come those familiar fall feelings. As the kiddos head back to school and the leaves prepare to put on their colorful show, you may start to feel a yearning for sweaters and boots, a hankering for soups and pumpkin spice, a desire to tune into Sunday Night Football, and a sense that it’s time for a new adventure.
For travelers, it’s often the perfect time to pack up and pick a new travel nursing assignment, or at least start exploring locales for their next contract. In that spirit, we’d like to suggest some of our top travel nursing locations for fall 2022!
Port Angeles, WA
Head to the tip-top of the contiguous United States this fall for one of many incredible travel nursing jobs in Port Angeles. You’ll be rewarded with an awesome adventure and traveler-friendly facilities. With a population just over 20,000, this picturesque town sits at the entrance of Olympic National Park on the Olympic Peninsula. With its immense diversity of wildlife and intricate ecosystem, this overachieving national park is even designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve because it contains unique wildlife and wilderness not found elsewhere on the planet! Despite that ultra-high bar, outdoorsy types should also visit the stunning Hoh Rain Forest, Sol Duc Falls and Hot Springs, Ediz Hook, and Lake Crescent. The fall colors are absolutely captivating in this incredible landscape.
October brings Port Angeles’ famous, annual Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival. Stop by for bites, brews, music, vendors, Native American culture, art, dance, and tons more. If you prefer viewing marine life to eating it, this is also a wonderful spot for whale watching. Port Angeles sits on The Whale Trail, which runs from California through British Colombia. Plus, due to the relatively mild fall temperatures, you can hike, bike, kayak, and beachcomb all autumn long.
Culture lovers will be in heaven, immersing themselves in local art, theater, music, Native American culture, foodie fun, antiques shops, charming downtown strolls, and October’s annual Storytelling Festival. Twi-hards will want to make a pilgrimage to September’s Forever Twilight event in nearby Forks, Washington. Day trips are ample here. In fact, keep your passport handy in case you want to hop a quick ferry to beautiful British Columbia across the border in Canada.
In addition to Port Angeles, we’re seeing really great Washington travel healthcare assignments in Tacoma, Seattle, Wenatchee, Tukwila, Colfax, Renton, Silverdale, Bellingham, and Burien.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
If you’re all about leaf-peeping this fall, The Keystone State could be your key to an awesome autumn assignment. Travel nursing jobs in Pittsburgh are hot this year as the temps cool down and the fall foliage prepares to flex! In fact, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Pennsylvania has “a longer and more varied fall foliage season than any other state in the nation — or anywhere in the world.” The state’s exact latitude and elevation from sea level create this perfectly colorful storm. One look at Pittsburgh’s Instagram and you’ll become a be-leaf-er. But you’re a travel nurse, so you get to go see it for yourself! For the best fall hikes, strolls, and views, visit nearby Hartwood Acres, Moraine State Park, Frick Park, Emerald View Park, and the incredible Laurel Highlands.
The Golden Triangle is Pittsburgh’s city center hub, formed by the intersection of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers at a point where they join up and flow into the Ohio River. In this mix you’ll find the lively Strip District, Cultural District, and tons of riverfront fun. The city’s legacy of industrial wealth left a bundle of top-shelf Carnegie museums in its wake. Plus, Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Fallingwater is a less-than-an-hour’s jaunt outside town.
Pennsylvania has tons more wonderful travel nursing assignments this fall in Philadelphia, York, Allentown, Bethlehem, Camp Hill, Lancaster, Scranton, and many other locations.
Bakersfield, California
This highly underrated inland California city sits about two hours north of Los Angeles and about two hours east of the central California coast. October’s average high temperature here is 80°F, dipping to an average 68°F in November — so this is the perfect location for travelers who want to enjoy warmer temps this fall.
Bakersfield is also less than two hours from the majestic Sequoia National Forest. Even though the forest’s famed namesake trees don’t change colors, there’s quite the show under the canopy and throughout the foothills. Bakersfield’s also a major art and music hub. In fact, this city of 380,000 along the scenic Kern River has been dubbed The Country Music Capital of the West and Nashville West, due to famous locals like Merle Haggard and Buck Owens.
While we have tons of great travel nursing jobs in Bakersfield this fall, we’re also seeing hundreds of fantastic assignments throughout the state. Some other standout California locations for the season include San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, Merced, Monterey, Joshua Tree, Stockton, Redding, Santa Cruz, and many more.
Fort Wayne, Indiana
This midsized metro area offers midwestern charm plus all the trappings of big-city arts and amenities. Travel nursing jobs in Fort Wayne are plentiful this fall, and the cost of living is low, which is a wonderful combo for travelers. In fact, U.S. News & World Report ranked Fort Wayne the fifth-cheapest place to live in the nation, but it’s also ranked as one of the publication’s top 50 best places to live.
Fort Wayne experiences all four seasons and is known for having the perfect fall weather for autumn activities. There’s the Kuehnert Dairy Fall Festival on a sixth-generation farm on the edge of town, sure to excite kids of all ages with its oodles of pumpkins, cows and baby calves, hay rack rides, down-home games, delicious dairy, and more. They also have the state’s largest corn maze, at six acres, which gets a new theme each year. Star Wars was a favorite theme of years past, and for 2022: Super Nintendo! Then there’s the Fort Wayne Apple Trail and annual Johnny Appleseed Festival where you can visit the famous fruit-lover’s gravesite.
Fort Wayne, Indiana’s second-largest city, has a cool Cultural District that boasts the Arts United Center and Fort Wayne Museum of Art. Headwaters Park and its Hamilton Sculpture Garden are perfect for a fall stroll. Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory is another local gem, great for a visit just to explore or to attend one of its many events. The historic Old Fort is a must-see for history buffs.
Indianapolis, Valparaiso, Terre Haute, Columbus, Gary, and South Bend are a few other fun spots in Indiana for your fall 2022 travel nursing assignment!
Henderson, Nevada
Travel nursing jobs in Henderson are in high demand, especially for travelers who prefer mild temps year-round. This traveler-friendly city of approximately 310,000 sits just 20 minutes southeast of Las Vegas, giving you all the excitement of a world-class entertainment and dining destination, but at the same time a nice buffer from all that rowdy nightlife. Plus, Henderson has plenty of its own cultural destinations, live music, arts, shopping, and an incredible food scene.
With the area’s desert backdrop, you won’t find many of the typical pumpkin/apple/fall colors festivals in Henderson, but there’s more than just one way to do fall! (If you really must peep some fiery fall leaves, nearby Floyd Lamb Park and Spring Mountains National Recreation Area offer ample aspen, oak, and cottonwood trees.) Henderson is the perfect jump-off point to visit regional favorites like Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and the Colorado River. We’d also like to inFOREm you that the city is home to eight championship golf courses!
Las Vegas and Reno are two other wonderful locations for a fun fall assignment. Plus, smaller towns in Nevada often post travel nurse and travel allied healthcare jobs, too — and these assignments are often at facilities that could really use your extra help, skill, and talent.
We hope this group of top travel nursing locations for fall 2022 hit a bullseye for you, or at the very least, inspired you to find the perfect spot for your unique wants and needs. If you’ve got your sights set on a location we didn’t mention, no worries at all. Medical Solutions has tens of thousands of open jobs, with new listings going up every single day! Maybe you’ll decide to flock to the iconic swan boats of Boston, slide on down to uber-cool New Orleans, or cheer for the home team from college football mecca Madison. Whatever you choose, we’ll be here to help you every step of the way. Search all travel healthcare jobs now to find your perfect fit and apply today to get started.