Our Fall Getaways Section helps you plan for family fun!

  

Dear Family Travelers:

 

Sure you're busy this time of year. But take a day or a weekend to enjoy harvest season, wherever you live. You'll find lots of ideas in our new Fall Getaways section.

 

Wherever you go this September, support "Dine out for No Kid Hungry" and help end childhood hunger. All you need to do is stop by any of the thousands of participating restaurants and take part-just $1 can connect a child with up to 10 healthy meals. Just plug in the city or zip code here and you can find plenty of restaurants to choose from.

 

Here are more ideas:

 

-- Go apple picking, to a pumpkin patch and finish the day on a hayride. It's easy to find a u-pick farm with Family Travel Forum's directory of orchards and pumpkin patches near you.  Go pick pumpkins with Farmer John in Half Moon Bay, CA or Apples at Middlefield Orchard.

 

-- Head to a free fall harvest festival. There's the 50th anniversary of the National Harvest Festival in Gettysburg, PA the first two weekends in October, the chance to celebrate all things cheese at the 100th Anniversary of Cheese Days in Monroe, WI Sept. 19-21; The next weekend, the World's Largest Cranberry Festival is held in Warrens. Celebrate all things Gumbo at the Louisiana Gumbo Festival Oct. 17-19 in Chackbay, LA.

 

-- Celebrate Oktoberfest, that German ritual that dates to the 1810 wedding of Bavarian King Ludwig. In Germany, the whole month showcases local beers with community dinners where kids are always welcome. Several U.S. towns with German heritage celebrate in the US, tops among them being Oktoberfest Zinzinnati which draws 500,000 Samuel Adams fans to Cincinnati September 19th to 21st for the Running of the Weiners dachshund races. Breckenridge, CO hosts the largest Octoberfest in the Rockies the weekend of Sept. 12where local Breckenridge Brewery ales are served (local families come Friday and Sunday afternoons.) Just an hour from New York City, Bear Mountain hosts an annual Oktoberfest that runs weekends through Oct. 27, featuring German food and beer and plenty of traditional entertainment.

 

-- Get out and play in the leaves. Go for a bike ride, a hike or try a zipline or even obstacle course. (Here's what I wrote about a recent experience in Vermont.)

 

-- Go camping before it gets too cold. (A lot of KOA Campgrounds have cabins!) -- Get into the back country without lugging all the gear you need by staying in the Appalachian Mountain Club's huts in New Hampshire; Stay at one of their lodges and you can borrow whatever gear you need.

 

Just make sure the water bottles are filled!