Fall is my absolute favorite season and I’m so excited that it is just around the corner. In the Carolinas, Fall is simply magical. The leaves turn shades of gold, copper, and red, the air is crisp, and the humidity finally lets up.
Even better, Fall is the perfect time for outdoor adventures. It’s still warm and the summer crowds have thinned. It is the perfect time to explore the outdoors with your friends and family. From backyard activities to guided programs, these 10 ideas are designed to spark curiosity and connection. I’ve included some links not only to MyOutdoorJoy but also to some you can do on your own or at parks.
Leaf Art Exploration
A simple walk in the woods or local park can become an art adventure. Find leaves of all colors, shapes, and sizes, and then create art together. Press leaves into journals, make leaf rubbing,s or create colorful mandalas. This hands-on family activity is a great way to learn about different plants and practice plant identification, all while making memories and keepsakes. Many North Carolina State Parks offer leaf rubbing programs to celebrate the start of Fall.
Stargazing
Autumn is an excellent time for stargazing, as it offers some of the clearest night skies of the year. If you live far enough away from a city, you can do this activity right in your backyard. However, if you live near or in a city, you might need to get away from the city at night to truly enjoy the night sky. Just think, you now have a reason to go camping!
If you’re headed out to stargaze, pack your blankets, binoculars, a hot beverage of your choice, and a comfy chair. Then spend the evening finding constellations such as Andromeda, Pegasus, and Cassiopeia. Don’t know your constellations? Don’t worry, there’s an app for that. Check out SkyView Lite. It is one of my favorites. You simply hold up your phone, and it shows you the constellation. Here’s an example of what it looks like.
Pro Tip: It’s fun to learn the mythology of these constellations, too. The three constellations I named above have a story involving a sea monster, a damsel in distress, and a mother’s betrayal.
Go On a Mushroom Hunt
Often overlooked, mushrooms and other fungi are essential to ecosystems’ health. After the Fall rains, mushrooms pop up everywhere! A guided walk is the best way to learn about these organisms. You can learn about their role in the ecosystem, identify them, and understand which are safe and which are harmful to humans, while seeing the variety available in nature. There are so many shapes and colors in these little-noticed organisms.
Be aware that many parks prohibit the harvesting of fungi. This activity is best done as a look-but-don’t-touch activity.
Bird Migration Watch
Fall is an exciting time for bird watchers. Raptors, waterfowl and songbirds are on the move. Check out this month’s blog for more information or visit Caesars Head State Park in South Carolina to participate in Hawk Watch at the end of September. Learn how the geography of South Carolina helps migrating raptors reach their destination.
Nature Sound Walk
Take a quiet walk into the woods and take a moment to listen to Fall’s sounds. The wind whistling through the trees, geese honking overhead, the sound of leaves crunching under your feet, and so much more. Take a moment to enjoy the silence. Then, for 5 minutes, listen to your surroundings. Map in your head where each sound came from, and then take a few minutes to reflect on what you heard. You can journal about your experience or create a sound map. This will help encourage mindfulness and observation skills. If you are doing this with children, I would suggest lowering the time to 3 minutes or less.
Autumn Scavenger Hunt
Create a seasonal scavenger hunt for your friends and kids to find. Items such as acorns and pine cones are easy to include, but to make it a bit more difficult, add items such as:
- A spiderweb covered in morning dew or just have them find a spiderweb (don’t hurt the spider!)
- An animal track
- Leaves in all the fall colors
- A flower that is still blooming
This list can be whatever you want it to be, and it can be as easy or hard as you can imagine. Have your kids create one for you or for their siblings. You can even turn it into a competition if you want by seeing who can find the most. Alternatively, make it a family activity where everyone contributes to finding something on the list. For such a simple activity, there are many ways to have fun with it.
Campfire Storytelling Night
Gather around a firepit in your backyard and spend a night telling ghost stories and legends. Reward yourself and your kids with a fun night of camping, stories, hot drinks, and s’mores without a lot of effort. Can’t do this at home? Many state parks offer fall campfire programs with rangers sharing tales from the region.
Don’t know any ghost stories? Don’t worry. You can join a ranger program, or if you want to do your own, there are a ton of books, videos, etc. out there with stories you can read or memorize. I like to make them up and see who I can keep awake that night.
Autumn Photography
Challenge yourself and your family to capture the beauty of Fall with a camera or smartphone. Look for textures, patterns or contrasts such as veins in a leaf, moss on rocks or reflections on water. Visit the Blue Ridge Parkway and/or the Great Smoky Mountains for stunning fall scenery and excellent photo opportunities. Or if that is too far away, walk outside and see what’s in your backyard.
Nighttime Insect Safari
Discover the hidden nocturnal world by setting out a white sheet and shining a light on it. This will attract moths and beetles to the sheet. See who shows up and observe their behavior. You can also use a field guide to identify the various moths. You will help your kids develop observational and identification skills and see how interesting these forgotten nighttime creatures are.
Leaf Viewing Roller Coaster Ride, Anyone?
Believe it or not you can take a roller coaster ride through the mountains of North Carolina to view the leaves as they are changing color. These alpine coasters are built into the terrain, offering a more intimate view of the trees and landscape. There are two in North Carolina that I am aware of: the Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster and the Blue Ridge Mountain Coaster. I’ve not done either of these but if you decide to try them let me know what you think!
Fall is the Season of Discovery and Change
The Carolinas in the fall offer endless ways for families to connect with nature. Guided programs offer expert insights and learning opportunities, while backyard and local park activities enable flexible, spontaneous adventures. Grab your boots, a thermos of cider, and your sense of wonder and head outside for some fun.
- About the Author
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I have worked in the environmental education field for over 20 years, including work at zoos, aquariums, nature centers, and now state parks. My goal over the years has been to help people connect with nature and the animals that live there. I love taking people who find nature scary or intimidating and showing them how fun it can be. I have worked with wolves, cougars, monkeys, snakes, alligators, and sharks. My mom keeps asking me why I work with predators so much. She wishes I’d work with bunnies instead!
I love reading, scuba diving, kayaking, and anything else that involves water. I am not much of a hiker, but I love sitting in the forest and listening to the wind. I will travel anywhere you want me to go, and I genuinely believe seeing how others live, and love is the best way to understand others. One of my favorite memories is when I was accepted into a wolf pack that I worked with as a teenager. Two juvenile males sandwiched me between them and gave me a hug-—nothing like being the middle of a wolf sandwich!
