Fall Outdoor Activities to Try Before it Gets Too Cold

Let’s face it, a snowy walk is only going to last as long as it takes for your nose to freeze off (or for you to start sweating like you’ve packed a sauna inside your snowsuit.) Before that winter chill and this year’s return of the Polar Vortex sends us all scurrying for cocoa and central heating, let’s make sure to get outside and enjoy the last of 2014’s temperate weather. Here’s a few great outdoor activities for those last weekends before the chill hits.

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Go Boating:

One of our most loved outdoor activities involves getting on the water. If you live in a land where lakes turn into potential skating ponds during winter, this may be the last few weeks to enjoy the landscape from a marine view. Ditto to you oceanside readers; winter storms and surges make nautical activities less relaxing and more dangerous, so it’s best to go out while the weather lasts. If you’ve got a recreational lake nearby, get some friends and hop in a paddleboat or canoe - these are great outdoor activities that offer a way to view the fall foliage. Or, take yourself in a kayak for an hour blissfully away from everyday life- just make sure you take safety precautions, like wearing a lifejacket.

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Start Your Exercise Routines:

In just a few short weeks, we’ll all be banished to the worlds of treadmills and indoor pools, thanks to winter’s inclement temper. If you’ve been a little sluggish on your exercise, fall is the perfect time to start a low-key jumpstart to your routine. The beautiful colors and brisk breezes of autumn are a perfect way to turn the dreaded workout into a pleasurable experience. Start small and enjoy yourself outdoors, so that when you have to transfer to indoor work-outs, you’ll be in better shape and less self-conscious about gym workouts.

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Enjoy a Picnic:

Summer picnics get all the good publicity, but fall picnics are an underrated pleasure. For one thing, you’ll have to worry less about mayonnaise spoiling, sunburn, and bees stinging! Fall picnics are great for foodies, because you’re not limited to cold-only foods. A warm quiche, thermos of cocoa or chamomile, and a great fall fruit salad make for a hearty, delicious, and seasonal picnic.

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Stargazing:

It’s tougher to see celestial beauty when it’s eight degrees, or worse, pouring rain. Take advantage of lightly windy days- which often result in clear night skies- to seek out some nighttime delights before winter weather makes it too much of an ordeal. If you’ve got a good telescope, seek out the gorgeous nebula in the Orion constellation, or the star cluster hiding in the Pleiades constellation. If there’s an observatory or public planetarium in the area, check listing for guided stargazing nights- just bring a jacket!