While we wouldn’t recommend camping out for the night in hopes that the Great Pumpkin will appear, classic pumpkin patches are still well worth a visit during the harvest season. Think: thick sweaters, cozy scarves, cups of hot cider — and as many soon-to-be Jack O’Lanterns and pies as you can carry.

September is the perfect time to start thinking about peeping. No, not that kind of peeping. We’re talking leaf peeping: crisp air, the ambient aromas of toasty campfires, and forests turning from green to red, orange, and gold. Let’s face it, though — most of us urban dwellers wouldn’t know the seasons were changing if it weren’t for the heralded return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte. There’s your excuse to head out of town, then: Mother Nature’s scintillating shades are best appreciated well outside of city limits.