Change up your activities along with the season with these fun-filled, fall-themed events.

Pick some apples

What’s fall without a little bit of apple picking? You can satisfy this fall necessity with just a short, 15-minute drive to Drazen Orchards in Cheshire or a 25-minute drive to Lyman Orchards in Middlefield. These orchards feature not just for picking your own apples, but also peaches, pumpkins and pears, just to name a few. Both orchards recommend that you call ahead to ensure they are harvesting on that day.

Get lose in a corn maze

Until Nov. 5, Lyman Orchards will be home to an intricately-designed corn maze that could challenge even a late-teen, early-20-year-old college student. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased on their website. Located in nearby Middletown, Lyman Orchards will donate $1 of every ticket sale to the American Cancer Association.

Watch a Drive-In Movie

Now that the temperature has cooled (for the most part), an outdoor movie is a perfect way to spend a cool autumn evening. Southington Drive-In hosts weekly movie nights every Saturday in the summertime, and continues them periodically through the fall. The next one isn’t until Oct. 28, and the movies are yet to be determined, but its website is calling it a “Halloween Festival.” Why not plan ahead to spend the night watching a scary movie the old-fashioned way?

Try a fall carnival

Fair season is far from over. There are still plenty of Connecticut opportunities to experience a quintessential fall carnival. The 98th annual Durham Fair opens on Sept. 21 and runs until Sept. 24. This fair includes your fall carnival essentials: livestock, rides, good food and live music. Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo are set to headline this year on Saturday Sept. 23. It also honors veterans on Sunday Sept. 24 with Military Appreciation Day and a USO Troupe Show and is only 30 minutes from QU. Other fairs to look for include the Milford Oktoberfest (Sept. 23), Celebrate Wallingford (Oct. 7-8), Southington Apple Harvest Festival (Oct. 6-8), and the Portland Fair (Oct. 6-8).

Go hiking

As every QU student knows (or at least should know), hiking the Sleeping Giant is one of the best ways to take in the fall foliage. But, if you need a change from your usual hiking trail, look no further than East Rock Park in New Haven. You’ll recognize it as the rock formation with the distinctive statue on top of I-91. Climb to the top, and be rewarded with a bird’s eye view of New Haven, Long Island Sound and Connecticut’s rolling hills (Sleeping Giant included).

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