Five cool ways to savor autumn's wonderful weather

It's about time. Whether you were forced to sweat out the hottest summer in Philadelphia, or you locked yourself in air-conditioning because of the gross humidity that bathed the region, this fall is a cool bath of relief.

So get outside and enjoy the weather before that fall snap in the air turns into buckets of snow. Here are five choices for where to enjoy the best fall has to offer:

One of New Jersey's greatest assets - its cranberry crop - is given its just due at this cranberry festival, which is the third largest in the country. It will be Saturday and Sunday in Chatsworth, tucked back in the Pine Barrens. On Sunday, the festival is also host to a classic-car show.

"It's all about the cranberries' harvest," says Lynn Giamalis, who is part of the festival's committee. In addition to arts and crafts from more than 160 vendors, cranberry bog tours, and live music, you can also taste cranberries turned into many different kinds of food. "We'll have cranberry jams, jellies, even ice cream," says Giamalis.

You can pick your own apples at this Morgantown, Pa., farm, which has about 18,000 apple trees on 35 acres of land. Saturdays in October are also Fall Family Fun days, with food, music, hay rides, and the chance to tour the farm's apple cider press. Make sure to taste a farm food specialty: candy apples. If you're unsure what kinds of apples you can expect, check their website at www.weaversorchard.com for a list of what's in season when, or ask for help. "We have somebody dedicated specifically to our pick-your-own-fruit endeavor here," says Rachel Vanduzer, spokeswoman for Weaver's Orchard. You don't need to bring any special equipment to pick apples. Just wear comfortable shoes.

For more than a decade, this South Jersey farm has been turning a cornfield into one giant maze. It's not a scary, Halloween-type of experience. Ghouls won't jump out to frighten you. Rather, the maze is a brain twister. This year's theme is the weather, so not only can you get lost in the corn, but Springdale gives everyone a booklet at the entrance, and you can find answers in the maze to weather-themed questions in that booklet. Little-known fact: You're not winding your way through a maze cut into the corn that's grown and sold in the farmhouse store. "It's a special variety," says co-owner John Ebert.

You don't need to leave the city to pick your perfect pumpkin. Head to Franklin Square on Oct. 23 or 24 for the Pumpkin Patch Weekend. Kids get one free pumpkin from a specially decorated pumpkin patch from noon to 3 p.m., which they can then decorate on site. You can also take a ride on the Lightning Bolt Express (yes, adults are allowed aboard, too), or stick around for Spooky Mini Golf, which is held from dusk to 8 p.m. It's the normal Franklin Square Philly Mini Golf but made Halloween-appropriate with fog, lights, and music.

This 47,000-acre national park is headquartered in Oceanville, right outside Atlantic City, and has trails for walking and hiking. You can also drive on marked roadways through this coastal preserve. It's a popular spot with birders, as New Jersey is along the Atlantic Flyway, and the Jersey Shore is a prime resting spots for birds as they head south for the winter. Make sure to stop in at the main refuge headquarters, located at the Oceanville entrance. They'll give you a birding scorecard, so you can mark down what kinds of birds you see. October is when snow geese begin to arrive. In early November, about 100,000 ducks and geese stop at the refuge before heading south in December. You can bring your dog along, as long as he or she is on a leash.

Springdale Farms corn maze.

1638 S. Springdale Rd., Cherry Hill. Through Oct. 31. Open Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Last ticket sold at 3 p.m. Tickets: $9, $7.50 for children ages 4 to 12. Information: 856-424-8674,

» READ MORE: www.springdalefarms.com

Chatsworth Cranberry Festival. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in downtown Chatsworth. Information: 609-726-9237, www.cranfest.org

Pumpkin Patch Weekend. Oct. 23 and 24 at Franklin Square, Philadelphia. Free pumpkin and decorating for kids from noon to 3 p.m. Spooky Mini Golf from dusk to 8 p.m. Tickets: $8 for adults, $6 for children ages 2 to 12, children under 2 free. Information: 215-629-4026, http://historicphiladelphia.org

Apple picking at Weaver's Orchard. 40 Fruit Lane, Morgantown, Pa. 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Information: 610-856-7300, www.weaversorchard.com

Edwin B. Forsythe Wildlife Refuge. Mainland refuge headquarters are at 800 Great Creek Rd., Oceanville, N.J. Park open sunrise to sunset. Mainland refuge headquarters open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays only. Tickets: $4 per vehicle, $2 per person if biking or walking into park. Children under 16 are free. Information: 609-652-1665, http://forsythe.fws.gov