September is my favorite month. Not only is it my birthday month, but it also kickstarts my second favorite season: autumn! Second favorite because spring (especially early spring) brings back a lot of nostalgia for me.
Given that I’ve been spending most of my autumns in the lovely city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, I thought I’d share some of my fall-favorite things to do during this transition from summer into autumn. This is not an exhaustive list because I spend most of my time on campus, but there is still so much one can do!
The Bloomsburg Fair
I’ve visited this festival once, but it was one of the most fun places I’ve gone to in the fall. The Bloomsburg Festival is held at the end of September and has a multitude of attractions. From food vendors (including an ice cream roll stand that I 100% dragged my friend to), a motorcycle show, to typical theme park rides, the fair is an extremely fun way to take a break from studying.
Knoebels
You don’t need to go to just Hershey for an autumn amusement park experience. Knoebels Amusement Resort, or simply Knoebels, goes all out for its autumn season. The amusement park is home to classic rides, including several wooden roller coasters, a swing carousel, a haunted mansion, and a log flume. It also has a sweet shop that makes delicious fudge squares. Like the Bloomsburg Fair, I’ve only gone once, but I’m down to do it again!
Jim Thorpe
This beautiful old town is about an hour away from campus. I’ve gone during the wintertime, but it’s just as beautiful during the fall. While not in September, Jim Thorpe is famous for its Fall Foliage Festival. Touring the mountains around the town via train was breathtaking in the winter, and I would give anything to see what it looks like with its autumn foliage.
Lakeland Orchard And Cidery
Of course, how could we celebrate fall without traditional apple picking? Lakeland Orchard and Cidery is a favorite because of its closeness to campus and 14 different apple varieties. The free bag they give you is very small – only a quarter peck in size – but I find that you can fit a decent number of apples inside. They also sell regular and hard apple cider (for legal adults) in their market and host plenty of activities besides apple picking, such as axe throwing!
A Scranton Fall
I want to bring this home to the campus because I acknowledge that many students may not be
able to see these places unless they’re friends with commuter students. And even if they are close friends with commuters, that is still not a guarantee that they can just drop everything and get off campus, especially when midterms roll around in October. However, the campus is still gorgeous in the fall. The Commons and Green are surrounded by trees that change colors in the fall, painting the campus in hues of orange and red. I love taking photos of campus while the trees are changing because it makes campus feel welcoming. If it didn’t get cold so fast, I’d probably sit outside for work rather than stay in the library. Anyway, that’s about it from me. I hope this list is helpful to anyone from Northeastern Pennsylvania or going to college here. Let me know if there are any recommendations I may
have missed!
This was written by our contributing writer, Lauren DeSantis.
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