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LEAVE HOME It's the first day of fall--have a ball, y'all A

Today is the first day of fall, when crisp weather beckons folks to take to the road. Here are some suggestions for not-too-far-away destinations

By LUCIA ANDERSON

Date published: 9/23/2006

UTUMN ARRIVES TODAY, ushering in cooler weather and wanderlust.

Mountainsides splashed with color, crisp apples, sweet cider and fat pumpkins lure travelers to leave subdivisions behind for the joys of the open road.

Many people have favorite destinations for these annual autumn pilgrimages.

Mine is the little village of Thurmont, Md., the adjacent Cunningham State Park and the U.S. Park Service's Catoctin Mountain Park. My family has been going there every fall for a quarter of a century or so.

Thurmont is an easy two-hour drive from Fredericksburg, 14 miles north of Frederick, Md., on U.S. 15. The little town is quaintly historic and has a couple of cozy restaurants. But the real attraction is the two parks with miles of woodsy trails and beautiful views east from the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

When you're tired of hiking, you can get back into the car and go a little bit north of Thurmont on U.S. 15 to Catoctin Mountain Orchards, where you'll find every kind of apple in season, cider, Concord grapes and shelves and shelves of jellies, jams and preserves.

Larry and Maggie Jones of Dunnellon, Fla., who used to live in Fredericksburg, wrote to say that Thurmont was their favorite fall trip, too. They liked to go on the second weekend in October, when the little town stages its annual fall festival with craftspeople, food vendors and other attractions. This year's festival is Oct. 14 and 15--see colorfest.org for more information.

Olivia Perry of Bowling Green in Caroline County wrote that her family's favorite trip is to the Graves Mountain Apple Harvest Festival in Syria.

Graves Mountain Lodge is about an hour from Fredericksburg, west of Culpeper.

The festival takes place on two consecutive weekends in October--Oct. 14, 15, 21 and 22 this year.

There is food for sale, bluegrass music to listen to, hayrides to enjoy and apples to pick, among other activities. More information is at gravesmountain.com.

Rick Kirk and his family, who live in Stafford County, combine the Apple Harvest Festival with a jaunt along Skyline Drive ($15 entrance fee per vehicle is good for six days), ending up with dinner at the main lodge at Graves Mountain.

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Date published: 9/23/2006