10 Fun Outings

Now's the time for an easy escape. Choose one of these great adventures, and get going

Fall fills us with wanderlust. Painted landscapes, glorious weather, and lingering days make a stunning setting for any adventure. Whatever speed you choose-relaxing on the beach or racing rapids-treat yourself to one big trip. Here are 10 of our favorite ways to get out and seize the season.

1. Quicken your pulse with a dose of adventure.

How: Raft beneath the New River Gorge Bridge, and watch daredevils leap off a famous bridge.

Where: Bridge Day, Fayette County, West Virginia; October 21

Here's a little secret about Bridge Day: The best seat in the house is not on the New River Gorge Bridge with vendors selling funnel cakes to a crowd of 200,000. It's 876 feet below on a river rock amid the swirling rapids. From here, you can watch the sky blooming with the parachutes of BASE jumpers as they leap from the second-highest single-span bridge in the U.S. (BASE stands for building, antenna, span, and earth, the sorts of things from which these intrepid souls leap.)

Now here's how to get that seat. Sign up for a white-water rafting trip that will shoot the rapids of the lower New River, and break for lunch beneath the bridge. Getting there is a thrill ride filled with washing-machine rapids, bus-size boulders, and views that will take away any breath you have left. The day after Bridge Day, sign up for the season's last trip down the Gauley, one of the best extreme white-water rivers in the world. Many rafting companies offer these trips, but Class VI River Runners occupies a class of its own. They welcome you back with warm showers, a video of your trip, and a gourmet buffet (more buffalo-stuffed quail, anyone?). Bridge Day: (304) 465-5617 or www.wvbridgeday.com. Class VL River Runners: 1-800-252-7784 or www. dass-vi.com.

2. Get in touch with your inner cowgirl.

How: Surrender to the romance of a Lone Star ranch that promises tranquillity and luxury in a rawhide land.

Where: Cibolo Creek Ranch, Marfa, Texas

A desert sanctuary near Big Bend, this 35,000-acre private ranch indulges your craving for perfect seclusion in the spirit of West Texas.

Guests cozy up in a restored 19th-century fort, whose Mission-style rooms soothe the senses with sumptuous beds, wood-burning fireplaces, cool Spanish tile, and the glorious absence of TVs and phones. Between gourmet meals of melt-in-your-mouth steaks or huevos rancheros, the ranch invites exploration. Hike its canyons and quiet streams, or recline by the pool between spa appointments. For a little excitement, try shooting skeet, join a couple of cowboys on a spirited ride, or take a rollicking drive up a rugged mountain atop a safari-style truck. You'll leave this ranch with a springier step or maybe a slight gaucho swagger, toll-free 1-866-496-9460 or www.cibolocreekranch.com.

3. Have a sunset dinner with your toes in the sand.

How: Reserve a waterside table at the last classic beach motel in the land of megamansions.

Where: The Turtle Club restaurant, Naples, Florida

With Chardonnay in hand, toes wriggling in the sand, and rose-colored sunshine on your shoulders, you'll wonder: Does it get any better than this? It does, when the waiter arrives on cue with the sunset, presenting your exquisite catch of the day.

In a state that suffers no shortage of waterfront dining, here's what makes The Turtle Club extra-special: It's part of the Vanderbilt Beach Resort, the very first beach motel built in Naples-and the last one standing in a city full of $4-million condos and $30-million homes. The two-story property's 20 rooms and suites have been updated without losing the simple, laid-back charm of a 1950s beach resort. Grandfathered under development rules, this old-Florida hangout stands about as close as fine dining can get to the gently lapping waves of the Gulf. (239) 592-6557 or www. theturtleclubrestaurant.com.

4. Toast the season with the spirit of the South.

How: Tour distilleries, and sample the only American-born distilled spirit: bourbon.

Where: Kentucky Bourbon Festival, Bardstown, Kentucky; September 13-17

There's more to this five-day festival than sipping mint juleps and ogling barrels. Choose an array of activities offered at daily events and nightly galas. Attend a bourbon cooking class, or take the kids through a forest of glowing hot-air balloons that light up after dusk. Don't miss The World Championship Bourbon Barrel Relay, where, with great precision, warehouse workers race 500-pound barrels along a track.

The best part: meeting the master distillers. Jim Beam's Jerry Dalton wrote a book on Taoism. At 35 years old, Greg Davis of Barton Brands is nicknamed "The Baby." David Pickerell, maker of Maker's Mark, has been asked to dip all sorts of things in his signature red wax. Introduce yourself, and tell him we told you to ask what. 1-800-638-4877, ext. 4, or www.kybourbonfestival.com.

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5. Get into a new groove.

How: Learn the Shag-South Carolina's state dance-in the place where beach music was born.