Fun Hobbies to Get Into This Coming Fall
Summer is starting to wind down and while we’ve had a really interesting couple of summers, I think it’s safe to say that Fall may be the best fresh start we can have.
So, since we’re always looking ahead here at Lemonade + Adventure, the question of what we’re going to be doing this fall is already on our minds. And since you’re joining us, you’re probably also wondering what kinds of new and awesome things that you can find this coming fall.
So, like always, our list has a variety of ideas for you to either try as presented or to inspire you to take your own direction on. Some of these are fun, outdoor activities that will take you beyond the summer beaches, while others are simply ideas that you might never have thought about.
Quite a few of these ideas aren’t fall-specific, but I know personally, the fall isn’t just about cool weather and spending time outside wearing sweaters. Maybe it’s a holdover from school, but the fall also is a great time to start learning something new, training up a new skill, and expanding your horizons a bit.
With all that in mind, enjoy the list, and I hope that your autumn can be as busy, productive, and wonderful as you are!
1 // Rock Climbing
If you’ve read my other posts, you’ll know this is pretty much my favorite thing, year-round, but climbing is a great sport to get into in the fall. It’s physically engaging, a great way of building your strength, good for your coordination and balance, and it’s a sport you can get involved in year-round.
So why is it on the fall list? After all, indoor climbing gyms are open year-round, and if you go outside… well, the rocks are still there in winter, right?
The thing is, the autumn season is the best season for ‘regular’ climbing outdoors, in my opinion. It isn’t hot enough that you’re going to overheat, but it’s also warm enough that you’re not going to get cold, so long as you’re actively climbing.
When winter rolls around, a lot of parks are closed, or there’s snow on the ground, which obviously makes climbing harder. Ice climbing is a cool and interesting option, but it is a little more difficult, so for new climbers, it isn’t exactly the best fit.
In spring and summer, on the other hand, the parks tend to be more crowded, plus spring, at least here in the Northeast, can be pretty rainy, and summers can be sweltering. So take my ‘lives in the US Northeast’ opinion for what it’s worth – fall is the best time to meet up with some friends, find a big rock, and climb your way on top of it.
The school calendar also makes the fall a busy season for climbing gyms near universities, so you’re likely to find other beginners to help you get started. The climbing community tends to be pretty close-knit, once everyone gets to know each other. If you’re looking to make friends fast, another tip is to get yourself belay certified at your local climbing gym, because everyone always needs a belayer!
2 // Photography
Now, I know you can start photography any time of the year – it’s a lot like climbing. But – if you’re going to be taking pictures outside, there’s one super obvious reason why the fall is a gorgeous time to start taking pictures.
Fall foliage!
Again, I’m from the New England area, where the changing leaves are an iconic part of the landscape every fall. You can go to any park around your state, find a nice hill, and look out at a sea of reds, oranges, and yellows, and the drifting leaves make even the sidewalks colorful. So whether you’re trying to capture the sun as it rises across the Atlantic, as it sets over the hills, or just looking to up your ‘gram game taking action shots around your neighborhood, autumn is the best time to get started.
Photography is a fairly complicated hobby to learn, so make sure you’re prepared to spend a little time familiarizing yourself with the terms and the settings on your camera. Exposure, aperture, ISO, f-stops, it’s all a foreign language to newbies, so take your time and experiment.
Eventually, you’ll find yourself trying to set little challenges for yourself: what’s the best lighting to capture the shine of morning dew? Can you manage to capture the falling leaves in focus, while still having something cool in the background?
Well, when you’re ready to try, I found a pretty awesome, super informative blog about photography for you – I know there are a lot of them, but this one has ‘20 Photography Tips For Beginners’ so check it out!
3 // Pottery
Here’s an idea that you probably haven’t thought of in a while, unless you watched Ghost recently. You could make a pot!
Pottery is an awesomely creative process, from forming wet clay into a pot to baking it into a beautifully finished vase, bowl, or water jug. You can make awesome decorative pieces for your home or as gifts for your family, and like any creative outlet, it can be super relaxing and therapeutic.
Your best bet is to find a pottery studio and get some hands-on instruction, but there are online courses available too. There are even some new contenders in this field, and they don’t even need real kilns to work!
Just so you know – a kiln is a really large oven that lets you bake (or ‘fire’) clay pots into ceramic, which is something you can’t do in regular ovens since they don’t get hot enough.
So check them out:
One cool thing about starting pottery in the fall is that you can keep going through the winter (indoor activity away from the cold) if you enjoy it. Every week, there are new challenges, so getting comfortable with the clay and practicing more and more advanced techniques means that this could be a hobby of yours for years if you really got that into it.
4 // Calligraphy
Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. Well… specifically, I’m talking about the type of calligraphy you see on deli boards or those font works-of-art for weddings. What I’m referring to specifically is called “lettering,” which is a little more artistically embellished, and also really cool.
If you’re not the type who’s interested in running around outside as the weather cools off, maybe try your hand at lettering. You’ll feel so accomplished when your next get-together looks fancy as heck with your beautifully scribbled invitations!
Since, for a lot of us, fall is when we slow down a bit and getting ready for winter, it makes sense to choose a hobby that can be done in the comfort of your own home. Plus, if your next get-together is a Halloween party or a holiday event, you can make designing the decorations your first big project, and that’ll give you something to work towards. Like any form of art, you can take it as far as you want, but aside from some hard work and lots of practice, it doesn’t really take all that long to make something that looks pretty decent!
There are a lot of free resources online to help you get started: stencils, practice sheets, calligraphy drills, and more. I’ve listed them below for you – I really like The Postman’s Knock drills, just as an fyi 😉
Tombow Practice Worksheets // The Postman’s Knock Calligraphy Drills
Now, calligraphy isn’t easy work, it honestly feels like being back in 2nd grade, relearning handwriting all over again. But unlike a lot of other hobbies, it’s relatively easy to turn it into a small side hustle, since there are plenty of people who want pretty letters for their weddings and other events. This can be lucrative!
And, lastly, it doesn’t even matter if your handwriting is bad since the motions are a little different. Obviously, it takes a lot of practice, but I’ve seen people with the ugliest chicken scratch still letter beautifully. It can be done, friend.
5 // Painting
Alright, I admit it, this isn’t a fall exclusive, either. I just think it should be on this list because it is one of the most accessible hobbies on the planet. Plus, when you’re stuck at home on a cold, rainy October day, having something to do aside from watching more TV will be a godsend.
You can do whatever you want in the world of painting. It’s beyond flexible and has many paints (and mediums) to work with. From oil to watercolor to tempura to acrylic and more, painting can be done however you want and in whatever budget you can feasibly afford.
Acrylic is the easiest paint to use and watercolor is fairly straightforward as well. They’re both flexible paints, and while acrylic isn’t as forgiving as watercolor, it can be super fun to use.
The nice thing is that even if you don’t want to actually learn how to paint a whole picture from a blank canvas, there are ways to make art regardless …like those really cool paint by numbers sets. They’re incredibly relaxing when you’re in the comfort of your own home, sipping on some wine, and listening to a podcast, or Spotify, or watching your favorite show.
You can find those sets at local art stores or large retailers like Michael’s and JoAnn Fabrics.
6 // Cosplaying
You might have seen a lot of Harley Quinn’s on your timeline for an entire week in the middle of the summer. Or maybe a few Captain Marvels, or maybe a bunch of anime characters from Spirited Away, Ponyo, or really anything that you may have heard, seen, or … maybe you didn’t.
If you’ve ever been in a city during ComicCon, though, you’ll know what I’m getting at.
For those unaware, cosplaying is the art of dressing up as fictional (sometimes non-fictional) characters and playing as said characters for a night out doing… whatever, really.
Think Renaissance fairs or Historical Williamsburg, but infinitely more modern and far cooler.
I’m sure you have specific TV characters that you absolutely love, and I’m also pretty sure you could quote some of their lines, memorized by heart.
Cosplaying allows you to take on that role and be as open (or restrictive) as you’d like with that particular character. It’s like going as Wanda from WandaVision (or whoever) for Halloween, except instead of Halloween, it’s whenever.
You’ve got options just like at Halloween. You can either buy the costume or you can make it all your own. A lot of cosplayers take months to create pieces that they admire, or they do a sort of Disneybound (using everyday clothes to imitate the essence of a character) version.
Usually, if you have a few friends that are in on the idea, you would all head to a convention that focuses on whatever type of pop culture you vibe with; Comic-Con is the most well-known and it sort of has turned into a catch-all for nerd culture. But it’s far from the only one, and if you’re specifically into sci-fi, elves, steampunk, or whatever, there are conventions for awesome nerds just like you to get together and strut your awesome cosplay stuff.
7 // Sewing
Speaking of making your own costumes, maybe you could try learning how to sew this fall.
There are many online resources that can help you learn how to sew by hand or with a sewing machine.
Learning to sew by hand has its benefits over the sewing machine. You’ll practice your hand-eye coordination, you’ll gain strength in your hands, it’s portable, and you’ll learn how to work better with delicate fabrics. And that’s just to name a few.
Sewing can be cathartic once you’ve gotten the hang of it, too. Just like knitting and crocheting, you’ll be able to create something of your own that you’ll be proud of. And speaking of, if you don’t know how to knit or crochet, you can lump that in here and learn one of those cool skills instead.
Better still, maybe you have children, you can teach them while teaching yourself. It will teach them an incredibly useful skill for life, be a great way for you to spend time together away from the screens, and help improve their fine motor skills, which might help them become the next heart surgeon, with their new and improved, super precise, super steady hands.
It can be a great hobby to start in the fall as you can try to create a simple costume for Halloween. Come winter, you’ll be ready to sew your own Christmas stockings or a new costume for New Year’s, and if your winter coat ever tears you’ll just bust out your needles and say “I got this!”
8 // Embroidery
Or maybe learn how to embroider. The projects are typically a little more manageable since they tend to be smaller. Like most other textile arts, embroidery is closely related to sewing, which makes it ideal for someone who is either already good with a needle and thread, or someone just getting started that wants to do something a little different and a bit more detailed than regular stitching.
The basic difference is that you don’t embroider different pieces of fabric together; that would be sewing. Instead, you create a design onto a single piece of fabric. Now, when I say the projects are usually smaller, keep in mind that you can still get pretty big: there are entire quilts that are embroidered, and a project like that can take a long time to finish, but there are also a lot of smaller projects that can be done in much less time.
You can find embroidery kits practically everywhere nowadays so grab one and try them out! Michaels, JoAnn Fabrics, and all those types of stores have them. You can also find some cool designs at the links below.
I actually knew someone who used to make these really beautiful Star Wars-themed embroidered hoops and sold them on Etsy for a while. So, maybe this is another possible side hustle you could try when you feel confident enough to come up with your own creations? If all else fails… Christmas presents, anyone?
Embroider for Beginners // Embroidery Kits + Patterns
9 // Sign Language
You can learn another language anytime you want, but it certainly makes sense to get some help at the start. Most colleges and universities have classes that you can take even if you’re not a matriculated student that will introduce you to the language.
Undeniably having others around you that are speaking (or signing) the language you want to learn would be a huge help. The problem is that some colleges rotate beginner and level 2 language courses between Fall and Spring, so you might not have access to the intro course in January.
So why am I suggesting sign language, specifically? Well, everyone always talks about wanting to learn a new language. Whether it’s French, Spanish, or Mandarin, we all want to be able to travel to countries and speak the native language; we want to be able to put on our resumes that we’re bi- (or tri-!) lingual, and that’s awesome.
But! A lot of people forget about sign language, and that’s not good at all.
First of all, you have all of our deaf and hearing-impaired friends who would absolutely appreciate it if you took the time to learn how to communicate with them. Secondly, it can be even more intuitive learning sign language, since you’re not actually learning a new ‘language,’ you’re just learning a new way of speaking the one you already know.
It takes extensive practice to master sign language, but you can get into it fairly quickly with the help of those beginner courses. There are also plenty of guides online for you to self-guide your way through the alphabet, numbers and key phrases.
YouTube has a bunch of videos on how to start as well; just make sure you know what type of sign language you are going to be learning. American Sign Language (ASL) and British, Australian, and New Zealand Sign Language (BANZSL) are the two most common, at least in the English-speaking world.
Of course, if you’re not a native English speaker, there are other variations as well. Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, and so on, to name only a few.
10 // Podcasting
By now you’re probably realizing that I can pretty much justify why fall is the best time to start any new hobby.
I touched on this earlier, but I have a strong belief that as we near the end of the year, we tend to become a bit more productive as we search out ways to end the year better than when we started it. We also start thinking about the future after the summer, when we’re tempted to get distracted with fun days out and recreational activities.
If you’ve ever wanted to try podcasting, I think fall is a great time to start, because it gives you a natural time to start talking about productivity or to talk about how your summer vacations were so great. There are a number of holidays coming up, which can make content easier to come up with, and if you’re organized and get the right audience, you can be off to the races before you even know it!
You really don’t even need much to start.
Most of us have microphones in our headphones, and we have recording gadgets in our phones. Sure, it’s not professional quality, but it’s a start. You can always invest more into better equipment if it takes off and you find yourself really getting into it.
Imagine just talking to the world about everything and having them hear you, comment, and send some of that energy back to you. It sounds so rewarding! If you really get into it, come winter you’ll be able to see how much your channel has grown and maybe make plans for the New Year to either keep it going, change up your approach, or whatever you like.
11 // Stargazing
You should be doing this during all of the seasons that you can. All the time. Except for daytime, obviously.
I’m just saying.
Of course, you’ll want to drive away from the city, far from the light pollution, so you can see the stars in all their glory. Fall (or spring, really) are great times to go see the stars since the sun doesn’t set too late and you can still make it home to the comfort of your bed, but it also isn’t as frigid as it is on a winter night.
Summer could still obviously be a great time for stargazing, but depending on where you live, the late sunset might have you out in a forest fairly far from your house quite a bit later than you’re comfortable. If you’re camping, it’s one thing, but I’ll talk about that in a bit.
During autumn, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got your jacket packed and maybe a blanket to keep you warm in the chilly night temperatures, but stargazing can be a gorgeous and romantic date night getaway for you and your partner, or it can be a liberating night out with your girlfriends, staring up at a star that shines as brightly as you all do.
Take some time to learn the local constellations and watch some astronomy videos online to have your mind blown regarding our tiny place in the vast galaxy above our heads.
15 Constellations You Should Know // Best Places to Stargaze
12 // Wine Making
I think this could be really exciting for a lot of us.
Most of us reading this probably drink wine either socially or as a daily nightcap. Or maybe as a lunch cap, no judgment. Whatever it is, you can learn how to make your own! Imagine talking to your friends and bringing around a bottle of wine that you took the time to ferment the grapes and allow it to age?
Sure, it’s no Dom Perignon, but it’s your own vintage!
Winemaking is really dependent on its harvest season and depends on the hemisphere in which you live. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, the best harvest seasons are August to October while the Southern has the best in February to April.
So, you can see why I think making wine during autumn makes sense, at least for a New Englander like me.
So here’s what you do: you buy grapes (wine grapes, specifically), then you brew them into wine, then you let the wine sit in a controlled environment. You can grow wine grapes if you want to, but you can also buy them directly from an outsourcer. I’ve attached a link below that you can rifle through.
Wine Grapes vs Table Grapes // Buy Wine Grapes
And of course, if you don’t want to go that long, involved route you can just make some of the good stuff at home in five days with Brewsy, too. Obviously, you’re going to feel a lot more accomplished at the end of a months-long process, but Brewsy also reduces the chance that you spend all that time making a wine that turns out tasting… not good. Brewsy actually makes it pretty easy to purchase a variety of juices and to turn them into a sampling of wines for all your friends to taste test when you have them all over for a wine and cheese movie night.
If you do try making some wine, send me some!
13 // Camping
When I was growing up camping was always a summer thing. As a former camp counselor, the most obvious time for that is during the summers.
However, the summer can be really hot, and depending on where you are it can also be stiflingly humid, and it can be hard to find a good campsite during the busiest times of the year. When I go camping, I like to have some peace and quiet, not listen to the loud party my neighboring site seems to be having.
So I realized fairly recently that the best time for camping activities was the fall. It just makes sense – the temperature is mild, the campgrounds, lakes, and rivers are less crowded, and the foliage is breathtaking. Yes, you need to prepare for some colder nights, but if you’re setting up a campsite, you can pack all the blankets and hand warmers you’ll need, and you can even bring a camping kettle and make yourself hot cocoa on the campfire.
Speaking of campfires, something people often forget, which my former Boy Scout boyfriend just told me as we were talking about this post: during the summer, there’s the highest risk of forest fires, especially in months like August. As the weather cools down, the danger decreases a bit as well, so you’re less likely to run into a situation where the campsite has banned ground fires.
I know, personally, when I think of camping, I want to roast marshmallows around a campfire, not burn down a forest! So going when it’s a bit cooler is a good way to make sure you’ll get that authentic-feeling camping experience.
So bring a hammock, learn how to make a campfire (bring someone along to help you learn the ropes), and learn how to survive out in the wilderness on your own.
As someone who really enjoys being outside in nature, I trust REI and the community there, so, if you ever have any questions (and there’s one nearby) take a trip out there and get yourself into a class to learn some camping know-how. You can even use their paid programming to get a feel of what you’re willing to keep doing later on. Better to pay $70 for a Wilderness Survival class now than paying $300+ for camping gear that you’ll never use again because you hate it.
Intro to Camping // REI Class + Events
14 // Hiking
I’m going to piggyback off of the Camping category above. You can easily add hiking to any camping trip you’re already planning (stargazing too, if you think about it). This could be the main focus of the camping trip, one of a number of activities, or it can simply be how you get out to your more remote campsite.
Now, when planning your hikes, you can plan for an all day affair, or just a few hours. It’s probably one of the easiest hobbies to get into – all you need are good shoes and a willingness to walk on rough ground. It keeps you active, burns calories, and gets your blood pumping.
Because hiking is a ‘weight-bearing exercise’ it is also good for boosting bone density: for all the older women reading this, this helps us stave off osteoporosis later in life, so take note!
Lastly, it’s not really high impact, which means it’s good for people who aren’t looking to necessarily ramp their heart rate up to the 170s doing intense cardio. You can take a particular trail at your own pace.
Just, as a beginner, stick to the trails that are marked. The last thing you want to do is get lost in a forest!
If you’re just climbing to the top of a local mountain (I personally like Sleeping Giant hiking trails in Hamden, Connecticut across from the Quinnipiac University campus) a backpack with snacks is all that you need, but if you’re climbing larger mountains (Colorado’s The Four Pass Loop – 26 miles – for instance) you’ll need a real hiking backpack, with the entire kit and caboodle of items for food, sleeping, etc.
Of course, I think hiking during autumn is a great time to start mainly because of the temperate weather and as it gets a little colder you’ll be able to enjoy more relative seclusion on the trails as more people flee to warmer areas for vacation.
Hiking for Beginners // Cheap (or Free) Gear How-To
15 // Birding
I seem to be on a nature kick at the moment, however, I feel like this particular hobby is so often forgotten. I’m going to come right out and say it – I like birding. Where my birders at?
Birding can be a relaxing and beautiful hobby to begin. I grew up in the city and now that I live a little farther out in the country, I’m absolutely in love with the variety of birds that live near my home. Admiring them from afar is a peaceful hobby, and you can easily just Google “birding hotspots near me” and you can find places where you’ll be able to see whatever kind of bird you’re hoping to watch.
If you’re willing to spend a bit to get deeper into the hobby, consider buying a quality pair of binoculars.
Bird Hotspots // Best Binoculars for Birding
Now, not all birds fly south for the winter, so there’s not really a wrong season to get into birding, but fall and spring are major migration periods for a lot of species. From the mighty flying V’s of the geese overhead to the small songbirds that are building nests for winter, you’re going to see all sorts of beautiful feathered friends going about their business in fall, so it’s an obvious choice for when to get started.
It’s also a really easy hobby to get into, and, like so many other hobbyist communities, there are so many more experienced enthusiasts willing to lend you some advice. Get yourself a field guide, a weather-proof notebook, and those binoculars, and you’ll be all set. There are even birding apps to help you find the specific species you’re looking for!
16 // DIY
Some of us just aren’t as crafty as we want to be and I think trying DIY as a hobby may help to spark more creativity in us. It can be in arts and crafts or in renovating pieces of furniture, or really anything you fancy.
Pinterest has the world’s largest collection of DIY activities on the planet. There will not be a shortage of great ideas for you to get your hands on.
Always wanted to do a gallery wall? Or how about you wanted to start your own terrarium? You can create rugs, amazing fabric crafts, accessories, and more. If you’re into event planning, you can weave all of these ideas into a single theme for a party, birthday, or wedding, to get a look that is well and truly “bespoke.”
You can create beautiful wall decor, fairy houses, and do some woodworking in that, too.
DIY isn’t only about paper crafts, glue, and scissors – just because your mom said she was happy with your macaroni art doesn’t mean you can’t aim higher now. You can try out an amazing variety of projects and, if you don’t believe me, just check out the Explore Tab on Pinterest to see all of the on-trend DIY projects. With that alone, you’ll never be stumped for something cool to try your hand at.
The great thing about starting to do DIY in the fall is that you can create homemade gifts for friends and family for the holidays!
17 // Lockpicking
Honestly, I just felt like adding this here because… why the heck not. Who do you know knows how to pick any kind of lock that they come across?
This hobby can actually end up saving your life one day, so, maybe learning will be worthwhile. It can also help you to figure out locks better suited for your doors, too, so you can make your own home safer.
If you like puzzles, you’ll really enjoy lockpicking. Plus, when the time inevitably comes for your friends to do an Oceans Eleven-style ‘assemble a crew montage,’ this is your way onto the team.
Beginners Guide to Lockpicking
18 // Write a Novel
Full disclosure, I know I am a complete nerd.
I’ve known my fair share of writers. Back when I was in high school I joined an online group of Harry Potter nerds and we all wrote and roleplayed characters (either from the story or ones we created). Sure, it is probably the nerdiest thing I ever did in my entire life, but it helped me to hone a talent that some people never get to.
Writing.
I’ve always thought of writing a novel, but I’ve realized that I’m already too hard on myself with what I write here. I can’t imagine how I would get a novel written on any sort of timeframe; I’d keep wanting to rewrite it.
All that said, that’s my personal struggle. For me, this is the goal that’s constantly being pushed farther down the list, but that doesn’t have to be the case for you, because your struggles aren’t necessarily mine. You also might want it more than me, and I want to be there for you if you do.
Writing really is a great hobby, even if it isn’t with a novel as the end goal. Writing a poem every day, or keeping a regular journal, are great ways of getting pent-up emotional energy out of you.
But of course, NaNoWriMo is in fall, and that’s National Novel Writing Month, which means that getting into the habit of writing in time for November 1st so you can start with some oomph is a huge and wonderful goal to have.
NaNoWriMo tends to be aimed at a younger audience, at least in its appeals, but I know plenty of people who use the platform as a way to challenge themselves just to write and produce words. It’s really a great platform and the creative energy there is amazing.
Whether you’re into creative writing or otherwise, NaNoWriMo can be a great outlet if you’ve always wanted to write a novel but have struggled with a lack of motivation. Well, how do 30 days of straight writing sound? In the month of November, the challenge is to write 1,667 words per day.
PER. DAY.
P.S. Majority of my blog posts easily come in over 2,000 words and if I were to write one blog post every day for 30 days, I’d have content for weeks.
Books have been published after writing for 30 days through the program as well. Oh, and I forgot to mention, it’s non-profit. 🙂
So all that said, if you’re up for a real challenge, you could always make it one that knocks that eternal bucket list item off for you… become a writer. Then become an author. This year.
Hope You Take Up A New Hobby
Hopefully, this list has generated ideas for hobbies you can try this fall. Of course, and I’ll say it one last time, you can start a lot of these in other months. But autumn is such a great season for your mind; maybe you’re going back to school, or maybe the kids are, or maybe everyone else’s kids are and you’re just drinking wine and enjoying your childless existence…
No matter what though, it’s a very cerebral season, and it’s the perfect time to indulge in your creativity and to get in touch with nature before winter sends us all indoors for the colder months. The holiday seasons are always such a busy rush, so cherish the time you have before that hectic season and treat yourself to a wonderful new adventure.
Have a great fall!