Autumn, as the leaves turn color and the landscapes become brilliant, is a perfect time to explore the Great Outdoors. Stay right here in the United States and head to Maryland, Alabama, Georgia, or Pennsylvania, where you can enjoy nature at its peak while you camp, hike, fish, boat, watch birds, or simply relax and enjoy the setting.

Start your Maryland adventure in the Capital Region, just outside of Washington, D.C. Pretty Frederick County, set amid the Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont Plateau, is dotted with farms, vineyards, and covered bridges. Lilypons Water Gardens (301-874-5503), in Buckeystown, is the largest water garden in the United States, with over 300 acres of lily blossom and lotus blossom ponds. It is also a good place for bird watching; call ahead (800-999-5459) to book a guided bird walk, where you might see tree swallows, red-winged blackbirds, egrets, herons, warblers, purple martins, and mocking birds. From October to February, the gardens are open from Monday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

In Montgomery County, hike through the forty-acre Audubon Naturalist Society sanctuary (301-652-9188) in Chevy Chase, which has a self-guided nature trail, pond, wildflower meadow, and butterfly garden. You might also hike or bike on the nearly level towpath in the C&O Canal National Historic Park and view the Great Falls of the Potomac River. The canal, which operated from 1828 to 1924, follows the route of the Potomac River, and hundreds of original structures, including locks, lock houses, and aqueducts, remain.