Ask anyone who grew up on the East End of Long Island or the Jersey Shore, and they’ll tell you the best time to hit the beach is actually in September, right at the onset of shoulder season—when the weather gets a bit milder, the crowds flee, and the pace of life mellows down. Fall is a particularly magical time on the East Coast, when lighthouse lookouts and cliffside walks are bathed in autumnal hues.
While some beach towns become eerily uninhabited in the off-season, others transform into something else entirely—whether that’s a prime birdwatching haven, or an unexpected setting for a quirky jazz or seafood festival. There are also certain activities (like Gilded Age mansion tours in Newport, Rhode Island) that become much more attractive when you’re not tempted by clear-clouds-blue-skies weather, and many of the best hotels in these getaway towns offer discounted rates at this time of year, so you’ll get a better bang for your buck, too.
The Newport Mansions, Escobar's Farm, The Chanler at Cliff Walk and Annual Harvest Dinner, and Hotel Viking are included in this article.
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