Sure, leaf-peeping is a classic autumn activity. But what about visiting a barrier island's beach (crowd-free) and seeing poison ivy gone stop-light red? Why not head into the bayou and catch a glimpse of alligators and turtles before they go to sleep for the winter? Pike and muskie are still biting in the Great White North, so try casting your line. Go beyond maple leaves and into the unusual this fall with these off-beat outdoor adventures.

Trout and 'Shrooms in Washington's Olympics - Fall is wild-harvest time for anglers and mushroom hunters along the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula.

Hawkwatch!
Fall winds bring migrating hawks, following updrafts along mountain ridges and coastlines. Here's how to find and identify migrating raptors.

Prairie Magenta - Nebraska, South Dakota, and other tallgrass prairie states offer asters, prairie gentians, and grasses turning from magenta to rust.

Butterflies, Wild Ponies, and Poison Ivy - At Maryland's Assateague Island, fall color comes from that infamous trailing vine, its leaves turned warning-signal red.

Gators and Wildflowers in the Bayou - In Louisiana, the reptiles are livelyin' up for fall, the bur marigold and asters are puttin' on a show.

Glacier Peaks and Huckleberries - In Washington's Glacier Peaks Wilderness, russet berries and golden ferns turn the mountains ablaze.

Burnished Winds - Copper grasses and golden-hued willows greet hikers in Wyoming's Wind River range.

Rocks, Pike and Muskie - The pike and muskie are still biting as autumn turns at Ontario's Rough Rock Lake.