Who cares if the temps aren’t hitting the high 80s? The Shore can still be blazing hot fun – you just have to know where to go and what to do. Check out what’s still hot and happening at our favorite Shore towns in the coolest months of the year.

Fall Family Fun

Grab the kids, ’cause there’s plenty to do at our beach towns.

LBI Kite Festival
Oct.5-8 | LBIfly.com
You have to see this to believe it. Hundreds of colorful artist kites, including giant inflatables, fly over the beach all day long during this fun-filled weekend. You can learn to fly at the 11th St. Beach on Friday from 1 to 3 pm and at the 14th St. Beach on Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm. Don’t miss the Night Fly Extravaganza at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park from 6:30 to 8:30 pm on Sunday.

Musical Time Capsule
Oct. 14 | Wildwoodsnj.com
Join city dignitaries as they dedicate a musical time capsule to be opened in 100 years. The time capsule will include memorabilia from artists like Bobby Rydell, Sally Starr, Cozy Morley and Al Alberts. A group photo of all attendees will also be placed in the capsule. Head to Cool Scoops at 12th & New Jersey Avenues in North Wildwood at 1 pm to be part of history.

Bonfire on the Beach
Oct. 20 | Wildwoodsnj.com
Bring your blankets and beach chairs, and warm up at the beach bonfire at 17th Ave. in North Wildwood from 6 to 10 pm. There will be live entertainment and refreshments for sale. Admission is $10. Children under 12 are $2. The event is presented by the Anglesea Irish Society and the Greater Wildwood Jaycees.

Lighthouse Challenge
Oct. 20-21 | Lighthousechallengenj.org
Begin at any participating lighthouse and pay $2 to get a starting piece for your challenge souvenir. Each site you then visit will have another piece to complete the  souvenir. It may take two days to complete the challenge. Funds raised benefit the preservation of N.J. lighthouses.

Free Horse & Carriage Rides
Nov. 17, 18, 23 & 25 | Oceancityvacation.com
Families can take a carriage ride any time between noon and 3 pm. Meet in front of City Hall at 9th & Asbury Ave. 

Foodie Fun at Borgata

Atlantic City is brimming with fall fun, considering the nightlife, dining and casino games available year-round. But the Borgata is upping the stakes with its latest culinary programs. Food lovers and cooking aficionados will eat up this stellar line-up featuring the resort’s top master chefs. Families can take a carriage ride any time between noon and 3 pm. Meet in front of City Hall at 9th & Asbury Ave.

IN THE KITCHEN WITH EXECUTIVE CHEF TOM BIGLAN
Saturday, Nov. 10 | 1 pm
Meet at Starbucks
Join Borgata’s Executive Chef Tom Biglan for a behind-the-scenes look at dinner service in a professional kitchen. Experience what it takes to execute a timed meal while enjoying a four-course tasting menu accompanied by wine. 4-course, a la carte menu paired with wine. Must be 21 or older. $65 per person

CULINARY DEMONSTRATION WITH IRON CHEF WOLFGANG PUCK
Saturday, Nov. 10 | 2 pm
The Music Box
Join renowned chef and Food Network personality Wolfgang Puck for a live cooking demonstration at Borgata’s Music Box theater. Learn how Puck creates some of his most celebrated recipes. Seated theater, culinary demo. Cash bar. No food provided. All ages welcome. $25 per person

SAVOR BORGATA – THE ULTIMATE FOOD EXPERIENCE
Saturday, Nov. 10 | 8 pm
Event Center
Enjoy live music as you mix and mingle with Borgata’s star-studded roster of chefs, including Bobby Flay, Michael Symon, Michael Schulson and Geoffrey Zakarian, among others. Walk-around format with multiple food, beer and wine stations. Must be 21 or older. $89 per person.

PLAYING WITH PINOT NOIR
Saturday, Nov. 10 | 2 pm
Central Conference Center Room #2
Enjoy the many facets of Pinot Noir as you wind your way from Europe through California to Oregon and beyond with Master Sommelier Robert Bigelow. Tasting portions of wine and light bites. Seminar format. Must be 21 or older. $65 per person

Bubbles with Geoffrey Zakarian and Moet & Chandon on Nov. 9 is sold out.

All Aboard These Awesome Trolley Tours

Cherry-red trolleys dot the quaint streets of Cape May, so hop on to take one of their many guided tours. It’s an easy and comfortable way to learn about America’s first seaside resort and have a laugh – or a scare – along the way.

Underground Railroad
$20/2 hours
Begins at 10:15 am on Saturdays until Nov. 10
Meet at Washington Street Mall Information Booth
Hear the stories and visit some of the places connected with the Underground Railroad. Learn how Harriet Tubman found Cape May as a resource for earning money to fund her work.

Wild Side
$20/2 hours
Begins at 8:30 am on Oct. 3 and 10
Meet at Washington Street Mall Information Booth
Join a Cape May naturalist and visit several local birding hotspots.

Victorian Mayhem
$12/30 mins
Begins at 7:15 pm on Fridays in October
Begins at 6:45 pm on Saturdays in October
Meet at Physick Estate
Explore some of the strange beliefs, superstitions, oddities, fads, curiosities and mysteries from the Victorian era.

Behind the Walls & Under the Crawls
$15/1 hour
Begins at 1 pm on Oct. 8
Meet at Washington Street Mall Information Booth
Explore Cape May’s Victorian architecture and learn about technology during the Victorian era.

Mansions by the Sea
$12/40 mins
Numerous dates and times throughout October
Meet at Washington Street Mall Information Booth
See a century of beachfront development, from lovely Victorian cottages to magnificent newly built houses.

Halloween Happenings

Haunted Seaport
Oct. 18-21 at Tuckerton Seaport
6 to 9 pm, $10
Pirates and sea captains long lost at sea stroll the seaport’s boardwalk for a night of screams. Climb aboard a hayride for a ghostly good time through the Haunted Woods. (A non-scary family activity area offers pumpkin slime, crafts, stories and games.)

Ghost Walk
Oct. 19 & 20 in Cape May
6 to 7 pm, $25
Follow psychic medium Craig McManus as he talks about the paranormal activity he has experienced at a variety of properties along the way. Walk begins at the Washington Street Mall Information Booth.

Halloween Parade
Oct. 25 on Asbury Ave. from 6th to 11th St. in Ocean City
7:15 pm, Free
Decorated floats, drill teams, antique cars plus kids and adults in their best costumes will stroll the avenue. Prizes are awarded based on originality and artistry.

Trunk-or-Treat Block Party
Oct. 27 along Olde N.J. Ave. between 2nd & Walnut Ave. in North Wildwood
Vehicle check-in: 5 pm
Event time: 5:30 to 7 pm
Families are encouraged to bring their vehicles decorated for Halloween. Children will come in costume and visit each car for treats from the trunks of the cars. Prizes will be awarded to the vehicles with the best decorations. Registration is free.

Wildwood Halloween Spooktacular
Oct. 27 at Fox Park on Ocean Ave.
11 am to 4 pm, free
Noon: professional pumpkin carving 1 pm: Spooky Scavenger Hunt Last 15 mins of every hour: Spooky Dance Party All day: enjoy pumpkin picking and painting, a scary hay maze, trick or treating, a magician, a cornhole tournament and live music. Attendees will receive a goodie bag at this free event.

Visit some Shore history

When it’s just too cold for a stroll on the beach, head inland for a history lesson or two. Each Shore town has plenty to see when it comes to learning the importance of our past. (If you’re not sure where to find a historical spot in your town, check the local library or historical society.)

At Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, you’ll find the world’s largest pipe organ, built in the 1930s to provide the soundtrack for silent movies. The organ has undergone a major restoration project that is expected to be completed by 2023, assuming funding from generous donors continues. Free behind-the-scenes tours of the instrument are given on Wednesdays at 10 am, followed by a 30-minute concert.   

On your next trip to Atlantic City, make a stop at the Korean War Memorial at 124 Park Place. A list of the 890 honored soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines from New Jersey who were killed in action or missing in action are listed on the black granite wall, under the eternal flame.

And in Cape May, you’ll find the state’s last remaining restorable World War II tower at Cape May Point State Park. The tower was restored in 2009 and now includes spiral staircases so you can climb to the top, a wooden walkway to the tower and a deck around its base, plus reproductions of historical details, like the original wooden ladders. There are information panels at every level of the tower, and the third level features a Wall of Honor with then-and-now photographs of more than 100 area World War II veterans.

Bring Your Binoculars

Fall is a fabulous time to see a variety of birds and butterflies at the Shore. The Cape May peninsula sits in the heart of the Atlantic Flyway, so you can watch thousands of birds make their way down south. On any day in October and November, you could see a peregrine falcon flying low along the salt marsh and flocks of white-winged scoters migrating along the ocean front.

Take a drive to the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge and visit 507 acres of protected, undeveloped forest and beach. The site has boardwalks and two observation platforms along with a nearly one-mile sand and clamshell trail that leads you through the maritime forest habitat. From now until November, you might see large numbers of songbirds, raptors and seabirds. If you enter the driveway from Route 621, pull off onto the shoulder to see the ponds on either side of the road.

At Cape May Point State Park, hawk watching is the main attraction, but you can also see the migration of songbirds, seabirds and monarch butterflies. (The orange and black butterflies make their way down the coastal dunes, nectaring from seaside goldenrod and a variety of other fall blooming flowers.) On any day in October and November, you are likely to find a crew of naturalists from the New Jersey Audubon Society there as official hawk counters. And it’s ok to ask them to identify any of the 19 species of raptor you might see soaring by. The park includes a lighthouse, trails, boardwalks, viewing platforms and covered picnic areas.

If you’d like to learn a bit more about the environment, check out the Nature Center of Cape May. The campus includes a three-story observation tower, an indoor observation lounge, three classrooms and themed display gardens. Fall is a great time to visit the small patch of beach across from the Nature Center to get an up-close view of an osprey, common loon or american oystercatcher.