September travel is defined by the Labor Day long weekend, which this year falls on September 2. Sleeping in on a Monday is the best part of the holiday, to be sure, but you can make the late morning that much better by waking up in a cool new place (one where your boss doesn’t know to look for you). And in September in the United States, that new place can be just about anywhere, save for a ski slope. September is (usually, at least) a bumper month between the hot and cool seasons. Depending on where you go and during what time of the month, you’ll get the full face of a hot, sweaty summer, or you’ll see the beginning of fall; temperatures will be dropping and the reds of the leaves will be starting to show through. So you have a few decisions to make: Do you want to wear cut off jeans and a tank top? Or do you want to sip on something hot and full of pumpkin spice? Whatever it is, we’ve got options.
Boise, Idaho
Did you hear the good news? There’s a beautiful wine country out west that’s cheaper than Napa — and it’s in Idaho. The wine industry isn’t as developed here as in the mass production vineyards of California, but you can still get some forward-thinking wines like those at Split Rail Winery. And many wineries are in or near Boise, an underrated city if we’ve seen one. It has the biggest Basque population outside of the Iberian Peninsula, and Basque cuisine pairs excellently with — you know what we’re about to say — wine. The outdoor adventure around Boise rivals that of other western metropolises in Utah and California, with hiking and biking in the Black Cliffs and Table Rock, and the city has culture too, music scene and all.
The Florida Keys
Sometimes you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. On Labor Day weekend, the beach is rarely a bad idea, and the Florida Keys has one hell of a coastline. It’s dominated by top-tier resorts, and we encourage you to sit down in one of their beach chairs, bring a good book (or an issue of Fifty Grande) and never, ever open your phone. If you want to get a little alcoholic buzz, the Florida Keys is a great place to do it. The drinking culture here is full of tiki bars, rum runners and other tropical delights, though they might make your phone more tempting. Block your ex!
Duluth, Minn.
When people think of fall leaves, they think of New England, but they should also start thinking of Duluth. Blazing along the eastern shores of Lake Superior, Duluth will have some of the first changing leaves of the season. If you’re worried that by leaf peeping here, you’ll miss the cider and beers of Vermont, the historic towns and the forested vistas, don’t be. Duluth has its own take on each of these fall staples. Plus a great lake. In September, the weather will be perfect for afternoons on brewery patios, paddling on the lake, or both.
Fayetteville, Ark.
Fayetteville checks a lot of boxes. It’s in the Ozarks, and the green beauty here is top notch. This is where you come if you want to, as the kids say, “touch grass,” hiking or biking into the hills, or watching butterflies in the city’s botanical gardens. But this is also a college town, and the culture here has evolved to meet the needs of its population. There’s great barbecue, solid live music at spots like The Piano Bar, and opportunities for intellectual pursuit at museums like Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in nearby Bentonville. A project of the Walton family, architect Moshe Safdie designed the museum building, and it has displayed the work of some of the modern greats, including Jackson Pollack, Jasper Johns, Annie Leibowitz and Norman Rockwell.
