How to Get Outside in August
It's not too late to fill your weekends with local, social, dirt-cheap outings this month.
Since this freelance writer hasn’t (yet?) received that email offering me an all-expenses-paid weekend in the Hamptons, I’ll have to implement Plan B. But that’s fine. Instead of spending time packing chic outfits I don’t own, and driving hours in traffic, I’ll turn to my calendar, which in August is typically packed with outings.
Subscribing to outdoorsy newsletters and joining local conservation clubs means I’m swimming in guided events, especially during the dog days of summer when the heat and humidity becomes oppressive, and sticking closer to home and getting outside in the cooler hours of the morning and evening make sense.
Certainly, these lazy days of summer are anything but. They’re filled with nature-y outings that remind us that the great outdoors is right where we live. It’s why I’m writing a book filled with all sorts of local, social, dirt-cheap outings available to all of us wherever we live. It’s called The Great Local Outdoors.
My Upcoming Weekend Plans
If you find yourself at home base on summer weekends, you’re not missing out! There are lots of ways to be outside with others, in nature, and seeing (and maybe even learning) something new. Here’s how my weekend is shaping up, starting on Friday because aren’t summer Fridays the new Saturdays?
Two Outings on Friday: a butterfly walk at an arboretum, and movie night featuring a showing of a new wildlife documentary on Falco, the Central Park owl
The New Jersey Butterfly Club has teamed up with the New Jersey Conservation Foundation to run a morning butterfly outing at an arboretum. I’m so there.
Go on a butterfly walk with a group. That evening one of my birding clubs (I belong to 4 because why not?) emailed that Montclair Film, a nonprofit that runs the Montclair Film Festival, was offering our members discounted tickets to the viewing of a new documentary, Wild Inside, about Flaco, the male Eurasian eagle-owl that escaped from the Central Park Zoo in NYC, and became the fascination of millions in the city and beyond. The film is shown indoors, but the topic is outdoorsy. I’ll probably invite friends, and we’ll have dinner in this very walkable town.
Four Outings on Saturday: a guided walk on a beautiful trail, a moth night, and a blueberry festival. Decision, decisions.
A 3-mile guided walk on the Lawrence Hopewell Trail, a 20 mile, multi-use loop trail. The nonprofit friends group for the trail holds free walks at different sections of the trail every Saturday in the summer. This walk will meander through old historic farmland, field edges, and forests.
Moth night at a historic 500-acre property that was a dairy farm in 1914, and today features historic buildings and hiking trails. The evening starts with an indoor talk about moths followed by the standard way of finding and identifying them outdoors: hanging a white sheet and shining a light on it to attract the insects. This outing is organized by a birding club, which is asking for a measly $5 donation that goes to restoration at the property.
The 37th Annual Ellenville Blueberry Festival is in the beautiful Hudson Valley, and features live entertainment, artisan vendors, and of course fresh local blueberries. Despite my fondness for blueberries, it’s probably too far a drive unless I make a day of it by adding a hike. Look around your area for summer festivals.
Two Outings (so far) on Sunday: a live program on ospreys at a national wildlife refuge, and a butterfly walk at a botanical garden
The nonprofit friends group for the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is hosting photographer/retired scientist Steven Weiner for a live presentation on ospreys. It’ll be held at the visitor center, and leave plenty of time to hike some of the trails. (Ospreys had a really tough summer here in New Jersey with many fledglings dying of starvation.)
Another one of my birding clubs has organized a butterfly walk at the New Jersey Botanical Garden.
Take advantage of what’s out there this time of year. Check out your local conservation groups, and go on one of their outings.
And if at all possible, don’t let your partner fill a summer weekend with chores. Mine chose last weekend to have the garage floor painted. I missed the free kayaking offered by a watershed group on a local reservoir, and the butterfly club’s picnic at a state park. My only consolation is that these outings are typically held every year so there’s always summer 2027.
Headed to Madison, Wis.
I’ll be headed here this month for the Outdoor Writers Association of America’s 2026 Conference. It features workshops on writing and editing, AI, photography, working with PR folk, podcasts and audio content, to name just a few.
And as one would expect from such a group, the conference features a bunch of outings. Pre- and post-tour multi-day trips take you outside Madison. Plus, during the conference there’s time to explore the city’s outdoors, including bike and paddle rentals to explore around and in their lakes, and tours of the University of Wisconsin’s arboretum, the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, and production facilities where Vortex Optics are produced, and Trek bikes are made.
OWAA members are much more than just writers, authors, and editors. They’re photographers, podcasters, film and video producers, fine artists, bloggers, PR professionals, and more. If you’re interested in any of these outdoorsy fields, consider going.
And if you like a fun party, OWAA is celebrating its 100th year with a roaring 1920s dinner. Pass the creamed asparagus, please!
