While much of Long Island has opened up and returned to some sense of normalcy, my little family has continued to keep things close to home. With Halloween on the horizon, we decided to pack ourselves up to visit The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze Long Island.

The event at Old Bethpage Restoration is produced by the Historic Hudson Valley, the group behind the uber-popular, long-time running, sells-out annually Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze at Westchester's Van Cortlandt Manor.

Featuring more than 7,000 hand-carved pumpkins in scenes scattered through the pathways, orchards, and grounds, the Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze Long Island is an amazing feat of artistry worth adding to your fall bucket list. Read on for the details on this must-visit attraction, which overflows with local history, artistic designs, and spooky Halloween fare.

A pandemic Halloween season needs creative solutions, and Los Angeles has met that challenge head on. We know trick-or-treating this year is iffy at best, parties are taboo, and theme park haunts are all canceled; but Halloween promoters and enthusiasts have hit October running with a variety of drive-thrus, drive-bys, and socially distanced Halloween activities. Most of these COVID-era Halloween experiences are new for 2020, and the highest profile of the bunch is the Hauntoween Drive-thru in Woodland Hills. We made a journey on opening night to give this celebration a test drive, find out how a rolling haunt works, and see if Hauntoween is worth the price of admission.

Lower Manhattan has 2.5 acres of brand new parkland to explore as Hudson River Park's Pier 26 is now open to the public. A long-time coming, it's the first new pier to open in the green space since 2010 and connects New Yorkers to the Hudson River in a whole new, educational way.

Read on to find out what makes this new stretch of waterfront worth adding to your fall bucket list.

The good news: Halloween is happening this year. The less good news: It’s happening a little differently than usual for many of us. When the CDC issued its Halloween guidelines in late September, the government health organization confirmed what many of us were thinking: traditional trick-or-treating may just be too risky this year.

Of course, not all families feel that way and will continue with the annual door-to-door candy grab kids love so much. But if you are choosing to stay home and celebrate Halloween in a socially distanced manner, these fun Halloween activities can be done at home, virtually, or with a small group. Some of these pandemic-era Halloween activities are sure to become family traditions because they’re just that fun. There's even a way to turn the boring old indoors into a spooky but totally safe haunted house with a new FREE AR experience from Netflix.

Visit our Halloween Guide or events page for more Halloween activities.

Located on 56 Instagram-worthy waterfront acres of Long Island’s Gold Coast, The Beacon at Garvies Point is bringing totally luxurious condos to Glen Cove with amenities that rival a five-star hotel. From the super sleek game room and seasonal outdoor heated pool to the spacious light-filled residences, families will fall hard for this little piece of North Shore paradise nestled in a dynamic new resort-style neighborhood. Oh, and for moms and dads who need to get to NYC, a future high-speed ferry service operated by the city of Glen Cove will cut the trip to Manhattan down to under an hour.

Do you have a big kid (or one at heart) who lives for the thrills and chills of Halloween time? While some area haunted houses remain shuttered until 2021, there are several haunted attractions and even some new spooky experiences (including nighttime "swamp" ride) that are open for scary business in Massachusetts or just over the New Hampshire or Rhode Island borders—all with safety policies in place to allow for social distancing. Best for older children, these Boston-area haunted attractions feature ghoulish scenery, jump scares, and even some wickedly good storylines to put everyone in the spooky spirit.

Too scary? No worries: Our Halloween Guide is packed with seasonal parades, crafts, and other activities that are just plain fun.

With millions of kids across the country attending school remotely this fall, many hotels, resorts, and campgrounds are now offering online learning assistance to ease the burden placed on parents by this new remote and homeschool lifestyle. These vacation options offer families a way to work and learn in a new environment.

From private learning suites to converted conference rooms, and chef-inspired lunches, these travel destinations have pulled out all the stops to make virtual learning while on vacation as stress-free as possible. Of course, these classrooms come with the best kind of "recess," from resort pools and water parks to cycling and surfing.

So pack your bags and plan a much-needed "schoolcation" getaway from this relentless year. Find more family vacation ideas in our Family Travel Guide.

As cooler weather reaches the Delaware Valley, Philly families are reminded of autumnal traditions. This year, consider adding a new experience to your fall must-do list by climbing aboard one of the many family-friendly train rides in the region.

From fall foliage viewing to pumpkin patch stops, there are several unique train experiences sure to delight Philly children of all ages.