Pumpkin Valley Farm in Dayton, a good place to find pumpkins, and a corn maze. Carl D. Walsh/Staff Photographer

For some people, it’s just not fall until they don that first flannel shirt of the season.

Others aren’t in an autumnal mood until they pick out the perfect pumpkin spiced latte. Or maybe you’re the person who waits all year to get lost in a corn maze or drink fresh-pressed apple cider in the form of a doughnut.

Everybody has a few things they need to do before they can feel like they’ve truly experienced autumn in Maine. Call it a fall bucket list. It can include anything that makes you feel cozy, comfortable and autumnal.

Here are some suggestions for things to check off on your own fall bucket list.

1. Plan your flannel

Flannel shirts are sort of the official uniform of fall in Maine, so now’s the time to pick one out. Luckily, the world’s best-known purveyor of flannel is nearby, in Freeport. Search for “flannel” on the L.L. Bean website, and you’ll find men’s and women’s shirts, hoodies, pajamas, bedding, duvet covers and flannel-lined blue jeans. One new item this year is the men’s “1912 Field Flannel Shirt, hooded, slightly fitted, untucked fit, plaid,” for $89. The plaid color options include classic navy, barley (yellow and blue) and currant (red and blue).

At the Kittery Trading Post, another well-known Maine purveyor of fall clothes, you can find toasty-warm attire like the Maxxsel Sherpa-lined Flannel Shirt Jacket, listed for $29.99 on the website in early October. Or you can get a classic-looking red-and-black Burnside woven-flannel shirt, which looks like what Paul Bunyan would wear, listed at $19.99.

The Paul Bunyan statue – adorned in classic red and black flannel – in Bangor in 2022. Shutterstock

2. Drink in some doughnuts

Apple cider doughnuts are sort of magical, since they combine the pure fall taste of fresh-pressed apple cider with the deep-fried satisfaction of doughnuts. More and more Maine orchards are offering these treats to folks who come out to pick apples in the fall. And there’s an easy way to find the treats near you, by checking out the online New England Cider Donut Map, created by Maine resident Alex Schwartz, who reviews cider doughnuts on Instagram, under the name Ciderdonuteur. The map lists at least two dozen places to get the doughnuts in Maine, and many more across New England.

At McDougal Orchards in Springvale, one of the big attractions is Captain Jack’s Donut Shack, featuring apple cider doughnuts and cider slushies. Thompson’s Orchard in New Gloucester has been around since 1906, but it’s doughnut shop has gotten rave reviews in recent years. They press their own cider on site, too.

3. Take a hike

The best way to experience fall foliage and crisp fall air is to get out and walk around in it. For hiking in the state’s scenic western mountains, you can try Grafton Notch State Park, north of Bethel. The park has some challenging hiking along the Appalachian Trail, but there are also places along Route 26 in the park where you can stop and see the scenery with little effort. There are short walking paths to Screw Auger Falls, Mother Walker Falls, Moose Cave and the Spruce Meadow Picnic Area.

If you want a quick fall mountain hike nearby, try Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal, just a half-hour drive from Portland. Mountain biking, picnicking and hiking are among the activities there. Bradbury Mountain is just 485 feet high, but it offers sweeping views of Casco Bay and surrounding towns. The quickest route to the summit is just a quarter mile, but there are some 21 miles of trails throughout the park.

Looking up at the massive face of the 800-foot Eyebrow Cliff in Grafton Notch. Carey Kish photo

4. Pick a patch 

Fall is not only the best time, but really the only time, when you can go pumpkin-picking. So before your annual viewing of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” head out on your own pumpkin patch adventure in Maine. One Maine pumpkin tradition is the Pumpkin Patch Trolley, now in its 26th year, at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport. On various days through Oct. 20, you can ride an antique trolley out to the patch and come back with a pumpkin. Tickets are $9 to $17, free for children under 3.

You can also pick pumpkins at many of the same Maine farms and orchards that have apple-picking and corn mazes this time of year. Harris Farm in Dayton has pick-your-own pumpkins daily, plus a “corn cave” to explore. There’s the “Pumpkin Patch by the Sea” at Alewive’s Brook Farm in Cape Elizabeth, open all month long in October, with kids’ activities on the weekend.

Trolley No. 4387 on its way to Seashore Trolley Museum’s Pumpkin Patch. Photo courtesy of Seashore Trolley Museum photo

5. Get lost 

There’s nothing like trying to find your way through a tangle of 6-foot-high corn stalks on a brisk fall day. Pineland Farms in New Gloucester has a 5-acre one, and they give you a map, just in case you can’t find your way out on your own. At Treworgy Family Orchards in Levant, near Bangor, the mazes create a design that can be seen from the air. This year’s is an image of Peter Rabbit. Pumpkin Valley Farm in Dayton also comes up with some intricate designs for its 5-acre maze. This year’s is “Bee Kind,” which includes a bumble bee and the words “Bee Kind” spelled out in corn. The farm, of course, also has pumpkins.

6. Spice it up 

Yes, some people have grown weary of the pumpkin spice takeover each fall, where everything from coffee shop lattes to Oreos and Cheerios come in a “pumpkin spice” variety. But pumpkin is a foundational flavor of fall, so why not use it as much as possible? You could head to a Gifford’s ice cream stand – in Skowhegan, Waterville or Bangor – and try the Maine creamery’s seasonal pumpkin and pumpkin pecan praline whirl flavors. You can find pumpkin whoopie pies and other baked treats all around Maine, including the famous pumpkin glazed doughnuts at the Cookie Jar in Cape Elizabeth. Then there’s Pumpkin Pie Malt Balls from Wilbur’s of Maine, a candy maker with locations in Freeport and Brunswick.