Most of New England's lobster and clam shacks close just after Labor Day, and soon after that, the whale-watching tours off the Maine coast will stop. But if you think there's nothing to do in New England in the fall except enjoy the glories of the foliage changing color, you are oh-so-wrong.

Here we offer 10 fun things to do in New England during leaf-peeping season.

1. GO ANTIQUING

The roads and small towns of New England are dotted with antique shops where you'll find everything from butter churns and painted furniture to collectible pottery and vintage record albums. But if you're more than a casual browser, New Hampshire's Antique Alley (www.nhantiquealley.com) claims about two-dozen stores with more than 500 dealers. The alley is along a 20-mile stretch of Route 4 that runs through farmland west of Portsmouth and east of Concord.

2. SAMPLE CHEESE

Artisanal cheesemaking is booming in Vermont, which now has nearly 40 cheesemakers who create fromage from the milk of cows, sheep and goats. The Vermont Cheese Trail (www.vtcheese.com) runs the length of the state and includes about 15 cheesemakers who invite the public in for tastings and sometimes demonstrations. Be sure to call ahead and see if they're open -- most are small operations and can't always accommodate drop-in tasters.

3. CELEBRATE THE HARVEST

It's harvest season, and New England offers dozens of festivals to celebrate it. Here's just a sampling (see websites of state tourism agencies, page XJ, for more): Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Harvest Festival, Oct. 11-12 (www.cranberries.org); Gilfeather Turnip Festival in Waldsboro, Vt., Oct, 25 (www.friendsofwardsborolibrary.org); and Great Maine Apple Day in Unity, Me., Oct. 18 (www.mofga.org).

4. SCALE THE HEIGHTS

New Hampshire's Mt. Washington, at 6,288 feet, is the highest in the Northeast, and on a clear day, offers breathtaking views. By ''clear day,'' by the way, we mean a clear day at the peak, where a confluence of factors can create weather very different from what you'll experience at the base. Drive the eight miles or take a van tour to the top if fog, hairpin turns, sheer drops and a lack of guardrails don't bother you (www.mountwashingtonautoroad.com). Otherwise, hike it -- or try one of the other peaks in the Presidential Range -- there are nine over 5,000 feet.

5. LEARN TO BAKE

Those of us who love to bake know King Arthur Flour (www.kingarthurflour.com) as the source of specialty flours and baking equipment. But its store in Norwich, Vt., is also a fine place for a novice baker to learn the basics or a veteran to brush up on advanced skills. Adult half-day classes include baking pies, cakes and of course bread, but in the fall, the school offers such timely topics as autumn pastas and pies made with autumn fruits. And there are classes for kids too.

6.SEE ONE-OF-A-KIND MUSEUM

Tour museums you won't see anywhere else. You can find more at state's tourism websites, but here are a few to get you started: antique cartoon toys and drawings at Fawcett's Antique Toy Museum in Waldoboro, Me. (http://home.gwi.net/~fawcetoy/); landscape murals by Rufus Porter at the eponymous museum in Bridgton, Me., where he spent his childhood (www.rufusportermuseum.org); and a working schooner and a replica gunboat at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, Vt. (www.lcmm.org).

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