Forget winter and summer (a.k.a., construction); the best season in Rochester is definitely autumn. September and October days just plain smell better, and they have great perks: cool breezes, beautiful foliage, and all the apples you can eat. The cider alone makes living in New York worthwhile.

What better way for your family to celebrate the autumn season than by getting outdoors and visiting a local nature park? Here are some favorites worth checking out; for more ideas and events, check City Newspaper's events calendar every Wednesday.

Thousand Acre Swamp

Penfield's Thousand Acre Swamp Sanctuary, a complex of wetlands carved by glaciers in the last Ice Age, is a hotspot for local wildlife and flora. One of the largest intact wetland systems in western New York, the swamp's 10 hiking trails are some of the best places to spot white-tailed deer mingling among silver maple trees, or great blue herons and wood ducks pausing for a migratory pit-stop. It's like the National Geographic Channel in your backyard.

The park also offers several free, volunteer-run "theme" hikes, many of which are designed particularly with families in mind. For example, "Signs of Wildlife" (October 27, 10 a.m.), which discusses how hikers can recognize and interpret clues wild animals leave behind, is a big hit with children. Also, "Brush Hour" (October 13, 10 a.m.), celebrating the swamp's autumn foliage, is specifically designed with beginners in mind.

The park also sponsors star-gazing sessions, or "star parties", led by astronomers familiar with the fall constellations and night sky. Two such upcoming events include "Mercury Over the Swamp" and "Andromeda Over The Swamp" (September 21 and October 19, 6:30 p.m.). These star parties are weather-dependent -- not much point in star-gazing during a rainstorm! -- and telescopes are provided.

Finally, if you're itching to assist local conservation efforts, you can sign up for the "Thousand Acre Fall Work Day" (September 29, 9 a.m.), a trail maintenance project where volunteers help clean up the park trails and grounds. It's open to everyone, and participants should bring gloves, boots, and any yard equipment they have. Refreshments provided.

Thousand Acre Swamp is located off of Jackson Road in Penfield. For more information on these or the rest of the swamp's fall schedule, call hike coordinator Shirley Shaw at 385-3907.

Tinker Nature Park

Henrietta's Tinker Nature Park is a parent's dream: a kid-friendly, 68-acre park where there's always something going on and something fun to play with.

Children and their parents can wander the park grounds, which include a 1.8-mile walking trail, a half-mile nature trail, a wildflower meadow, and a play pavilion overlooking a bass-fishing pond. Or they can check out the Hansen Nature Center, with its seasonal nature exhibits, huge taxidermy collection, and indoor observation honeybee hive. Those interested in more educational pursuits can take in the Tinker Homestead and Farm Museum, dedicated to preserving 19th century farm life. Or kids can ponder the Tinker Labyrinth, an outdoor "maze" with no dead ends, just one long, continuous path.

On October 20, 6-9 p.m., Hansen Nature Center will host its annual Halloween Festival, a free, family-oriented outdoor event. Activities will include a Haunted Cow Barn -- like a haunted house, but with more bovines -- and a "Woodland Wander" nature hike, where volunteers dressed as forest animals will hand out candy to children. Inside the museum, staff will reenact a Victorian funeral, depicting how 19th century Victorians mourned the loss of their loved ones.

The Tinker Nature Park is located at 1585 Calkins Road. Grounds trails and labyrinth are open from dawn until dusk, while the Tinker Homestead and Farm Museum and Hansen Nature Center are open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (or by appointment). All park attractions are free. For more information, call Arleen Oliver at 359-7044.

Helmer Nature Center

Run by the West Irondequoit Central School District, the Helmer Nature Center usually functions as an outdoor classroom for schools; classes come from as far away as Port Byron to learn about conservation at this 45-acre nature park. But every day from dawn to dusk, the park grounds are also open to the public. That includes two miles of nature trails, a pond and boardwalk, gardens, and a maple sugaring pavilion. It's a pleasant, quiet place to take kids to play among local trees and flowers, and maybe even spot some extra-sociable deer or scurrying field mice.

Several times during the year, Helmer Nature Center throws free, public festivals; this year's kick-off event is the Fall Harvest Festival (October 7, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.). The event is an autumn-themed play paradise, featuring hayrides, horse rides, face painting, and puppet shows. Children can press their own cider, help carve pumpkins, check out chainsaw carvings, and watch pioneer-style candle-crafting and butter-making.

In addition to the festival, the park offers "Owls in the Night" (October 26, 6-9 p.m.), a family-oriented scavenger hunt. The park will provide dinner while families hunt for "owls" and compete for prizes.

Helmer is located at 154 Pine Grove Avenue. For more information about these or other programs, please call Mary Anna Russo at 336-3035.

Cumming Nature Center

The Cumming Nature Center, owned by the Rochester Museum and Science Center, is located in the Bristol Hills, seven miles south of Honeoye. While this park has the most restrictive hours of the bunch -- it's open only on the weekends, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., late December through October -- its picture-perfect trails definitely make it worthwhile.

Cumming Nature Center's six miles of "themed" trails traverse 900 acres of woods, wetlands, and meadows. The "Beaver Trail" overlooks a 35-acre pond that's a favorite hangout for its woodland namesakes, and along the "Pioneer Trail" is a reconstruction of a homestead from the 1700s. "Leap Frog Pond" is especially good for preschoolers, as it features a permanent "pond" where kids can play and climb on oversized turtles and mushrooms.

For older kids, the park offers guided nature programs twice daily on the weekends (11 a.m. and 2 p.m.) on a variety of improvised topics. (Visitors can call up to a week in advance to find out the weekly topic.)

For a real treat, take the family (or a date) to see the two-day Timber Sports Weekend extravaganza (October 6-7, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and 10 a.m.-5 p.m., respectively). Woodsman teams from several upstate colleges, like Finger Lakes Community College and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, compete in various forest-themed feats of strength: axe-throwing, log-rolling, speed-climbing and canoe races. Saturday is mostly for demonstrations and set-up, while the actual competitions take place on Sunday.

Cumming Nature Center is located at 6472 Gulick Road in Naples. Admission is free for RMSC members, and a $3/person, $10/family donation is encouraged for nonmembers. For more information, call 374-6160.