5 affordable destinations for labor day

COMB A BEACH IN FORT BRAGG, CALIFORNIA Indigenous tribes populating the north coast of California frequently visited the area now known as Fort Bragg to collect shellfish, seaweed and salt.

Today, 170 miles north of San Francisco, the former Mendocino County milling town — which is entirely enshrined as a California Historic Landmark — attracts beachcombers for another reason:

beach glass. Though it’s hard to believe, before 1967, the ocean served as a city dump site. But the ocean has given back. Apothecary bottles, auto taillights and other glass debris have

been polished by the surf action, resulting in a gem-studded beach of smoothed sea glass. Glass Beach — where visitors are encouraged to take photos, not glass — resides in MacKerricher

State Park, also home to tide pools and hiking trails. WHERE TO STAY: Overnight at the inexpensive Jug Handle Farm & Nature Center, a nonprofit educational center about 5 miles south of

Fort Bragg where programs cover the Native American use of plants and mushroom identification. A view above the clouds from the 6,288-foot summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Drive

the Mount Washington Auto Road before snow falls.​ Getty Images TAKE A LAST-CHANCE MOUNTAIN DRIVE AT MOUNT WASHINGTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE Before the snow flies in the White Mountains, take a

seasonal joy ride up the Mount Washington Auto Road, a 7.6-mile “road to the sky” in Gorham gaining more than 4,000 feet in elevation to reach the 6,288-foot summit of Mount Washington. (The

toll costs $45 over Labor Day weekend plus $20 for each additional passenger.) The attraction, opened in 1861, offers scenic turnouts and short hiking trails en route to the peak where

motorists can visit the Extreme Mount Washington museum to learn about the peak’s polar-like weather, the 1853-vintage Tip Top House and the popular gift shop, dispensing bumper stickers

that read, “This car climbed Mt. Washington.” WHERE TO STAY: For convenience, consider The Glen House at the foot of Mount Washington. The 2023 Minnesota State Fair, in Minneapolis, is from

Aug. 24 to Sept. 4. Games, rides and 4-H livestock exhibits are among the activities at this year’s fair. Photo Courtesy of the Minnesota State Fair and Meet Minneapolis ATTEND THE STATE

FAIR IN MINNEAPOLIS Salute the seasonal harvest over Labor Day by attending a state fair. Several states hold them over the holiday weekend, including Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and

Washington. Dating back to 1855, the Minnesota State Fair sprawls over 320 acres through Sept. 4 (advance tickets $15). Apart from games and rides, the fairgrounds are packed with 4-H

livestock exhibits, beekeeping demonstrations, horse shows, displays of perfect tomatoes and pumpkins, juried art exhibits and contests for the best cakes, jams, quilts and stamp

collections. Don’t miss the dairy-meets-art tradition of refrigerated busts sculpted from giant slabs of butter. Chow down on fair food spanning more than 500 menu items, 80 of them served

on a stick including deep-fried candy bars, spaghetti and meatballs and Key lime pie. WHERE TO STAY: Numerous affordable hotels, including the Hampton Inn & Suites Minneapolis University

Area, are on the light-rail Green Line that connects, with a short bus transfer, to the fairgrounds.