5 Must-Do Summer Activities Before it Gets Cold

The signs of summer's end are everywhere: You can hear them in the back to school buzz, the sudden presence of fall coats in stores and the sound of a thousand discount mattress stores gearing up for the biggest Labor Day Sale ever!

But you're not ready! There's still so much to do before the cold weather sets in! Herewith is our list of the must-hit events of summer.

Celebrate Brooklyn

Celebrate Brooklyn is truly the universe's way of congratulating you on your decision to live in the city. Did you have a rough day? Was the subway especially pungent smelling? Did you have the misfortune of seeing two football-sized rats squabble alarmingly close to your sandled feet?

Forget all that. Much of Celebrate Brooklyn is free, and all of it can be experienced in varying degrees from a nearby picnic table or blanket. Just take a deep breath, and let the medley of excellent indie, heart-pounding hip-hop and bumping world beats wash away the city pain.

Click here for the full line-up.

Trek to Coney Island

On a purely aesthetic level, Coney Island may not provide the greatest beach experience—the sand can be described as neither white nor especially clean, and the crowds can reach levels not often seen outside of Times Square. However, Coney Island offers a litany of other charms unknown anywhere else: How often do you get to see an entire parade of scantily clad mermaids or watch as a man consumes 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes?

It's true that Coney Island will still be there in the winter, but there is something uniquely intoxicating about slurping a soft serve cone on the boardwalk in the blazing summer heat.

But don't take our word for it. Just hop on the F train, stay put until Stillwell Avenue and see for yourself.

Watch an Outdoor Movie

It's a simple recipe for a stellar evening: Take an activity normally done indoors, and move that sucker outside. Outdoor movies are screening on the regular in parks all over the city. Here's TimeOut New York's master list of ALL of them.

Bring a blanket, a bottle of wine and voila! Ideal summer evening. As long as it doesn't rain.

Get Out of Dodge

Let's face it, there's a reason so many city dwellers flee during the summer months: New York's streets can be tough, sticky places to navigate even without the oppressive heat. But leaving town need not be an extravagant affair reserved for those lucky enough to own multi-million dollar Hamptons homes.

Consider a day trip to Bear Mountain, or Jacob Riis Park for some fun that involves little by way of crowds, trash or cement. Hop on the Long Island Railroad and get off at any number of beaches, or just hang on until Montauk and enjoy the () majesty of Montauk Manor.

Whatever you do, just get outside. It's still summer, after all.

Have other suggestions? Let us know in the comments below.