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20 End of Summer Quotes That Will Remind You to Cherish the Season

"Alas, summer sun can’t last forever." 🌅

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best end of summer quotes

Uh oh, it's finally happening! The weather outside that once made you sweat is starting to noticeably cool down and you realize that you might need to bring out a sweater or maybe a flannel. Oh, and what's that floating in your pool? You think it's a pool toy at first glance, but the closer your look, you realize it's a leaf from your tree. You don't want to accept it just yet, but all the signs are pointing to it: summer is ending! It's one of the saddest goodbyes, knowing you'll leave that sense of freedom behind once again. It's hard to put this melancholy feeling into words—but it's an experience shared by many. With that said, we curated a list of quotes that embody just what the end of summer feels like.

There are plenty of inspirational quotes on this list, giving us the pick-me-up we need as we head into the chillier months. This quote by Paul Monette is a great example: “Summer has always been good to me, even the bittersweet end, with the slanted yellow light.” Though, others included might seem a bit more cynical—which we're allowed to be from time to time. Shakespeare always gets it right, especially when he said: “Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”

So, before Labor Day rolls around, read through these end of summer quotes. Who knows, some of these may make a nifty summer Instagram caption!

1

Sylvia Plath

best end of summer quotes
The Pioneer Woman

“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.”

2

George R.R. Martin

best end of summer quotes
The Pioneer Woman

“The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer.”

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3

Sarah MacLean

best end of summer quotes
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“Alas, summer sun can’t last forever. The days will grow cooler and shorter, and our skin will once again pale.”

4

Sarah Helen Whitman

best end of summer quotes
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“When summer gathers up her robes of glory, And, like a dream, glides away.”

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5

Henry Rollins

best end of summer quotes
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“August, the summer’s last messenger of misery is a hollow actor.”

6

Henry David Thoreau

best end of summer quotes
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“One must maintain a little bit of summer, even in the middle of winter.”

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7

Grease, 'Summer nights'

best end of summer quotes
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“Summer lovin’, had me a blast. Summer Lovin’, happened so fast.”

8

William Shakespeare

best end of summer quotes
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“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”

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9

Angie Weiland-Crosby

best end of summer quotes
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“On the shore of nature's magic, I dreamed summer knew no end.”

10

Helen Hunt Jackson

best end of summer quotes
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“With all these lovely tokens of September days are here, with summers best of weather and the autumns best of cheer.”

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11

John Steinbeck

best end of summer quotes
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“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”

12

Susan Branch

best end of summer quotes
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“I could never in a hundred summers get tired of this.”

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13

Albert Camus

best end of summer quotes
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“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

14

Evelyn Waugh

best end of summer quotes
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“If it could only be like this always–always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe.”

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15

Sebastian Faulks

best end of summer quotes
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“The end-of-summer winds make people restless.”

16

William E. Henley

best end of summer quotes
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“Here is the ghost of summer that lived for us. Here is a promise of summer to be.”

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17

Lilly Pulitzer

best end of summer quotes
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“It’s always summer somewhere.”

18

Paul Monette

best end of summer quotes
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“Summer has always been good to me, even the bittersweet end, with the slanted yellow light.”

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19

Benjamin Alire Sáenz

best end of summer quotes
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“Summertime. It was a song. It was a season. I wondered if that season would ever live inside of me.”

20

Ann Patchett

best end of summer quotes
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“It was that day when the end of summer intersects perfectly with the start of fall.”

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Josiah Soto
Digital Content Producer

Josiah is the Digital Content Producer for the commerce team at Popular Mechanics, Best Products, Runner’s World, and Bicycling Magazine. He also writes for “BIO Buys”—a column on Biography.com—giving readers the lowdown on what products their favorite celebs are using. In another life, Josiah was an editor at ThePioneerWoman.com, where he sharpened his expertise on all things lifestyle, food-news, and entertainment. Outside work related matters, he’s a fan of Studio Ghibli films, unimportant reality TV drama, and melancholy Lorde songs. 

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