Summary
Cranberry Harvest in Massachusetts
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more photogenic crop than cranberries, which ripen and redden in the fall. In Massachusetts, the cranberry harvest coincides with fall foliage season, providing a double dose of visual splendor. According to the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association, 400 of North America’s 1,000 or so cranberry farms are concentrated in Massachusetts: Most are south of Boston in Plymouth County and on Cape Cod.
Any drive in this region during Massachusetts’ cranberry harvest season, which typically begins the last week of September and runs through October and sometimes into November, is likely to offer views of cranberry bogs, where growers are hard at work tending and picking the state’s top agricultural cash crop. There’s a good chance, too, you’ll find yourself driving behind dump trucks brimming with red berries.
The Pilgrims discovered cranberries growing wild in bogs near their settlement in Plymouth and named them “crane berries” due to their spring blossoms resembling the shape of the shore bird’s head and beak. From their Native American neighbors, the Pilgrims learned to utilize cranberries not only for food and medicinal purposes but also as a natural dye.
Cranberries are one of only three fruits native to North America that are now cultivated commercially. Like blueberries and Concord grapes, demand for cranberries has escalated worldwide as awareness of their health benefits increases.
If you’re eager to embark on a fall driving tour to visit cranberry bogs in Massachusetts, here are some top locations to witness the harvest process and purchase fresh cranberries and cranberry products.
Mayflower Cranberries
Address: 72 Brook St, Plympton, MA 02367-1712, USA
If you want to ensure you don’t miss out on the harvesting action at this small cranberry farm, which boasts three berry-producing bogs, make reservations well in advance for one of Mayflower Cranberries’ Harvest Viewing Tours, available on select dates in October and November. If you wish to don hip waders and venture into the bog to assist with the harvest, you can reserve Mayflower’s two-hour “Be the Grower” Experience. It may be costly, but it allows for a truly immersive experience. These tours tend to sell out far in advance of the harvest season. Additionally, the new Adopt-A-Bog experience lets you harvest your own plot of cranberries and take home 30 pounds of fresh-picked fruit.
Mayflower Cranberries also has a farm store and ships fresh-picked berries to anywhere in the United States.
Flax Pond Farms
Address: 58 Pond St, Carver, MA 02330, USA
Phone: +1 508-866-2162
Flax Pond Farms provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the history of cranberry farming in Massachusetts. Inside the shop at Flax Pond Farms, you’ll find an antique Bailey Cranberry Separator dating back to 1924. Children enjoy watching cranberries that pass a “bounce” test for quality get sorted by color and size on a conveyor belt. This fascinating process can also be observed in a video.
On an outdoor bog tour, you might meet grower Jack Angley, who has been cultivating cranberries on 35 acres since 1967. Although wet harvesting was a modern innovation in the late ’60s, Jack and his team have preferred dry harvesting for its quality advantages. Only cranberries harvested dry can be sold as fresh whole berries, while those harvested wet are generally processed for juice and other products.
The health benefits of cranberries are well-known, and many repeat customers order fresh-picked cranberries for delivery. While most of the farm’s crop is marketed by Massachusetts-based Ocean Spray—the largest cranberry cooperative globally—2,000 pounds can be sold annually from the family’s farm store, where samples of delightful hot mulled cranberry tea are served.
Rocky Maple Bogs
Address: 18 N Carver Rd, West Wareham, MA 02576, USA
Experience the vibrant sight of radiant red cranberries rising to the surface of a flooded bog. When bogs are flooded using a sprinkler irrigation system, buoyant cranberries loosen from their vines and float to the surface. Wind naturally guides the berries toward one corner of the bog, where they are then collected.
You do not need to be part of a guided tour to observe the wet cranberry harvesting process, but be mindful to respect private property. Rocky Maple Bogs (18 North Carver Road, Wareham, MA) is worth a drive-by to catch a glimpse of this process.
The cranberry beaters, sometimes referred to as “eggbeaters,” do not pick cranberries; instead, their paddle wheels agitate the water, encouraging cranberries to release from the vine. Once the bog is flooded, time is of the essence; harvesters must quickly retrieve their product and transport it to the processing plant to prevent spoilage.
Makepeace Farms
Address: 146 Tihonet Rd, Wareham, MA 02571, USA
Phone: +1 508-295-5437
For those eager to experience the cranberry harvest, A.D. Makepeace Company offers guided bog tours during the season. You can view the schedule online or call 508-322-4028 for additional details.
Regardless of whether or not you reserve a spot on a tour, Makepeace Farms should be a highlight of your cranberry bog driving adventure. This farm market is the premier location to shop for cranberry products, alongside other locally sourced gourmet foods and gifts. Offerings include fresh cranberries, sweetened dried cranberries, and unique cranberry-infused items.
Cranberry Bog Tours
Address: 1601 Factory Rd, Harwich, MA 02645-1661, USA
Phone: +1 508-432-0790
Learn about organic cranberry farming on a tour of Cape Cod’s largest organic bog. Tours start in April and are available daily through the fall harvest season. These family-friendly and accessible tours require advance reservations. Don’t forget to purchase sweetened dried cranberries and organic cranberry sauce at the farm stand before you leave; fresh cranberries by the pound are also available during the harvest season.
Cape Cod Cranberry Bog Tours
Get an agricultural education on walking tours offered by this cranberry grower, which has cultivated 75 acres of bogs on Cape Cod for more than 25 years. Reservations should be made in advance for daily outings from mid-June to mid-December to view blooming bogs and the harvesting process. The minimum group size is four people.
Annie’s Crannies
Address: 36 Scarsdale Rd, Dennis, MA 02638-1303, USA
Phone: +1 508-385-5517
Visit this Cape Cod cranberry grower on weekends during the harvest season for bog viewing and to shop for fresh fruit and farm-made products including Bogside Honey. Owner Annie Walker transitioned from a Broadway production wardrobe supervisor to this endeavor in 1994, making her story a unique piece of local history. Notably, Dennis is the first town in America where cranberries—a native wild fruit—were successfully cultivated.
