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Updated: September 23, 2023
During Cape Cod cranberry harvesting season, visitors come from far and wide to see our local bogs awash with color!
Acres of floating cranberries. Farmers surrounded in a sea of red, gathering their crop. Truckloads of berries going off to market. It's fascinating to watch!
On this page, I'll show you what the harvest is all about and let you know the best times and places to see it in person.
Want to wade into a bog among the floating cranberries? I'll give you the inside scoop about guided tours and wade-in-the-bog experiences, too!
Table of Contents
Simply put: a cranberry bog is a large, open field where cranberries are grown.
So, where are the berries?
Many harvest-watching newbies are surprised to learn that cranberries don't grow on trees or bushes. They don't grow in water, either.
Instead, they grow on low-to-the-ground vines in a special combination of sand, peat and other organic matter.
* See this article from University of Massachusetts' Cranberry Station to learn all about how cranberries are grown.
Harvesting season begins in mid-September and reaches its peak in mid-to late October.
By mid-November, the season has pretty much come to an end. :(
Planning a trip to the Cape especially to see the cranberry harvest?
Timing your visit can be a bit tricky because most cranberry farmers don't let us know, in advance, when they plan to gather up their berries.
In the "Bogs to Visit" section farther down on this page, I'll tell you about one grower who gives us a few days' notice of his harvesting plans.
In that section, I'll also let you know when the harvest usually happens at the other bogs. Not exact dates, of course - but close enough that you should have a good chance of finding a harvest in progress while you're here. ;-)
What will you see on harvest days?
That depends on which method the farmer is using to pick the berries:
The wet harvest is a multi-step process that happens over several days.
To begin, water is flooded into the bog from a nearby water source.
Next, the farmers drive water-reel machines (a/k/a "egg beaters") through the flooded bog.
The reels churn just below the water's surface, knocking the cranberries off the vines.
Then, more water is released into the bog, raising the berries up so they can float freely.
Why Do Cranberries Float?
Inside a cranberry, little "air pockets" surround the fruit's tiny seeds.
The air pockets make the berries buoyant, so they float!
How long are the berries left floating?
Not long!
Once the berries are off their vines, the crop is usually brought in within the next 24 hours or so.
*Tip: When you see cranberries floating in the afternoon, go back the next morning. You'll likely see the farmers working in the bog.
How are the cranberries removed from the bog?
First, the farmers lay out a long length of "boom" material to surround the floating berries.
Next, the farmers gradually tighten the boom and push the corralled berries toward an underwater vacuum system.
The berries are sucked from the water, through a large hose, into a wash plant.
As the berries go through the wash plant, weeds and other debris are separated out and fed into another truck for disposal.
Finally, the rinsed cranberries drop into the bed of a tractor-trailer for transport to a processing facility.
Did You Know?
Wet-harvested cranberries are processed for juices, canned sauces and other commercially-made products.
Dry-harvested berries are sold fresh at bog-side stands, farm markets and grocery stores.
Only a small fraction of Cape Cod's cranberry crop is dry harvested. So having a chance to see this process is an extra-special experience (IMHO)!
No flooding is involved with this method. Just the opposite. For a successful dry harvest, the berries must be free of moisture.
The farmers use a picker machine to "comb" the berries from the vines and deposit them into a container.
Then the berries are sorted to remove any damaged or over-ripe fruit and bog debris.
And finally, the most delicious cranberries you've ever tasted are bagged and ready for sale. :-)
Did You Know?
Kept cool and dry (not rinsed!), fresh cranberries will stay good for a month or more.
They also freeze well for up to a year.
Topping my list of the best places on Cape Cod to watch the cranberry harvest is ...
300 Main Street (Route 28)
West Yarmouth, MA
What makes this bog so special?
Chris and Lindsay Wilson, owners of Fresh From the Vine, are a super-friendly, hard-working team who thoroughly enjoy sharing their love of cranberry farming with all of us.
They welcome the public to watch them at work in the bog ... and they tell us when to come see the harvest!
* Follow Fresh From the Vine on Facebook to find out when they plan to flood the bog and corral the crop.
There's plenty of safe, off-street parking here ... a real plus, especially when you have little ones in tow!
Want to buy fresh cranberries? (Hint, hint: Yes, you do!)
The Wilsons sell their dry-harvested berries at their Fresh From the Vine farm stand right there by the bog.
The stand is open nearly every day from mid-October until they sell out their entire crop, usually around mid-November.
Knob Hill Road & Mayflower Terrace
South Yarmouth, MA
This big, beautiful cranberry bog stretches nearly the entire length of Knob Hill Road and Mayflower Terrace. So there's plenty of room to watch and take photos from the roadside when the berries are floating!
You can also reach Old Colony Bogs from the Cape Cod Rail Trail.
Get off the Rail Trail at the North Main Street crossing in South Yarmouth. Then go north on North Main Street. You'll see Knob Hill Road on your right, just after you've crossed the bridge over Rt. 6.
Look for harvest activity at Old Colony Bogs in mid- to late October.
With so many acres of active bogs in Yarmouth, there's no shortage of other places to look for harvesting activity around town.
You'll find a few more in the areas around:
Harvesting usually begins at these bogs shortly before Columbus Day weekend and continues into November.
** Important: The only place to park on West Yarmouth Rd. is along the road shoulder. Park at your own risk! And please be sure not to block the farmers' access to the bogs!!
295 Route 6A
East Sandwich, MA
Looking for a harvest in September? This is one of the first places on Cape Cod where we see it happening.
I start watching for farmers driving their egg beaters around this bog the second week in September.
You'll find limited, off-road parking alongside Rt. 6A.
*Update: They harvested here on September 12, 2023. Darn! I missed it this year. :(
Great Western Road
Harwich, MA
Cycling enthusiasts: this one's for you!
As you ride along the Cape Cod Rail Trail in Harwich, you'll pass by Thacher Cranberries on Great Western Road.
You can get here by car, too. Head to the area around 201 - 280 Great Western Road. Just be aware that there's very little, if any, safe parking alongside the road.
Look for the harvest to start here in early October.
Depot Road
Harwich, MA
This is another great stop along the Cape Cod Rail Trail in Harwich!
Farmed by generations of the Hall family, this bog is at the Depot Street trailhead on the Rail Trail.
If you're coming by car, you'll find a small parking area across the street from this iconic building ...
When will you see cranberries floating at Halls' bogs?
Follow Halls Cape Cod Cranberries on Facebook for their occasional posts.
*Update: I've just found out that the Halls plan to harvest their Depot Bog the 3rd week in October 2023.
A Bit of Cape Cod Cranberry History
The Ocean Spray screenhouse dates back to the 1920s. It was described back then as a "Community Cranberry Warehouse" where "growers may sell their berries or have them packed on account".
Here's what it looked like nearly a century ago:
See the Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce ad on the side of building? It's a little faded now, but it's still there!
There's a lot of cranberry-growing acreage in the town of Falmouth, too!
When the calendar turns to October, here's where my Falmouth-area friends go to watch the harvest.
There's limited off-street parking (mainly on the road shoulder) in each of these locations.
Only two cranberry growers on Cape Cod give guided tours.
And only one offers a special tour where you can wade into the bog. (I've done it. What a mind-blowing experience!)
So let's start there ...
Long-time Cape Cod cranberry farmer, Dave Ross, and his partner, Patty, offer two different types of bog experiences at harvest time:
A walking tour where you'll see the crew at work and learn all about
cranberry farming on the Cape ...
And a special wading tour where you can don the waders and climb in among the berries ...
Dave operates cranberry bogs in several different towns on the Cape. So tour locations, dates and times vary from week to week, according to the crew's work schedule.
When you call to make your reservation (required for all tours!), Patty will let you know where and when tours will be available.
For more information and reservations, see Dave & Patty's Cape Cod Cranberry Bog Tours website.
On a guided tour of Leo and Andrea Cakounes' property in Harwich, you'll learn all about a year in the life of a working organic cranberry farm.
Over the course of about 90 minutes, Andrea shares her wealth of knowledge about how an organic cranberry bog is formed, planted, tended and harvested.
You'll also have a chance to meet the resident farm animals and learn how they, together with the native birds and bees, all contribute to the success of this organic cranberry farm.
You won't see berries floating on the Cakounes' bogs.
But you'll definitely come away from this tour with new appreciation for the hard work and dedication it takes to bring organic Cape Cod cranberries from the farm to your table!
Advance reservations are required. No drop in's, please!
For details and reservations, see Leo and Andrea's Cranberry Bog Tours website.
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