Harvest 2018 begins Sept 22!
Harvest is the most exciting time of the year. It’s when we (quite literally) get to see the fruit of our labour! We start two weekends before Canadian Thanksgiving and are usually finished by October 31st. We harvest only once a year. We have 27 acres to pick and produce around 300,000-400,000 lbs of cranberries.
Cranberries are grown and harvested like no other crop in the world. They’re also native only to North America. That makes them a fascinating part of our heritage! Drop by and learn about this unique crop!
Harvest Highlights:
Every Day:
- Harvest Hours (until Oct 31): 9-6 daily
- Daily Bog to Bottle Tour @ 11, 1 & 3
- includes guided tour and tutored wine tasting
- during harvest, the guided tour is on the wagon
- See the harvesting and packinghouse operations
- Enjoy a Wine Tasting
- Shop in The Cranberry Emporium
- Take The Cranberry Plunge
- Sample cranberry goodies at the Cranberry Cafe (Open daily Sept 29 – Oct 14)
- Hike the Trails
- Hunt for Geocaches
- Try kids’ activities like Critter Catching
Weekends:
- All Day Wagon Tours (weekends between Sept 22 & Oct 21)
- Helicopter Rides (weekends between Sept 29 & Oct 14)
- Take The Cranberry Plunge (weekends between Sept 29 & Oct 21)
- Harvest weekend dates:
- Sept 22-23
- Sept 29-30
- Oct 6-8 (Thanksgiving)
- Oct 12-14 (Bala Cranberry Festival)
- Oct 20-21
Bala Cranberry Festival
- Always the weekend after Thanksgiving!
- click here for more information
FAQ
Will I see floating cranberries?
You will see cranberries – lots of them! We don’t look exactly like the commercials; floating lakes of cranberries are created by a machine that beats the vines to knock off all the cranberries. Our picker gently rakes the cranberries off the vines because it makes for better quality fruit. The videos below show what harvesting looks like here.
You will see:
- cranberries being picked with our Getzinger retracto-tooth picker
- cranberries in shallow boats
- cranberries floating under the water
- cranberries floating at the surface of the water
- cranberries growing on low vines
- boats of cranberries being loaded into a truck
- cranberries going through the outside packing line (cleaning and drying)
- cranberries going through the packinghouse (mills, hand sorting, packaging)
Do I need rubber boots?
No. Places where visitors walk are high and dry. Our walkways are covered in gravel and are reasonably level.
Do you charge for parking?
No. Parking is free.
Do you charge admission?
No. There is no charge to visit the farm. You only pay for the activities you’re interested in doing.
What can we do, how much does it cost, how long does it take?
- Everyone is welcome to shop in our store (which opens into the packinghouse, so you can watch your fresh cranberries being sorted and packaged while you wait!)
- Wagon Tours (approximately 20 minutes): $10 adults, $7 kids 12 & under, infants in laps free
- Wine Tasting (approximately 20 minutes): $7
- Cranberry Plunge: $12 adults, $8 kids 12 & under (must be over 137 cm – 4’6″)
- Hiking Trails: $5 adults, $3 kids
- All farm access pass:
- adults (wagon tour, wine tasting, cranberry plunge, trail pass) – $25
- designated drivers (wagon tour, cranberry plunge, trail pass) – $20
- kids (wagon tour, cranberry plunge, trail pass) – $15
- Helicopter Rides (not included in all access pass): 2018 price to be determined
Is there somewhere to eat?
- the Cranberry Cafe (an outdoor food tent) is open Sept 29 – Oct 14
- when the Cafe is not open, we serve wine and a local cheese plate on our patio
Are there washrooms?
- we rent porta-potties during our harvest season – they’re environmentally friendly for our septic system
Harvest Videos
Check out some cool harvest footage!