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Pick Your Own Fruit...
Wouldn't it be great to eat freshly picked fruit? Or perhaps bake some pies? Or even cut your own tree? Well, you can! You can pick your own fresh fruit in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. It's a fun activity to do with the kids too! Strawberries The season starts off with pick your own strawberries. These tasty, sweet berries can make your mouth water. Some places offer you containers to pick, but you can bring your own bucket. Strawberry picking goes from late June to mid July. It seems, the earlier you go, the larger the berries. Sometimes you pick your own based on the weather. I prefer to go early in the morning - it's cooler. Kids can be great little helpers too. Give them their own bucket and off they go. Children tend to put more strawberries in their mouth than in their bucket. That's okay. It's good for them. Some of the local strawberry picking farms in the Lake Winnipesaukee area are: Beans and Greens 245 Intervale Rd. Gilford, NH (603)293-2853 Smith Farm Stand 95 Sleeper Hill Rd. Gilford, NH (603)524-7673 Surowiec Farms 53 Perley Hill Rd. Sanbornton, NH (603)286-4069 Raspberries Right after strawberry season, it's raspberry season. These berries tend to be more expensive, but they sure are tasty. Raspberry bushes are tall, so you don't have to bend over to pick your own. Raspberries are also easy to grow. My backyard is loaded with them. But you need to be careful because they spread and start to take over the yard! Some of the local raspberry picking farms in the Lake Winnipesaukee area are: Smith Farm Stand 95 Sleeper Hill Rd. Gilford, NH (603)524-7673 Blueberries
Some of the local blueberry picking farms in the Lake Winnipesaukee area are: Green Acres Farm Donkin Hill Rd. (Rte 132N) New Hampton, NH (603)968-7273 Lockes Blueberry Farm 164 No. Barnstead Rd. Center Barnstead, NH (603)776-2021 Stonybrook Farm 128 Glidden Rd. Gilford, NH (603)293-4300 Surowiec Farms 53 Perley Hill Rd. Sanbornton, NH (603)286-4069
Black Raspberries Black raspberries are also great for picking. They tend to ripen at the end of August or beginning of September. So far, I've only found them growing wild. If I ever find a local place to pick them, I'll let you know. Apples In the fall, there's apple picking. A lot of schools do field trips to apple orchards. This is a great activity for the whole family. At the same time you pick your own apples, you can enjoy the fall foliage! What a great way to have a fun day! Pumpkins
Beans and Greens has a corn maze that is fun to go through during the day with the young kids. At night, it's a little more challenging and "spookier" for the older ones. Christmas Trees Now we've come to Christmas trees! Is it Christmastime already? Many families go out and pick your own Christmas tree. It's a family tradition that everyone can enjoy. Whether you want to cut your own or have someone cut a tree for you, Christmas tree farms can bring the whole family together. If you want to save money and you own land, you can cut your own tree fro free. We did that for a few years. The first one was a Charlie Brown tree. They got better each year after that. It's hard to find a small, full tree to fit in your house. Sometimes you need a larger tree and just use the top part of it as the Christmas tree. Some of the local Christmas tree farms in the Lake Winnipesaukee area are: Muehlke Family Tree Farm 320 Belknap Mountain Rd. Gilford, NH (603)524-9507 Neva Dun Farm Christmas Trees 77 Peacham Rd. Center Barnstead, NH (603)776-7000 Third Stone Christmas Tree Farm 106 Garland Rd. Barnstead, NH (603)269-4012 Willow Pond Farm 158 Upper Bay Rd. Sanbornton, NH (603)524-1739 There are so many places to pick fresh fruit, pumpkins and even Christmas trees. I know it's easier to get it at a store, but the freshly picked strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and apples taste so much better that you'll wonder why you didn't do this earlier. |
Pick your own blueberries is yet another fun activity to do in the summer. Blueberry picking is usually in early to mid August. There are domestic and wild blueberries. The domestic blueberries are larger and you generally pick them at local farms. You can also go hiking an pick wild blueberries along the way. No matter which variety you pick, you sure can make some sumptuous treats.
Don't forget the pumpkin picking! Actually, you just pick from a crop that the farm stand workers have already picked. It's fun to go to a local farm stand with the kids to get a pumpkin. Some of them have other activities as well. Such as hay mazes, corn mazes, animals, hayrides and more. Beans and Greens in Gilford has a number of activities in the fall.