Keeping the Harvest Tradition Alive in South Haven
Hot cider, pumpkin patches, apple-picking, and hayrides are the hot buttons that make us all think of the Fall harvest.
The leaves are turning and creating a colorful backdrop and cooler temperatures are giving us the excuse to start bonfires as we evoke earlier times when harvest was a time to celebrate and come together.
South Haven is one of the best areas to keep the harvest tradition alive. A number of area farms are eager to have people come and observe the harvest, do some of their own picking, or hey, even get lost in a corn maze.
DeGrandchamp Farms
76241 14th Ave
www.degrandchamps.com
269-637-3915
Start off the harvest season at this family farm that hails back to 1958. October 15 marks the DeGrandchamp Farms Cranberry Harvest. One day a year from 9 am to 5 pm, the farm located just south of South Haven opens up their fields so that guests can witness the beauty of harvesting cranberries in the natural bogs. The cost is $5 for adults and $3 for children.
Catch a hayride to the bogs throughout the day to watch the crew rake in bright, red cranberries from the flooded bogs. Then, head to the sorting line to learn about the way cranberries are sorted, packaged, and shipped. Cranberry products are available for purchase at the retail market including jams, salsas, dried fruit and baked good. Fresh cranberries are available in October and November.
Overhiser Orchards
6405 109th Avenue
www.overhiserorchards.com
269-236-6312
Grab the family and head to Overheiser Orchards to pick your own pumpkins or apples and explore the farm and its many harvest activities, 10 am to 5 pm daily. Available apples for Upick include Empire, Cortland, Jonamac, Blondee and Gala. Munch on some fresh donuts while you sip cider, pet the farm animals or feed the birds with the farm’s sunflower seed harvest.
Take time to get lost in the corn maze or head over the sunflower field for the farm’s new nature walk. Hayrides are available weather permitting. You can also fish in the pond onsite. Corn Maze admission is $7 per person, groups of 5-6 people are $25. Kids under the age of 3 get in free.
Bumbleberry Acres
6785 Baseline Rd.
www.bumbleberryacres.com
269-637-4824
If you’re looking for true Halloween-like adventures, Bumbleberry Acres goes out of their way to put the scare on. A ten acre corn maze weaves through this year’s patriotic design, and you won’t want to miss Glow Night in the Maze on October 29! The night kicks off at 6pm with a free trunk-or-treat featuring the Midnight Motion Car Show. Corn Maze admission is $9 for adults, $5 for children ages 5-11, and free for children 5 and under. Bonfire with s'more kits are available for purchase along with hot dogs, chili dogs, chili cheese dogs, chili soup and more.
Regular Farm Hours: Friday through Sunday 10am – 5pm
Dutch Farm Market
6967 109th Ave.
269-637-8334
www.dutchfarmmarket.com
At the Dutch Farm Market just north of South Haven, apples (Red Delicious, Matsu, Cortland, Yellow Delicious, North Spy, Ida Red and Rome) and Bosc pears are there for the picking, and free wagon rides are available until the end of October. The market store has all the apples and pears, and everything from homemade jams, taffy apples, fresh-pressed cider, honey and maple syrup, to home baked pies, bread, turnovers and donuts, to name just a few. And Sherman’s ice cream, of course.
Only in South Haven
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