It was a dreary fall day in Foxborough Massachusetts, just south of Boston. One of those days where you’re sure it would be better to just curl up under a blanket to read than to adventure outside.
Unfortunately it was also the last day of our trip and our hotel just happened to be a hop, skip, and a jump from an Ocean Spray cranberry bog! A cranberry bog that was going to be celebrating its harvest festival the day after we left(!!).
Cranberry Bog at Patriot Place, Foxborough, MA
With my love of anything agricultural there was no way we could miss out on the experience of walking through a real cranberry bog! And one that was open to the public!
The bog wasn’t nearly as impressive as I had hoped. I had pictured a “field” of pink water with layers and layers of cranberries on its surface that encompassed a much larger plot of land… Essentially I was expecting the Ocean Spray commercials. What I got was beautiful scenery along a half-mile walk, combined with a very nice education on the cranberry growth process, around a fairly small cranberry bog. Obviously more of a tourist locale than an actual agricultural center, but still intriguing. Plus the way into the bog was entertaining.
In order to get to the bog, you have to cross through thousands of fishing poles, camping gear and more at the Bass Pro Shop. The most accessible path to the bog is straight through the store, down the stairs, through the Bass Pro Shop restaurant and finally, out the back door, into the fresh air of the “wilderness”. A pretty impressive ploy to get people to buy outdoors gear.
Once outside it’s a beautiful spot. Crossing a lake to reach the cranberry bog was a nice touch of fall beauty in our stroll. Orange, green and red colors in the trees and reflecting out through the dark waters of the lake made it feel like we had disappeared into the wilderness, rather than having actually just made our way through a giant Bass Pro Shops.
The impressive rain storms from the three days leading up to our visit contributed nicely to a lush and wet landscape. Not knowing much about bogs I would have expected to see water and would have been disappointed if there hadn’t been any.
What I learned about cranberry bogs through our walk though was that the cranberries themselves don’t actually grow underwater. Apparently I had all kinds of assumptions about cranberries that I didn’t even know about! According to the educational signs scattered around “the majority of cranberries are “wet harvested”. This is when growers flood the bog with about 18 inches of water.” They then corral the berries together as they float to the surface.
The bog was already pretty flooded, due to all the rain and the Cranberry Harvest Festival that was about to occur the following day. Some of the berries had already floated to the top of the water, though I’m sure much more surfaced by the festival. Guess we’ll have to see that part another day.
Where: Patriot Place, 1 Bass Pro Dr, Foxborough, MA 02035
When: Open Daily from dawn to dusk. Dogs are allowed.