There’s a two-week window every fall when New Brunswick is at its absolute best — the maples have turned, the air smells like woodsmoke and cider, and every farm in the province throws open its gates. That window is open right now. Here’s where to spend it.
A word before you go: many of these operations are cash-only, and openings depend on weather and crop conditions. Always check the farm’s Facebook page the morning you plan to go. Fields flood, mazes close, and a wasted hour in the car with cranky kids is nobody’s idea of fall fun.
Get lost in a corn maze
The Green Pig Country Market, Salisbury — The heavyweight champion of NB mazes. The main maze takes about an hour and a half to complete, while a mini maze aimed at young kids takes under 30 minutes and is packed with activities along the way. Weekends add a large bounce pad and the famous pumpkin blaster, and they typically run flashlight and haunted night visits through October. Their newer coffee bar and bistro is worth budgeting extra time for.
Fletcher’s Farm, Miramichi — A five-acre corn maze plus a hay bale maze, wagon rides, pedal carts, animals and scavenger hunts. The property also includes a second maze, a pumpkin patch, an acre of sunflowers and a small petting zoo. They generally run a daytime maze, a nighttime maze and a haunted version — pricing and dates are on their site.
Hunter Brothers Farm, Florenceville-Bristol — A genuine provincial tradition. Alongside the maze there’s a petting farm, hayrides, corn cannons, a jumping pillow, a pedal kart track, giant slides, a straw castle, a spooky maze and a sunflower patch. Cost varies by day and time, so check before you load the van.
Trueman Blueberry Farm, Aulac — A corn maze plus train rides, slides and jump pillows, with a fall festival that’s been running since early September. Do not leave without the homemade ice cream — the pumpkin spice is the reason to go.
Boyle Family Farm — Open weekends, 11am to 4pm, with a corn maze and petting zoo. Their Forbidden Forest Haunted Horror Trail runs select dates and is emphatically not for small children.
Pick your own pumpkin
Les Petits Fruits de Pré-d’en-Haut, Memramcook — Probably the prettiest pumpkin run in the province. Take a wagon ride out to the patch on a farm overlooking the Bay of Fundy, or grab one from the stand. There’s a picnic area and a play area for kids, with the pumpkin u-pick generally open weekends until Thanksgiving.
Charlotte’s Family Orchard and Hazen Cameron & Son Farm, Gagetown — Both known for apples and pumpkins, with plenty of other produce for sale. Gagetown in October is worth the drive on its own.
Coburn Farms’ Pumpkin Yard, Keswick Ridge — The creations here are the main event. Bring a camera.
Belleisle Farms — Hosts Pope’s Pumpkin U-Pick each year; check their social media for this season’s dates.
Le Verger Goguen, Cocagne — Apples and pumpkins to pick, plus a u-fish pond for a change of pace.
Fill the trunk with apples while you’re at it
If you’re anywhere near Saint John, the Kingston Peninsula and Long Reach loop is the move. Bostwick’s on the Kingston Peninsula is a traditional u-pick stop for a lot of families, and Mackay’s Apple Orchard in Long Reach sits right on the Saint John River — it’s also the original home of Yip Cider, which now has a cider house about 3km from the orchard. Orchard, ferry, cider house, river views. That’s a full Saturday.
Heading up the valley: River View Orchard and Johnny Appleseed’s u-pick, both in the Keswick area, and the Everett Family Orchard in Island View just west of Fredericton — a six-acre property that’s been in the family for eight generations, with good views and horses the kids can visit.
In the southeast, Belliveau Orchard in Memramcook is open 10am to 5pm daily through September and October, with u-pick apples, a market, a seasonal bar, a weekend food truck and their SCOW cider. Go on a weekday afternoon if you can — far fewer people, much better photos. Irishview Orchard is the Greater Moncton pick for honeycrisp.
One sad note for the Fredericton Junction crowd: Hall’s Orchard isn’t opening this season due to orchard conditions.
The bucket list, condensed
Do these five and you’ve done a proper New Brunswick fall:
- Lose ninety minutes in the big maze at the Green Pig, then reward yourself at the bistro
- Ride a wagon to the pumpkin patch at Pré-d’en-Haut with the Fundy tide going out behind you
- Pick a bushel at Mackay’s and finish the afternoon at the Yip cider house
- Do a haunted or flashlight maze after dark — Fletcher’s, the Green Pig, or Boyle’s trail
- Buy far too many apples, come home, and make something with cinnamon in it
The corn comes down at the end of October and the whole thing vanishes until next year. Go this weekend.
