There’s a berry that grows in Maine and almost nowhere else, spread across rocky fields called barrens that look like nothing will grow there at all. For generations, it got frozen, boxed and shipped off to become someone’s muffin. Now the farms that grow it are opening their gates, and with National Blueberry Month in full swing, this is the summer to go see it.
The wild blueberry isn’t a crop anyone planted. It’s the same native berry that has always been here, thriving in poor, rocky soil that defeats almost everything else. It’s smaller than the big blueberries in your grocery store and a lot more tart, which is exactly why bakers love it. That sharp flavor holds up in a pie instead of disappearing.
Here’s the part that surprises people. Nearly every wild blueberry harvested in the country comes from Maine. The barrens where it grows don’t exist anywhere else at this scale, and the picking window runs from late July through August. That makes right now the perfect time to plan the trip.
The farms are worth the drive
Visiting means going straight to the source, and the source is beautiful.
- Welch Farm in Roque Bluffs is a sixth-generation operation on Englishmen’s Bay. Summer tours let you try hand-raking and walk a working barrens that has been in the family since the early 1920s.
- Brodis Blueberries in Hope has been at this for more than 150 years. There’s a tasting room, and one family member co-founded Blue Barren Distillery, which turns the berries into spirits on the Camden waterfront.
- The Wild Blueberry Heritage Center is a purple geodesic dome on Route 1 in Columbia Falls you can’t miss. Inside are exhibits on the berry’s ancient roots and the Wabanaki people who tended it.
- Lynch Hill Farms in Harrington runs harvest-season tours with equipment demos, ending at a farm store where you can grab berries to take home.
Three festivals to time your trip
Pick a weekend and build the trip around one of these.
- Wild Blueberry Weekend, Aug. 1-2, is a statewide event with farms, bakeries and breweries opening up for picking, tours and tastings.
- The Union Fair and Maine Wild Blueberry Festival, Aug. 5-9, pairs one of the state’s oldest agricultural fairs with the official state blueberry festival.
- The Machias Wild Blueberry Festival, Aug. 14-16, marks its 50th year. It’s free, with more than 250 vendors, pie-eating contests and live music.
A commodity becomes a destination
For most of its history, this berry left the state before anyone thought to ask where it came from. That’s finally changing, and you’re invited. Pick a farm, circle a festival weekend and go taste it where it grows.
Jennifer Allen is a retired professional chef and long-time writer. Her work appears in dozens of publications, including MSN, Yahoo, The Washington Post and The Seattle Times. These days, she’s busy in the kitchen developing recipes and traveling the world, and you can find all her best creations at Cook What You Love.