Picking Blueberries At Gillespie Farms

We’re in the middle of blueberry season here in Maine which means farms all across the state are experiencing more traffic than normal. Maine’s blueberry season begins in late July and runs through mid-September which is the perfect time of year if you ask me. The temps tend to be slightly cooler during this time so it’s a nice end-of-summer outing for families.

Since Allie is obsessed with blueberries, we figured we’d take her to pick her own. I’ve never picked blueberries before (that I can remember!) and since we just moved back to Maine last fall, I’m still a bit unfamiliar with local farms. So after a quick Google search, we decided on Gillespie Farms in Gray/New Gloucester, Maine.

Gillespie Farms is part of the Pineland Farms produce division in New Gloucester, Maine. The produce division consists of over 300 acres of crops located on Mayall Rd and grows a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Here, you can pick your own strawberries, blueberries, and/or raspberries.

Related: The Ultimate Maine Summer Bucket List

I had really wanted to take Allie strawberry picking as well this summer, but we missed the cut-off date by maybe a week or two. So we opted to go for blueberry season instead which worked out perfectly! Gillespie Farms is also only about 30 minutes from where we’re living so it was a super easy drive for us.

Since we went in the middle of summer, it was still quite hot out on a daily basis so we decided to take Allie first thing in the morning. This was the perfect time to go because it was a bit cooler outside and overcast so we didn’t have the fun beating down on us the whole time we were there. My sister, Kendal met us there which was super fun because she lives an hour away and I gave her next to no notice that we were going blueberry picking. So I was excited to have her there with us.

When we arrived at Gillespie Farms, I took the time to apply sunscreen to everyone while we waited for Kendal to get there. Once she arrived, we got our blueberry cartons and waited for our ride to the blueberries. Allie loves things like golf carts so I swear the drive out was her favorite part of the whole outing. She smiled and laughed the whole drive and kept asking to go faster. She loved it!

Once we were dropped off, we began the picking. Unfortunately, they had a large group come through that morning who picked a good majority of what they had so there wasn’t much for us to pick from by the time we got there. But thankfully, Allie really didn’t care! We weren’t looking to make anything from them. We simply just knew blueberries were/are Allie’s favorite and we really just wanted her to be able to pick them herself. It was the experience that mattered most to us.

Related: 12 Toddler-Approved Summer Activities in Southern Maine

Allie did awesome picking blueberries and was good about only picking the blue ones. The only issue we had was that she would pick them from the tree and then eat them immediately as opposed to adding them to her carton! ha! I have no idea how many she ended up eating, but it was a solid amount. I had to cut her off after a while. It was also really nice to have fewer people around so we could her run around as much as she wanted. She seemed to love every moment of it!

After a lot of running around and photos, we managed to get an entire carton of blueberries to take home with us. Allie was covered in dirt and had a belly full of blueberries by the time we got back to the car. All in all, it was a wonderful morning and I’m already planning on taking her again next summer. If you’re looking for a fun outing for kids, this is the perfect activity! Gillespie Farms is open 7 days a week from 7 am to 1 pm and is located right off Mayall Rd in New Gloucester, Maine. Blueberry season ends in mid-September so be sure to pick some while you can!

Have you been to Gillespie Farms? Let me know in the comments where you’ll be picking blueberries this season!