Looking for the perfect fun Bay State fall experience? It’s in the bog

Since I live in a vacation spot – the South Shore of Massachusetts – I’m often asked what season is the best for a visit.

The sparkling days of summer, when the beaches are warm and the days long? Love it. The winter days of snow, bundling up and early night star gazing? It’s a special time as well.

But there’s one season I tell everyone to focus on for a visit: Cranberry season. From mid-September through the end of October, the Bay State shines even more. With awe-inducing foliage, the tilt of the earth slanting the sun’s rays in a way that just makes the ocean, ponds, lakes and sky even bluer, “sweater weather,” and less humidity – this is the place and time to be.

The cranberry harvest gives it all the exclamation point of beauty. Rosy red berries floating in a blue pond, surrounded by vibrant colored trees? It’s just perfection, and an experience you cannot have just anywhere.

Massachusetts isn’t the top cranberry producer in the nation – at just under 30% of the total crop coming from the Bay State, we’re just behind Wisconsin for that. But when it comes to ways to savor the Cranberry Harvest season, Massachusetts may just have them all beat. Consider these adventures:

Ride past them: There are so many safe, well-maintained and easy-to-ride bike paths in Massachusetts. Take the Cape Cod Rail Trail and you’ll spot some bogs along the way. Or, sign yourself up for the Cranberry Century Ride (https://www.crw.org/Centuries), a multi-distance choice bike ride held by the Charles River Wheelers this year on Oct. 15.

You can go anywhere from a very doable 29 miles up to a full 100. You started and finish at Plymouth’s beautiful Myles Standish State Forest and then loop out to Mattapoisett and back, passing many a bog and other sites. Each distance is led by a team leader, and you’re well taken care of with sustenance and support at break stops along the way. Pre-registration is required.

Golf over them: (And hopefully not into them). More than a few Massachusetts golf courses offer peeks at bogs, but no place puts you up close more than Souther’s Marsh Golf Club (https://southersmarsh.com) in Plymouth.

The executive course was built around and through bogs that have been producing cranberries for longer than most can remember. During harvest season you’ll play up along (and sometimes over) bogs in the process of harvesting. And should you get lucky and there’s a wedding that week, you may even see their signature move: floating cranberries in the shape of a heart.

Get right into them: What better way to celebrate, view and learn about cranberries than getting right in there and working a bog? Sign on for the Cranberry Bogger for a Day program curated by Keolis Mass Adventures (https://keolismassadventures.com). You’ll board a train at South Station in Boston and head to Benson’s Pond in Middleboro where for two solid hours, you’ll don your waders and work the bog, using antique harvesting tools, picking fresh cranberries, and enjoying cranberry-inspired snacks and beverages.

Should you want to get up close but not as wet, they also offer walking tours of bogs. Preregistration is required and spots fill up fast.

Celebrate them: Harvest Fairs are the happening of the season and cranberries get in on the fun. Edaville Railroad (https://edaville.com) celebrates Oct. 12 and 13 with a flea market, craft fair, steam train rides past bogs, live music and more. Family friendly to the max.

Pick and cook them: Massachusetts is home to 300+ cranberry farmers, 14,000+ acres of cranberry bogs, and 65,000+ acres of associated open space. Sounds like a lot to take on, but luckily we have the non-profit Massachusetts Cranberries (https://www.cranberries.org) on our side.

Operating since 1988, the organization supports the industry and also offers, via their website, the history of the crop – a cool thing to understand before savoring the season.

Their website lists bog tours across the state, spots you can get fresh berries and other season fruit, special events around the harvest and even better: tried and true recipes so you can take the berries home and pay the love forward.