We had a fun couple of hours picking apples at the Verger Belliveau Orchard in Memramcook, New Brunswick. Not only is the orchard in a great location, it’s run with the precision of an amusement park. It’s crowded but it’s fun to see people getting outdoors and having fun.
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, wagons pulled by tractors take you to the day’s selected block and brings you back when you are done. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday guests picks apples from trees next to the warehouse. It’s open from mid-September until late October. McIntosh and Cortland are available almost all the time. Honeycrisp, Gala and Ambrosia are available for at least two weekends starting in late September.
They also have a store, with other produce, open year-round. The orchard is on approximately 70 acres and besides U-pick, they are involved with wholesale production, storage, packaging, and processing of their own apples.
The orchard was started by Mr. Bourgeois in 1932. He had worked on orchards in New England and he was the first in the region to begin apple production on a large scale. In 1956, the orchard was bought by the Sainte-Croix Congregation, which renamed it Verger Belliveau Orchard because it was located in Belliveau-Village. In 1967, one of the employees, Louis Bourgeois, bought the business. Louis’s son, Robert, is the current owner.
