Carve Out Good Times, Family Memories at Ellsworth Hill Orchard

Carve Out Good Times, Family Memories at Ellsworth Hill Orchard
Apple-picking is an annual family tradition at Ellsworth Hill Orchard in Sharon, Conn., where there are 13 varieties to choose from. Photo contributed by Mike Bozzi, Elsworth Hill Farm

Among the many things that Northwest Corner towns do well are fall farm activities bathed in vibrant foliage, bright blue skies, invigorating air and the always uplifting laughter of children delighting in all that seems new.

Just around the next bend in the road or beyond the next hill, trees compete for attention, blaring their sunlit colors at passers-by, vying to be called “the fairest of them all.”

Area farms embrace the fun, welcoming visitors and offering a variety of planned agricultural experiences. Ellsworth Hill Orchard and Berry Farm in Sharon, Conn., is one of them. Ellsworth has specialized in organic, earth-embracing fall activities for many seasons, making it a repeat destination for generations of families.

This fall season will be no different.  During an early September visit with owner/operator Mike Bozzi, he noted that a pause to chat was possible only because it happened to be a rainy day.  Such rare days provide a bit of respite from the hard work of agriculture.

“I’m definitely excited about the upcoming fall season of activities at Ellsworth Farm,” Bozzi said. “It’s like being in heaven every day here.” He has owned the farm since 1999.

“It’s been an enjoyable 22 years,” he said. “I don’t have time to breathe when it’s happening,” he said of the fall schedule of activities.  There is never even time to count the numbers of visitors; they just keep on coming.

PUMPKINS, APPLES, BERRIES AND AN AMAZING MAZE

What can those visitors, young and old, expect to see this year at Ellsworth Farm?

A favorite attraction for everyone is the corn maze, which takes on a different theme each year. The 2021 design? It’s baseball themed: The New York Yankees.

Asked for the secret of the maze should grown-ups find themselves hopelessly lost and seeking the way out, Bozzi said that the key is to stand still and look for the top of the building that is visible to taller people from throughout the maze, then just head for the building. The kids don’t need to know how you did it.

Apple-picking is traditional, bringing the fun of doing it yourself. Visitors will find 13 varieties to choose from, good for everything from pies to eating fresh off the tree. There are also pear trees bearing sun-ripened fruit, including Asian pears and New Century varieties. And there are Olympic Giant pears. Each pear can weigh as much as a pound.

And a fall favorite, the pumpkin patch, is ready for you to select your own right on the spot where it grew.  Pumpkins can be found in all sizes, small and large, just how they grow. Bozzi noted that he doesn’t fertilize them to achieve the size. They are all-natural.

Fresh berries may be there when you visit, particularly a fall run of raspberries. “We might have them and other berries, too,” Bozzi said, depending on the timing. Hayrides, too, may be a feature of your visit, again depending upon conditions at the time.

Cider making is on-going, using a commercial press that dates back to the 1980s. The operation can be viewed through an observation window. Freshly pressed cider is a popular and welcome treat.

Farm festivities also include an antique Lionel toy train display that the children enjoy seeing in operation. It runs between 6 and 6:30 p.m. on weekends.  Other runs can be arranged by appointment.

BEST TO CHECK WEBSITE BEFORE PLANNING TRIP

All true farming is dependent upon Mother Nature for all things, Bozzi noted. The timing of ripeness, readiness for picking, ground conditions within the corn maze are all affected by the weather. “You can’t predict it.”

Thankfully, though, constant updates on the Ellsworth Farm website are very helpful in planning that trip to the farm and finding out what is in season at any given time. For information, visit  www.ellsworthfarm.com, or call (860) 364-0025l

Ellsworth Hill Orchard, located at 461 Cornwall Bridge Road (Rte. 4), is open six days a week, including holidays, but is closed on Tuesdays.  The farm will remain open through the fall until the day before Thanksgiving Day. It will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.

Latest News

Living art takes center stage in the Berkshires

Contemporary chamber musicians, HUB, performing at The Clark.

D.H. Callahan

Northwestern Massachusetts may sometimes feel remote, but last weekend it felt like the center of the contemporary art world.

Within 15 miles of each other, MASS MoCA in North Adams and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown showcased not only their renowned historic collections, but an impressive range of living artists pushing boundaries in technology, identity and sound.

Keep ReadingShow less
Persistently amplifying women’s voices

Francesca Donner, founder and editor of The Persistent. Subscribe at thepersistent.com.

Aly Morrissey

Francesca Donner pours a cup of tea in the cozy library of Troutbeck’s Manor House in Amenia, likely a habit she picked up during her formative years in the United Kingdom. Flanked by old books and a roaring fire, Donner feels at home in the quiet room, where she spends much of her time working as founder, editor and CEO of The Persistent, a journalism platform created to amplify women’s voices.

Although her parents are American and she spent her earliest years in New York City and Litchfield County — even attending Washington Montessori School as a preschooler — Donner moved to England at around five years old and completed most of her education there. Her accent still bears the imprint of what she describes as a traditional English schooling.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Jarrett Porter on the enduring power of Schubert’s ‘Winterreise’
Baritone Jarrett Porter to perform Schubert’s “Winterreise”
Tim Gersten

On March 7, Berkshire Opera Festival will bring “Winterreise” to Studio E at Tanglewood’s Linde Center for Music and Learning, with baritone Jarrett Porter and BOF Artistic Director and pianist Brian Garman performing Franz Schubert’s haunting 24-song setting of poems by Wilhelm Müller.

A rejected lover. A frozen landscape. A mind unraveling in real time. Nearly 200 years after its premiere, “Winterreise” remains unnervingly current in its psychological portrait of isolation, heartbreak and existential drift.

Keep ReadingShow less
A grand finale for Crescendo’s 22nd season

Christine Gevert, artistic director, brings together international and local musicians for a season of rare works.

Stephen Potter

Crescendo, the Lakeville-based nonprofit specializing in early and rarely performed classical music, will close its 22nd season with a slate of spring concerts featuring international performers, local musicians and works by pioneering composers from the Baroque era to the 20th century.

Christine Gevert, the organization’s artistic director, has gathered international vocal and instrumental talent, blending it with local voices to provide Berkshire audiences with rare musical treats.

Keep ReadingShow less
NECC ‘Craft Collective’ offers space to create

Ash Baldwin, senior administrative assistant at the North East Community Center, launched the weekly Craft Collective in July 2025.

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLERTON — A new low-key crafting group at the North East Community Center (NECC) is giving locals a reason to finally finish those half-started projects, providing a space for craft lovers to work in community and exchange tips and tricks.

The weekly “Craft Collective,” – launched in July 2025 by staff member Ash Baldwin – invites community members to bring their own crafts and work alongside others in a casual, social setting. The free program is part of NECC’s broader effort to offer accessible, community-building programming.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.