Weeks Bay Plantation

Down Mary Ann Beach Road southeast of downtown Fairhope, Weeks Bay Plantation turns eighty acres of USDA certified organic farmland into one of the more low key family outings in the area. Best known for its u-pick blueberries and blackberries, the farm has grown over the years into a broader outdoor destination with a spring fed lake, event space, and a dedicated wake park operating on the property.

Berry season runs from late April through mid July, with picking hours set Thursday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. Families arrive with buckets and baskets to walk the rows of organic blueberry bushes and wild blackberry brambles, picking straight from the plant and paying by weight before heading home with more fruit than most people know what to do with. Because the farm is certified organic, no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers touch the berries, which matters to the families who come back year after year specifically for that reason.

Beyond the berry fields, the farm centers on a ten acre spring fed lake that opens up a whole second set of activities. Swimming, fishing, and kayaking are all part of a visit, and the clear, cool spring water offers a noticeably different experience than the warmer, murkier water typical of Mobile Bay itself. The lake has become a draw in its own right, especially during the hottest stretch of summer when a spring fed swimming hole is a welcome alternative to the beach.

More recently, the farm added Silo Ski & Wake Park, a cable operated wakeboarding and water skiing setup that pulls riders around the lake without the need for a boat. The wake park has brought a younger, more athletic crowd out to the farm alongside the families who come strictly for the berries, and it operates as something of a standalone attraction with its own booking system for ride time.

Weeks Bay Plantation also hosts events and festivals throughout the year, and the property offers farm stay accommodations through short term rental listings for visitors who want to spend more than just an afternoon on the land. That combination, working organic farm, swimming lake, wake park, and event space, makes the property function less like a single attraction and more like a small outdoor destination with several different reasons to visit depending on the season.

Outside of the Thursday through Saturday berry picking window, visits generally need to be arranged by appointment, so calling ahead is worth the extra step before making the drive out from downtown Fairhope. For families looking for an outing that goes beyond another afternoon at the beach or the pier, the mix of picking, swimming, and wakeboarding at Weeks Bay Plantation offers a genuinely different way to spend a day near Mobile Bay.

Because picking hours are limited to four mornings a week during a roughly ten week window each year, timing a visit around berry season takes a bit more planning than a typical farm stand stop. Families who want the best selection tend to arrive close to the 8 a.m. opening, since the most accessible bushes can pick over fairly quickly once a Saturday morning crowd gets going, especially toward the tail end of blueberry season in early July.

Bug spray, closed toe shoes, and old clothes that can get a little dirty are all worth packing for a picking trip, since the rows run through open farmland rather than a manicured orchard setting. A cooler in the car helps keep berries fresh on the drive back into Fairhope, particularly during the peak of summer heat when fruit picked in the morning can start to soften quickly if left sitting in a hot trunk.