By the first week of August, Hollis has quietly switched economies. The strawberry-and-cherry town of June has become a corn-tomato-blueberry-peach town, and the calendar you actually live by for the next five weeks is set by harvest windows, not the municipal one. Here is how to read it.
What August Tastes Like, Farm By Farm
You already know the four names. What matters is which one to point the car toward on a given errand, because they are not interchangeable in August.
Brookdale Fruit Farm at 41 Broad Street has been operating since 1847, and the Hollis staple is a one-stop destination for produce, some of which you can pick yourself, along with ice cream, sweet treats, flowers, jams, and kitchen and home goods; the farm stand is open every day from 8 a.m. If you want the widest August range under one roof, this is the trip. The farm carries 50-plus varieties of apples, peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, cherries, raspberries, blueberries, and vegetables across retail, wholesale, and PYO channels. The apple wall does not fully arrive until September, but by mid-August the peaches and blueberries are the reason to walk in.
Lull Farm at 65 Broad Street runs 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., with pick-your-own strawberries mid-June through mid-July, pick-your-own apples from late August into October, and pumpkins and a corn maze coming after that. The interesting date is the crossover week. Sometime in the last ten days of August, Lull's PYO shifts from a hard pause to early apples, and the parking lot changes character overnight. If you are a Hollis parent, that week is when the season pivots toward school and orchards.
Lavoie's Farm at 172 Nartoff Rd. is normally open June 1 through October 31, with already-picked sweet corn, blueberries, peaches, and plums alongside strawberries and apples. Lavoie's is the quieter stop, tucked off Pine Hill Rd., and it is where residents go when they want ten ears of corn without a five-minute line.
Begin Family Farm sits at 105 Witches Spring Rd., with the farm stand open Wednesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and a Saturday presence at the Milford Farmers Market from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Begin Family Farm is in the process of buying the roughly 50-acre farm it has been leasing in Hollis for a few years. Their August table skews organic-vegetable, heavy on heirloom tomatoes and the summer squash that will disappear by Labor Day.
A quick reference for the fridge:
| Farm | Address | August strengths | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brookdale Fruit Farm | 41 Broad St. | Peaches, blueberries, sweet corn, prepared foods | Daily 8 a.m.–6 p.m. |
| Lull Farm | 65 Broad St. | Late-August apple crossover, corn, tomatoes | 7 a.m.–7:30 p.m. |
| Lavoie's Farm | 172 Nartoff Rd. | Already-picked sweet corn, peaches, blueberries | Seasonal, June–Oct. |
| Begin Family Farm | 105 Witches Spring Rd. | Organic heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, herbs | Wed–Sat 9 a.m.–6 p.m. |
Why This Isn't A Novelty
Every New Hampshire town has a farm stand. Hollis has a farm calendar, which is a different thing. According to the town Agricultural Commission, about half of Hollis's land area is currently under some form of agricultural use, including forestry; roads lined with strawberries, apples, pumpkins, and corn are not a rare sight, they are part of the town's everyday character.
Half the town. That is the baseline that makes the August week feel different here than in Nashua or Amherst. The corn you pick up on the way home was likely grown inside your ZIP code, and often on land protected in perpetuity. At Brookdale, most of the acreage is in conservation easement with the State of New Hampshire owning the building permits. When Brookdale's fields turn over from one crop to the next, they will keep doing it for a long time.
The Evening Trail You Actually Have Time For
August in Hollis runs hot in the afternoon and long into the evening. The move most residents underuse is a 6 p.m. loop at Beaver Brook.
Beaver Brook Association trails and gardens are open to the public from dawn to dusk 365 days a year. The nonprofit protects over 2,200 acres of land, maintains 35 miles of trails, and provides year-round environmental education for individuals of all ages. If you have never mapped the network, the accessible starting point is the Wildlife Pond Trailhead on NH-130. The Wildlife Pond Trail loops around the pond with a chance to see waterfowl, beaver, muskrat, and otter, and connects to the Hatfield and Hidden Ponds Trails, the Rocky Ridge Trail, and the Jeff Smith Trail that follows scenic Rocky Pond Brook back to the parking area.
In the summer of 2019, a handful of kids hiked all 35-plus miles of trails on Beaver Brook's Hollis properties during a week of summer camp.
For adults, the useful August version of that ambition is smaller. Pick one trail you have not walked. There are eight or nine you probably have not. The trails range from easy to moderate difficulty, with loop options and plenty of shaded areas, which makes them comfortable even on hot summer days.
What's Actually On The Calendar This Month
Ignore the generic "summer events" roundups. Here is what a Hollis resident is likely to hit in August 2026.
- Beaver Brook Summer Nature Camp, Week 6. Monday, Aug. 3, 9 a.m. onwards at 117 Ridge Rd. If your kids are in it, you know. If they are not, plan around the Ridge Rd. traffic between 8:45 and 9:15.
- National Night Out. Hollis Police Department presents National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 5 to 8 p.m. A short, low-key evening; typically the fastest way for newer residents to meet the department in a non-transactional setting.
- Beaver Brook Summer Nature Camp, Week 7. Monday, Aug. 10, 9 a.m., 117 Ridge Rd.
- New Hampshire Card Show. Thursday, Aug. 27, from 5 p.m. at Alpine Grove Events Centre in Hollis. Niche, but the kind of thing that fills the parking lot and is worth knowing about if you live nearby.
Two things to note by their absence. Old Home Days is not in August. Old Home Days was established in 1899 by Governor Frank West Rollins as a way to celebrate the region's past, and every September the Hollis community honors that heritage with artisans, amusements, and entertainment for the entire family. The 2026 celebration runs Sept. 18–19. The Strawberry Festival at Monument Square already happened in late June. August is the quiet middle where the farms do the talking.
Looking Ahead: The Turn Toward September
There is a specific week, usually the last of August, when three things happen at once. Lull opens PYO apples. Brookdale's peach volume peaks. Beaver Brook camp finishes for the summer and the trailhead parking lot at Maple Hill Farm empties out. If you have out-of-town guests coming and you want to show them what Hollis actually is, that is the week to invite them.
For deeper background on the town's largest farm operation, Brookdale Fruit Farm has been family-owned and family-operated for seven generations and counting, with Chip Hardy working alongside his son Trevor Hardy and daughter-in-law Madison Lowell Hardy on diverse plantings across 450 acres — worth remembering the next time you are handed change at the register. The person behind the counter is quite possibly a Hardy or a Whittemore, and the peach in your bag came out of one of those 450 acres this morning.
August in Hollis is not a shoulder season. It is the working week of everything that makes the town look the way it does from the road.
If you have lived here a while and are starting to think about what your next Hollis house looks like, or whether the one you own now would command what you think it would in this market, Alex Betses works this town and knows the roads between these farms. Get your free home valuation to see where you stand before the fall listing window opens.
