Londonderry's First Apple Season Without Elwood Orchards

"We have wonderful memories and we thank you for that." The Elwood family used that line to close a 115-year run. As the Londonderry Times reported in January, the family announced the closing of Elwood Orchards on social media and thanked the thousands of visitors who had made the farm part of their fall.

October is the first month that loss shows up on the calendar. The pick-your-own and corn maze weekends that used to start on Elwood Road now take place at two other farms. A good part of what happens next on those fields, and on the farms still operating, is moving through town boards and commissions.

A Century on Elwood Road

The orchard started in 1910. That year, the Londonderry Times recounted, 12-year-old Wayland H. Elwood took responsibility for the family farm. He expanded the orchards over the following decades and worked the land for nearly a century. His sons, Wayne and Wayland Jr., kept the business going and added the corn maze that turned into a regional draw. According to the paper, some couples came back to that maze year after year because it was where they had their first date.

The Union Leader covered the closing on February 4 and ran a photo of the sign that still points to the farm stand on Elwood Road.

Part of the Elwood land was already set aside before this year. In 2022 the Town of Londonderry bought 54 acres off Nashua Road from the family for $1.5 million. The family had owned that parcel since 1949. The town acquired it for conservation, agriculture and recreation, and it remains protected open space. When the Londonderry Times reported the closing in January, no public land records showed that the main orchard property on Elwood Road had changed hands.

What the Town Agendas Show for the Orchard Fields

Within a month, the Elwood Road land appeared on town agendas. The Heritage/Historic District Commission's February 26, 2026 agenda lists it among applications for advisory input to the Planning Board. The application covers 35 Elwood Road, 16 Dan Hill Road, 54A Elwood Road and 68 Rear Elwood Road. An Elwood estate is named as owner and Belize Real Estate Holdings as applicant. The March 26, 2026 agenda describes the proposal as a "subdivision for 16 residential lots and associated site improvements" in the Agricultural Residential (AR-1) District.

The plan set filed with the application shows 11 lots from two parcels and five lots from two others. The town documents gathered for this post do not show that the subdivision has been approved, and they do not say what will happen to the farm stand. For now it is an application, not an outcome.

The two farms still growing apples in town are where this October's picking happens.

Where the Corn Maze Went This Fall

If your October used to include a maze, the one confirmed for this season is at Sunnycrest Farm. Sunnycrest runs it at a second orchard, at 114 Pillsbury Road, where pick-your-own apples are also available. The maze is open Friday through Sunday. Over Columbus Day weekend the farm posted hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday. Sunnycrest's social posts promote night maze hours until 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays through Halloween.

The farm's main operation keeps a full day's schedule. As of Sunnycrest's October 9 homepage update, apple and pumpkin picking runs daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the farm store is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Colbie's Cones scoops from noon to 7 p.m. and is advertising an apple-crisp sundae along with fresh-pressed cider. The bakery lists cider doughnuts, muffins, breads, bagels, cookies, crumb bars, turnovers and whoopie pies, with apple-cider and pumpkin whoopie pies as the seasonal ones.

Across town, Mack's Apples at 230 Mammoth Road is still the other pick-your-own anchor. Here is how the two farms compare this month, based on what each one posts.

Mack's pick-your-own page says the season usually runs through November 1. The farm market lists farm fruit and vegetables, local milk, eggs, cheese, maple syrup, honey, pies, cider, cider doughnuts, breads, jams and jellies. Those Mack's pages carry older publication dates. Calling the farm before a weekend visit is the dependable way to confirm conditions.

Mack's Is Adding a Kitchen

While the Elwood fields were heading toward a subdivision application, Mack's Apples was before the Planning Board for a different reason. The farm wants to add a 99-seat farm-to-table restaurant. The Londonderry Times reported that the board approved the full site plan after an April 8 review.

The project rests on New Hampshire's agritourism statute. Deputy Town Manager Kellie Caron told the board that the statute "has specific waiver criteria to consider." Board members noted that the farm sits in a part of town where commercial uses are not normally allowed. Chair Jake Butler described the board's position this way: "This Board has not been against it, this Board has been doing everything they can to find something that works."

The same Londonderry Times report quotes owner Kyle Christensen saying the restaurant is a way to keep the farm viable for future generations. The paper also described the farm's community record, including 100 homemade apple pies given to local families at Thanksgiving and 100 free ice creams handed out to Beautify Londonderry volunteers.

The approval has not yet turned into an opening date. On August 5, the Londonderry Times reported, the board took up a one-year extension request. The 120 days the farm had been given to meet its conditions ran out August 6, and well and septic permitting was still underway. The board approved the extension quickly. It also unanimously granted a waiver letting the farm begin work on the existing building before final permitting. Attorney Laura Gandia said there would be "no site work at all." Exterior work is limited to a new roof, new windows along the side and back, paint and new siding. Board member Tony DeFrancesco put the interior fittings, including a commercial kitchen, hoods and fire suppression, at "a couple hundred thousand dollars of stuff."

Neither the April nor the August Londonderry Times report gives a restaurant name or an opening date. The plan still has to come back before the board to be signed once the conditions are met.

Two Farms, Two Applications, Same Year

In 2026, one century-old orchard went to town review as a residential subdivision application, and another farm asked to renovate an old building into a restaurant so it can keep growing apples. Both farms are zoned for agriculture, but what each will look like in a few years depends on its paperwork.

That puts the town's fall routine in fewer hands than it was two years ago. These are the places to keep in view this season and next:

1. Sunnycrest Farm's Pillsbury Road maze, now the confirmed corn maze in town, with night hours through Halloween.
2. Mack's Apples on Mammoth Road, open for picking and the market through its usual early-November close, with restaurant work going on in the background.
3. The Elwood Road subdivision file, which future town agendas will show as it moves forward.
4. The 54 acres off Nashua Road, the former Elwood land the town has held as protected open space since 2022.

Another stop may be on the way. The Union Leader reported on September 25 that NH Doughnut Co. plans to open its third permanent storefront in Londonderry in early 2027. The street address has not been announced.

The Elwood family's farm stand sign was still standing on Elwood Road when the Union Leader photographed it in February. Sunnycrest's night maze runs Friday and Saturday evenings until 9 p.m. through October 31.

If you'd like a calm, informed conversation about how Londonderry's agricultural zoning and land changes might affect a home you own or are thinking about buying, the team at Prestige Properties is glad to walk through it with you. Work With Us.