Looking to have a great time outdoors? Opting for harvesting your own fresh seasonal vegetables and fruits can create a memorable experience, enabling you to buy locally sourced produce at reasonable prices.
Numerous farms nationwide offer pick-your-own options for a variety of fruits and vegetables such as strawberries, rhubarb, peas, blueberries, peaches, apples, and more. Having been a devoted U-pick enthusiast for a long time, I’ve gathered garlic scapes, plucked asparagus spears, and even unearthed my own potatoes (quite messy, I must say).
Many farms provide additional entertainment suitable for all age groups. From corn mazes, playgrounds, and petting zoos to wagon rides, it’s effortless to transform a simple outing into a full day of countryside enjoyment.
Please note that the timing for each crop can significantly differ each year and by region. Hence, it is advisable to refer to the harvest calendar for your specific area, and verify the availability with local farms via phone or social media before making your trip.
Here are 15 Canadian U-pick farms worth exploring this year:
1. **Maan Farms**
– Abbotsford, B.C.
– Offers raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry picking at standing height, eliminating the need for kneeling. The farm also produces wine using on-site berries. Kids can enjoy the Barnyard Adventureland with farm animals and a zipline.
2. **Taves Family Farms**
– Abbotsford, B.C.
– Choose from strawberries, apples, goji berries, pears, plums, and pumpkins. Later in the season, visitors can enjoy attractions like a petting barn, sunflower garden, pumpkin patch, and hay rides.
3. **Twin Oaks Organic Orchard**
– Kelowna, B.C.
– A picturesque organic orchard offering various U-pick fruit options including apples, cherries, apricots, peaches, and pears. The on-site shop sells honey, eggs, and fresh hazelnuts.
4. **The Saskatoon Farm**
– Foothills County, Alta.
– A family-run farm near Calgary with a farmers’ market, garden center, restaurant, and bakery. Visitors can pick saskatoon berries, sour cherries, apples, and blackcurrants.
5. **Eagle Creek Farms**
– Red Deer County, Alta.
– Located north of Calgary, offering U-pick gardens for potatoes, carrots, peas, beans, onions, and zucchini. Visitors can also cut their own fresh flowers like gladioli, sunflowers, and zinnias, and explore the sunflower maze.
6. **Rhodes’ Raspberries and Blackcurrants**
– Saskatoon
– Family-owned farm with a variety of berries for picking, including raspberries, blackcurrants, and saskatoon berries. The farm also sells frozen berries, juice, jams, and sorbet.
7. **Riverbend Orchards**
– Portage la Prairie, Man.
– An eight-hectare farm west of Winnipeg offering U-picks for cherries, saskatoon berries, haskap berries, gooseberries, and apples later in the summer. Pre-order pies, plants, and berries for pick up.
8. **Andrews Farm Market and Winery**
– Milton, Ont.
– Situated west of Toronto, providing a wide range of U-pick options including rhubarb, strawberries, currants, raspberries, blueberries, apples, and pumpkins. Enjoy family-friendly activities like wagon rides and farm animals.
9. **Dutchyn Farms**
– Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
– A third-generation farm near Niagara Falls offering pick-your-own peaches, nectarines, plums, and seedless grapes. Take a tractor-drawn farm wagon through the orchards and explore the market with pre-picked fruits.
10. **Pingle’s Farm Market**
– Hampton, Ont.
– An ideal spot for a family day out, located east of Toronto. Pick from a variety of fruits and vegetables like strawberries, blueberries, peas, beans, corn, peppers, and apples. Enjoy farm activities and mazes.
11. **Quinn Farm**
– Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que.
– Around 40 minutes from Montreal, offering U-pick apples, strawberries, blueberries, corn, pumpkins, and more. Explore the play yard, animal barn, and farm shop with baked goods and local produce.
12. **Trueman Blueberry Farms**
– Sackville, N.B.
– A family-owned farm near Moncton with high-bush and wild blueberries for picking. Also available are tulips, rhubarb, raspberries, and pumpkins, along with
