SacramentoCA

Harris Family Farm, formerly Harris Tree Farm, is Apple Hill Growers farm number 84 and one of the few on the hill that still says the words: "Check our facebook page for current you-pick crops." What You Can Pick Apples - the farm describes its own year as running "From the first sweet berries of summer to the crisp apples of fall" Berries - the farm says berries without naming them, and directs you to Facebook for what is ripe Good to Know Open 25 May to 24 December, Thursday to Sunday 9am to 4:30pm. Which crops are actually open on a given weekend is posted to Facebook and nowhere else, so check before you drive up. The farm runs a full calendar beyond the fruit: apple pie making classes, yoga in the orchard through spring and early summer, high tea in the orchard in May and June, and camping from April to October. Pro tip: at 4,000 feet in Pollock Pines this is the highest and coolest farm on Apple Hill, which is why its season starts with berries when the valley farms are already finishing them.

O'Halloran's Apple Trail Ranch puts the choice plainly in a single sentence, which is more than most of Apple Hill manages: "Apples - Stop in for an authentic you-pick experience in our orchard or select from our apple bins. Mix and match - all apple varieties are the same price." What You Can Pick Apples - all varieties at one price, picked or from the bins Pears Good to Know One price for every variety is worth knowing on a hill where the interesting apples usually cost more than the ordinary ones. It means the Mutsu and the Pink Lady cost the same as the Red Delicious, so pick the good ones. The ranch is open seven days, 9am to 5pm. Pro tip: the farm offers the bins as an equal option rather than a fallback, so if the orchard is picked over on an October Saturday you have not wasted the drive.

This is the picking field, not the barn. Rainbow Orchards sells its fruit at 2569 Larsen Drive; the blueberries you pick yourself are three miles away at 3010 Camino Ridge, Snows Road at Fuji Court, next to Camino School. Turning up at the wrong one is the commonest mistake visitors make here. What You Can Pick Blueberries - four days only, and by reservation Good to Know The farm's own wording is exact and short: "3010 Camino Ridge, Snows Rd. at Fuji Court, Camino (next to Camino School) is open for You Pick blueberries June 20, 21, 27, 28. Reservations required." That is the whole season: two weekends in June. Everything else Rainbow grows is sold picked. From Labor Day weekend the barn fills with just-picked fruit, and nectarines and peaches arrive in late August and early September. Pro tip: four days a year with reservations means you book in May, not June. Watch the farm's own site rather than any listing, because the dates move with the season.

High Hill Ranch is the most visited place on Apple Hill by a wide margin, and the apples are not yours to pick. What you can pick is the pumpkin. What You Can Pick Pumpkins - "We Invite Your Family To Tour Our Beautiful Pumpkin Patch On The High Hill Ranch And Pick Your Favorite Pumpkins For The Season's Festivities." What You Cannot The apples go into the bakery, not into your bag. The orchard is visited by tractor: "Ride a 1960's Farm Cub Tractor on a Guided Tour of Our Apple Hill Apple Orchard! You Will Learn About The Entire Apple Process, Including Hand-Picking, Hand-Sorting, Storage, & Baking!" That is $12 a ride. Good to Know There is a restaurant and bakery on site, it is dog friendly, and the pond is stocked: fishing is $5 a day, poles $7, and a caught fish costs $12 a pound with no catch and release. Pony rides are $5 for adults and $3 for children. Wine tasting is free, $9 a glass. The place has a history worth knowing. In the farm's own words, Apple Hill began as "Pear Hill" in the 1950s, and after the Korean War George Visman "walked up the road after working at his father's orchard, Boa Vista, and purchased Pear Hill with only $500 in his back pocket." Pro tip: come for the fritters and the pumpkin patch, not for picking apples. If picking apples is the point of the day, Pine-O-Mine is four minutes down Carson Road.

Amber Oaks Berry Farm at Auburn has the widest picking list in this region and the strangest, and it is the only farm on this site anywhere in America where you can pick your own mandarins. What You Can Pick From the farm's own harvest calendar, marked u-pick available: Thornless blackberries - $7 a pound, in season now Blueberries Raspberries Boysenberries Mandarins - Placer County's famous crop, and pickable here Persimmons Pomegranates Pumpkins The farm also grows chestnuts, Concord grapes and strawberries. Good to Know Open Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, 9am to 2pm, closed Sundays. The farm provides all picking containers and takes cash, cheques, debit and credit cards. Vegetables are picked too, at $2 a pound, with rhubarb at $3.95, cucumbers at $2.50 and tomatoes at $2.50. It has been running since 1980 and describes itself simply: "A 'pick your own' farm offering seasonal fresh berries, chestnuts, mandarins, kiwi, tomatoes, rhubarb, and many other varieties of seasonal produce. We have product year round." Pro tip: mandarins in December and persimmons in November are the two things you cannot pick anywhere else on this site. Plan the visit for late autumn rather than summer.

Pine-O-Mine Ranch is the Apple Hill farm to go to if what you actually want is to pick an apple. Most of the hill sells them to you in a bin. What You Can Pick Apples - "Come out during peak season - early September through October - for the best selection and prime picking conditions." Pumpkins - individually priced, typically $12 to $25 depending on size Good to Know Getting into the orchard costs $5 a head and the apples are weighed afterwards: "$5 entry per person. Pick what you love. Pay for what you take." No reservation is needed, but a u-pick ticket is: "a U-Pick ticket is required to enter the orchard - no reservation required." Admission to the ranch itself is free, and so is the pumpkin patch. The farm is direct about eating as you go: "We ask that you pay for your apples before enjoying them. The orchard is our livelihood and our home." Pro tip: there is live music, a barn, tractor rides and food vendors, and the farm says plainly that there is plenty to enjoy even if you are not picking. Useful if half your party would rather sit down.

Smokey Ridge Ranch has been in the same family since 1924 and is now on its fourth generation. It grows seventeen varieties of apple, five of wine grape, olives and chestnuts, and it lets you pick two of those yourself. What You Can Pick Apples - seventeen varieties, "Pick the perfect Apples and have a kid-friendly farm experience!" The orchard is a short walk from the car park. Chestnuts - "sauntering through the orchard gathering chestnuts that have fallen from huge, beautiful, 40 year old trees", usually late September through October The Apples The list is unusually deep in old varieties: Winesap, Jonathan, Macintosh, Granny Smith, Rhode Island Greening, Arkansas Black, Red Delicious and Golden Delicious, alongside Mutsu, which the farm calls its most popular, plus Jonagold, Pink Lady and early and late Fuji. As the farm puts it, "Not all apples varieties are ripe at the same time each fall." Good to Know Persimmons and flowers are picked as you go rather than by you: "Apples, flowers, persimmons - we pick-as-we-go, guaranteeing you the freshest, tree ripened fruit." Ring 530 626 5077 to check the chestnut harvest. Pro tip: Rhode Island Greening is a 17th century American cooking apple that almost nobody grows any more, and Arkansas Black keeps until spring. Both are worth the trip on their own.

Bill and Sandy Bishop planted their first pumpkins at Wheatland in 1973 and invited the local schools. The farm now claims, in its own words, "the largest U-Pick pumpkin field in the world." What You Can Pick Pumpkins - autumn Good to Know Admission is free, seven days a week. Parking is charged on October weekends, and the rides are ticketed: $1.25 a ticket, $60 for fifty, $110 for a hundred. A 2026 fall season pass is $35 a day for guests above 36 inches, or $28 a day for a parent-and-toddler pair of wristbands, both giving unlimited rides every day except October Saturdays and Sundays. The corn maze is open daily until half an hour before close, and children of twelve and under need a ticketed adult with them for the larger one. Pro tip: free admission every day and paid parking only on October weekends means a September weekday here costs nothing at all unless you want a ride.

The Hangtown Kid calls itself a u-pick apple orchard on the first line of its own website, which on Apple Hill makes it unusual before you have read anything else. What You Can Pick Apples - thirteen varieties, September to November Pears - Bartlett, Bosc and Asian pears, August to November, the longest pear window in the region Chestnuts - October to December Persimmons - Fuyu and Hachiya, November to December Good to Know Open Friday and Saturday 10am to 4:30pm, Sunday noon to 4:30pm. Monday to Thursday, ring 530 647 1810 or 530 903 6405. Cash, cheques and cards are all taken. The farm also sells honey. The farm gives its own directions and, tellingly, a second set for the October weekends when the California Highway Patrol reroutes Apple Hill traffic to a different freeway exit. Pro tip: this is one of the few places anywhere on the site where you can pick an Asian pear yourself. They are ready before the apples, so late August is quieter and the picking is better.

Dave's Pumpkin Patch is the big October outing for Sacramento, ten minutes from downtown across the river, and the pumpkins are picked off the field: "Some love the smiles on their kid's faces as they ride the hayride and pick their favorite pumpkin." What You Can Pick Pumpkins - reached by hayride, from 19 September Good to Know The farm calls the rest of it the Cornival: a giant jumping pillow, a corn maze, a hay pyramid, hay maze, pumpkin chunkin, films under the stars, pig races and live entertainment. Wristbands are sold for the rides; the patch itself is the reason to come. In the farm's own words, "This is a true working family farm that all ages will enjoy." The other thing people come back for is Dave's apple cider cinnamon doughnuts. Pro tip: the patch opens 19 September, two weeks before anyone thinks about pumpkins. Late September is the whole thing without the October queue.

Horton Iris Garden at Loomis is an iris grower for most of the year and a pumpkin patch for the rest of it, and the pumpkins come out of the field rather than off a pallet: "Many varieties of pumpkin that you pick directly from the field." What You Can Pick Pumpkins - many varieties, cut from the field Good to Know Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 3pm. Zinnias and sunflowers are picked here too in season, and the iris beds are the reason most people know the place. Pro tip: a working iris garden in October is an odd and rather lovely place to buy a pumpkin, and the three hour window on three days means it never feels like a fairground.

Impossible Acres outside Davis is the most complete u-pick in the Sacramento Valley and the only one that publishes every figure you need before you set off. What You Can Pick Apricots, plums, nectarines and peaches - $1.75 a pound, June and July Blackberries - $3.99 a pound, June and July Pumpkins - 1 to 31 October What It Costs Entry to the u-pick fruit is $3 a person for everyone aged one and up, in June and July. There is no parking fee and no entrance fee for the October pumpkin patch. The animal barn is charged separately: $7 for ages one to twelve including one free adult, $4 for thirteen and over. Good to Know The farm provides boxes and baskets. Cash, credit cards and tap to pay are all accepted. No dogs in the u-pick fruit area or the animal barn. As of late August the fruit and the animal barn are shut for the summer and the farm points you at October: "pumpkins and gourds are growing in the fields." The family planted the berry canes, orchards and pumpkins here in 1994. Pro tip: $1.75 a pound for stone fruit is the cheapest tree fruit picking on this site anywhere in America, and the four crops overlap in early July.

The Cloverleaf Farm is eight acres of organic orchard on the Collins Farm outside Davis, and it opens the rows only a handful of times a summer. What You Can Pick Peaches Nectarines Apricots In the farm's own words: "During the summer months, The Cloverleaf Farm holds U-pick events on the farm for peaches, nectarines, and apricots." Good to Know There is no picking calendar. The farm says the dates are announced on its Facebook and Instagram and to its events mailing list, and nowhere else: "Our stone fruit will be available for U-pick only on select weekend dates." Join the list in spring if you want a place. The farm follows regenerative practice, including no-till, rotational grazing and cover cropping, and also grows figs and herbs. Its fruit goes to grocers in Davis, Sacramento and the Bay Area, and there is a CSA and an Ugly Fruit Club selling seconds at a discount. Pro tip: an eight acre organic apricot orchard that opens for a weekend or two is the best fruit in this region and the hardest to get to. The mailing list is the only way in.

Burge Road Farm is a small family orchard east of Stockton that does one thing: "Burge Road Farm is a small, family-owned farm that offers you-pick cherries. Enjoy fresh, sweet, organically-grown cherries right off our orchard." What You Can Pick Sweet cherries - organically grown, late spring Good to Know The 2026 season is over. The farm says so itself: "We're are currently closed for the 2026 season. Please check back next year", and "Cherry Season Returns Spring 2027". The price for 2027 has not been set. The farm is blunt about how short it is: "The season is short and our crop is limited, so don't wait! Get your cherries early!" Pro tip: a Central Valley cherry season can be three weeks. Follow the farm's social media in April rather than deciding in May.

Victoria Island Farms grows blueberries on Delta peat west of Stockton and is the only farm in this region that tells you which variety you are picking and why. What You Can Pick Blueberries - the u-pick variety is Star, a southern highbush The farm explains the choice in its own words: "Star is a Southern highbush variety that grows well in this region. Northern highbush varieties need more winter chilling. Lowbush, or wild, blueberries need much colder winter weather." It also grows Duke, Draper, Legacy, Ozark Blue, Emerald and Jewel. Good to Know The 2026 picking season has ended. The farm stand at the Sabbatical Distillery shop keeps going: blueberry cheesecake ice cream made with the estate's own berries at $6, estate honey from the farm's pollinating bees at $10 to $18, and cooler bags at $5. Pro tip: the reason Star and not Duke is the whole story of growing blueberries this far south, and the farm is the only one on this site that bothers to explain it.

24 Carrot Farm is one of the few places on Apple Hill where the fruit is genuinely yours to pick, and it is the only one that puts a price on every crop before you arrive. What You Can Pick Strawberries - open now, $4 a pound Flowers - sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds, rudbeckia, snapdragons and more, 10 stems for $7 Pumpkins - October, $1.50 a pound, in the farm's words "Cut your own heirloom pumpkins, straight from the vine!" Blackberries - $7 a pound, but see below Raspberries - $10 a pound, but see below Good to Know The berries are shut for this season. The farm's own u-pick page reads "CLOSED FOR 2026 SEASON. Check back Late July 2027" against blackberries and raspberries. Strawberries and flowers are unaffected and open Thursday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Pro tip: the raspberries at $10 a pound are the most expensive picking in this region by some distance, which tells you something about how hard they are to grow at 2,700 feet. Worth the drive in 2027.

LoCA Blueberry Farm is a family blueberry patch in the middle of Lodi wine country, run as a you-pick from the start: "LoCA Blueberry Farm is family owned and operated in the heart of Lodi, California. We are excited to share our harvests with you as a You Pick operation." What You Can Pick Blueberries - the harvest, in the farm's words, "usually lasts 6-8 weeks" Good to Know Closed Monday to Wednesday. The rows are called Gary's Berries. The farm sells to local farm stands as well, and asks stands interested in carrying its fruit to get in touch. Pro tip: six to eight weeks is a long blueberry season for California and it runs through the hottest part of the year. Go early: the field is unshaded Delta ground and it is thirty-eight degrees by lunchtime.

Daisy Creek Farms at Galt is twenty acres bought to be built into an organic u-pick from scratch, and it publishes more of its own numbers than any farm in this region. What You Can Pick Strawberries - $5 a pound, or $4 over five pounds Apples - $2.50 a pound Figs - $5 a pound Blackberries - $7 a pound, $6 a pint over four pounds, $5 a pound over eight Tayberries and raspberries - $7 a pint, $6 over four pints English lavender - $3 a bunch, about thirty stems What It Costs to Walk In General admission is $1 a head and there is no parking fee. Eating as you pick is a separate ticket: $7 an adult, $5 for children aged two to five, which includes the admission. Buying pre-picked fruit from the stand costs nothing to enter. Good to Know Open Saturdays 9am to 1pm. Any other day except Monday, text or ring 209 730 0670 for an appointment, with a $30 minimum. Cash, cards and Apple Pay, with a 3% fee on the last two. Toilets are porta-potties, which the farm says plainly while it builds. No dogs, and the reason is a good one: "We have a lot of low hanging fruit specially strawberries raspberries and blackberries. People eat right from the plants." An apple and jujube picking day is planned for November, announced to email subscribers. Pro tip: tayberries are a raspberry crossed with a blackberry, they do not travel, and hardly anyone grows them. This is the only farm on the site that sells them by the pint to pick.