Step aside, grocery store fruits. For anyone who’s ever been berry picking, there’s nothing like the juicy sweetness of a fresh picked berry.
Thankfully, the Minneapolis and St. Paul area is packed with pick-your-own farms. For many families, picking their own strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries has become a favorite summer tradition!
That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help you find all of the best pick-your-own berry farms near the Twin Cities.
Contents
How it works
If you’ve never picked your own berries before, well… you’re in for a sweet treat!
The whole process is pretty simple. Once or twice a year, several local farms around the Twin Cities will open their berry fields to the public. Strawberries typically open around June, blueberries in July, and raspberries any time from July to October.
Depending on the berries and weather, picking season usually lasts anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
In any case, once you arrive, most places will provide you with a container and send you into the fields. They’ll direct you to a place with the most ripe and ready to pick berries, and then you get to harvesting. By hand!
Fill up your container with as many berries as you like, and then pay by the pound.
The most important thing to keep in mind? Farming is very weather and crowd dependent. Farmers have to carefully monitor the rain, heat, and amount of berries picked to ensure their fields stay healthy and don’t get “picked out.”
As such, we definitely recommend calling wherever you plan on picking before you make the drive!
3 Reasons We Love Pick Your Own Berries
1. The berries!
Freshly picked berries taste so delicious, you’ll wonder what you’ve been eating from the grocery store!
2. Family fun!
Berry picking is an awesome family event or even a fun, unusual date idea.
3. Surprisingly cheap!
You’d think berries this tasty would come at a premium price. But when you provide the labor, you tend to get a discount!
U-pick berries are almost always cheaper than the grocery store. And so much better!
PS – Throw your fresh picked berries in the freezer so you can enjoy them all year long! (To avoid clumping, freeze them on a baking sheet with wax paper before combining in a big bag.)
Map of Berry Picking around the Twin Cities
As you can see, most of the farms are a short drive outside the city. But we promise the fresh fruit and fun adventure will be so worth it!
Berry Picking near the Twin Cities
If you’re looking for a bigger variety of berries, there’s several pick your own locations around the Twin Cities that grow multiple types of fruit.
Berry Hill Farm (Anoka, MN)
Each summer, Berry Hill Farm offers pick your own strawberries, raspberries, and rhubarb. Typically picking times are:
- Strawberries are available from the middle of June to the beginning of July.
- Raspberry picking usually lasts from early to mid July.
- Rhubarb picking from mid-may to early July.
All these dates are rough estimates and can change based on each growing season. Be sure to follow their Facebook page for daily picking updates!
- Address: 6510 185th Ave NW, Anoka, MN 55303
- Website: Berry Hill Farm
Afton Apple Orchard (Afton, MN)
One of our favorite places for pick your own strawberries is Afton Apple Orchard.
Recently, they also added pick your own Raspberries in the fall.
This huge location tends to stay open even when other farms have been picked out. They also have a treat station where you can buy strawberry donuts, shakes, and other goodies. Not to mention, a petting zoo with donkeys, alpacas, and goats!
- Address: 14421 90th St S, Hastings, MN 55033
- Website: Afton Apple
Knapton’s (Rockford, MN)
Just 20 miles west of Minneapolis sits Knapton’s farm. Knapton’s offers a pick your own raspberry and cherry season. This includes both summer raspberries (mid June to July) and fall raspberries (August to October), and yes, you can taste the difference! Cherries typically arrive in late June and last through July.
- Address: 5695 Hwy 55, Rockford, MN 55373
- Website: Knapton’s
The Strawberry Basket (Monticello, MN)
Despite the name, The Strawberry Basket offers both strawberry AND blueberry picking. Their strawberry season can last anywhere from 10 days to three weeks. Blueberry season lasts about 1 month and begins once enough fruit is ripe. Like most fields, their exact open dates and hours change based on crowd size and weather.
- Address: 12591 Aetna Ave N.E., Monticello, MN 55362
- Website: The Strawberry Basket
The Berry Patch (Forest Lake, MN)
Located about 30 minutes northeast of Minneapolis, The Berry Patch offers pick-your-own strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries from mid-June to August.
- Address: 10456 192nd St N, Forest Lake, MN 55025
- Website: The Berry Patch
Lorences Berry Farm (Northfield, MN)
Lorences Berry Farm usually offers u-pick berries from June to late September. Pick your own Stawberries run from June to mid July. Pick your own Raspberries usually last from late July to late September.
They also sell packaged asparagus grown on the farm, usually from May to mid-June.
- Address: 28556 Foliage Ave, Northfield, MN 55057
- Website: Lorences Berry Farm
White Pine Berry Farm (River Falls, WI)
Located about 30 minutes east of St. Paul, White Pine Farms offers one of the biggest berry selections around.
In June, they offer Strawberries and even pea pods! By July, they usually add u-pick blueberries, raspberries, and currants.
They also offer a number of other crops for sale during the summer, including Rhubarb, sweet corn, beans, and asparagus.
- Address: 28556 Foliage Ave, Northfield, MN 55057
- Website: White Pine Berry Farm
Sam Kedem Nursery (Hastings, MN)
2021 Update: After 33 years, The Kedem’s sold their farm and retired. So, the Sam Kedem Nursery is no longer offering pick your own. š
This nursery and garden offers pick your own berries, including organic strawberries, red currant, juneberry, serviceberry, and rhubarb. Sometimes, they even offer other veggies like asparagus!
- Address: 12414 191st Street East, Hastings, MN 55033
- Website: NA
Strawberry Picking near the Twin Cities
Several local strawberry farms specialize specifically in u-pick strawberries.
Pine Tree Orchard (White Bear Lake, MN)
The closest pick your own farm to St. Paul, Pine Tree Apple Orchard offers pick your own strawberries for a few weeks every summer, usually beginning in June. They provide you with complimentary picking containers and even offer to make the experience educational by doing demonstrations on the proper way to pick strawberries.
- Address: 450 Apple Orchard Rd White Bear Lake, MN 55110
- Website: Pine Tree Orchard
Pleasant Valley Orchard (Shafer, MN)
Pleasant Valley Orchards offers pick your own strawberries for 2-3 weeks per summer. Their setup is simple and effective. The “facilities” are limited to a simple table and scales for weighing, along with three acres of delicious strawberries available for picking.
Their website explains they’re typically open from 7 AM until noon, or until all the ripe berries are picked. So calling ahead to double check picking times is recommended. (That goes for pretty much all the farms on this list, actually.)
- Address: 17325 Pleasant Valley Road, Shafer, MN 55074
- Website: Pleasant Valley Orchard
D Round Barn Berries (Saint Michael, MN)
D Round Berries is small family farm about 40 minutes northwest of Minneapolis. They offer u-pick strawberries each summer at an affordable price.
- Address: 2260 Jamison Ave NE, St Michael, MN 55376
- Website: D Round Barn Berries
Wyatt’s Strawberries & Asparagus (Hastings, MN)
Wyatt’s Strawberries is located in Hastings, MN. They offer pick your own strawberries at some of the best prices around.
- Address: 10370 180th St E, Hastings, MN 55033
- Website: Wyatt’s Strawberries
Blueberry Picking near the Twin Cities
There’s also several farms focusing entirely on u-pick blueberries!
Blueberry Fields of Stillwater (Stillwater, MN)
Blueberry Fields in Stillwater, MN offers blueberry picking begining around July each year. We especially love that these blueberries are grown naturally, free of pesticides and insecticides. And their fields are beautiful!
- Address: 9450 Mendel Rd N, Stillwater, MN 55082
- Website: Blueberry Fields
Little Hill Berry Farm (Northfield, MN)
Little Berry Hill Farm offers certified organic, pick your own blueberries. The blueberry picking season usually runs from July to early August. They provide you with picking containers and are usually open Friday and Saturday from 7 AM to 11:30 AM, but times vary depending on weather and how fast the berries ripen.
From July through September, they also offer pre-picked, late season strawberries.
- Address: 4339 320th St. W., Northfield, MN 55057
- Website: Little Hill Berry Farm
