Cherry Picking Update - Please call the farm ahead to confirm times and dates.
Let’s go cherry picking this summer. A few weeks ago, I received a reminder that cherries were in season. Our schedule is very tight so I immediately began to plan the best day for us to travel to a local farm. Finding a cherry farm that was open during the Memorial Day weekend was almost impossible. Most of the cherry farms were opening weeks after the Memorial Day weekend or later in the month of June. I had given up when I suddenly found Cherry Hill Farm in Leona Valley, CA, near Palmdale, open for one day only.
This was the first time I would be taking the family to go cherry picking and therefore, I did not know what to expect. Saturday arrived; I packed a small picnic lunch and mapped out our destination. The ride was just shy of 2 hours long. The route that we took was the 5 freeway heading north connecting to the 14 freeway exiting San Canyon Rd, turned onto Bouquet Canyon Rd and drove for several miles through The Angeles National Forest. The address of Cherry Hill Farm is 39300 Bouquet Canyon Rd, Leona Valley, CA 93551. This is the one who chose to visit however there several other farms located nearby. I have a list of them at the end of this post. Please call ahead to confirm dates and times.
The drive was far for us however we really enjoyed taking several rest stops throughout the road trip.
We arrived right as the doors opened and we were lucky enough to have great weather. The farm charged $20.00 for one bucket per two people. We ended up buying two buckets for the four of us. The kids were excited to pick the cherries. The experience was great because we picked as a family. The trees were full of cherries and were short enough to easily pick to the top of the trees approximately 8 foot tall. Although a smaller farm compared to a few others we passed, there were plenty of trees for all of the families to enjoy. The cherries are sweet and far better off the tree than buying them in the store. The fruit easily separates from the pit and they are so juicy. When picking the fruit, choose the deepest, darkest maroon colored cherries to ensure the best pick. The buckets used to collect your pick can hold 3 to 3.5 lbs of cherries. This farm is an organic farm so the price is well worth it.
The farms are a first come first serve basis and crop conditions can change daily. It is important you call or check their website prior to making your trip to ensure the best time for your entire family. Go cherry picking this season!!!
Cherry Parade in Leona Valley is this June 3rd, 2017 start time is 10am.List of farms that are open for the season 2017 and other places you should visit that are nearby. Please call to confirm that they are not sold out before traveling.
http://www.upickcherries.com/index.htm - Opens May 30th
https://www.facebook.com/WhalleysOrchard/ - Opens June 3rd in Little Rock, California
http://www.cherryhillfamilyfarm.com/ - Closed for 2017
U -pick cherries 7651 EAst Ave U, Little Rock, California. (no website. We drove by it and saw the sign.)
http://www.myleonavalley.org/CHERRY_PARADE___FESTIVAL.html
https://www.facebook.com/Joshuatreecollective/
http://charliebrownfarms.com/
