U-Pick: Stillpoint Farms & Detering Orchards

Summer is officially in its hey-day for me once I’ve had the chance to visit a farm and pick my own berries. I’ve been known to drag my kids to a U-Pick farm every weekend through August and September, and here are two of our favorite spots so far:

Stillpoint Farms
86915 Territorial Hwy, Veneta
Monday-Saturday, 10am-5am – open seasonally

If you can find a farm recently acquired by a couple of visionary millenials, I highly encourage you to visit! Upon arrival the young farmers, Zac and Katie, gave a warm welcome then jumped right into hospitality mode. Katie delivered a personal rundown of the farm and toured us around the wooden storefront they recently built which boasts flats of picked berries, farm fresh eggs, homemade soap, and local honey. Zac handed us each a bucket fitted with ropes so we could enjoy the freedom of two-handed berry plucking, then tipped us off to what’s prime for harvest. 

We quickly gathered three pounds of blueberries in our buckets – quite a feat amidst all the sampling going on. Berry bushes that are peak for picking are marked with reflective ribbon each morning. 

Stillpoint is starting to grow various produce in their greenhouse (ask them about it), but for U-Pick berries count on strawberries in May, blueberries and raspberries in July, and culminating with all three berries in August and September. Blackberries are now ready too. Prices are very reasonable.

And yes, all their produce is Certified Naturally Grown – which is an “organic” certification that small, local farmers earn through a co-op of farmers across the U.S. In other words, no pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers ever used!
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Detering Orchards
30946 Wyatt Drive, Harrisburg
Check website for events and seasonal hours

I had no idea one could pick fresh peaches in Oregon. But, I got to do this at Peach Daze (August 1-3, 2014) at Detering Orchards, and it was a quintessential orchard experience.

While we were there primarily to harvest the peaches (only $1.25/lb), there was also a Vintage Festival with vendors selling all sorts of Pinterest-y treasures. We also sampled the farm’s fresh pressed cold apple cider and perused their farm stand store for locally made snacks and goods as well as all kinds of produce that they grow on their farm. One farmer took us on a 30-minute hay ride and in that time we only covered small portion of their vast farmland. He plucked a couple of ripe peaches for us from the trees as we tractor-ed on through the orchard rows.

I will be returning for Apple Daze which occurs every weekend in October. So much goes on and grows at Detering Orchards, so visit their website to figure out when you’d like to visit.

I know we all have our own U-Pick farm near and dear to our hearts, so please comment and share your favorite place in Lane County...especially if any farm is still doing raspberries!

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Christy Rice is a mom to two great boys. They love to explore all that Lane County has to offer & share their adventures with GoMomGo.