2024 The Santa Cruz County and Bay area of California Apple U-Pick Farms and Orchards - PickYourOwn.org

Apple U-Pick Orchards in The Santa Cruz County and Bay area of California in 2024, by county

Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for apples that we know of in this area.

Not all areas of a state have apples orchards that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!

Remember to always check with the farm's own website or Facebook page before you go - or call or email them if they don't have a website or Facebook page. Conditions at the farms and crops can change literally overnight, so if you want to avoid a wasted trip out there - check with the farm directly before you go! If I cannot reach them, I DON'T GO!

PLEASE report closed farms, broken links and incorrect info using the "Report Corrections" form below.

New! As inflation remains high, see this page for reliable (tested) brands of generic canning lids at lower costs, and cost-saving measures for getting fruit and vegetables and home canning.
 If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

New! Road tripping and camping is a great way to have a fun, safe and inexpensive family trip. The national and state parks and monuments are open, and campgrounds usually cost between $10 and $40 per night. September to November is the best camping weather.  See our new website Road Tripping and Camping.com for tips, tricks, guides, checklists and info about parks, monuments and other places to visit.

New! We just went live with our latest website, FunFactoryTours.com - As they name implies, you can find a fun factory tour, including chocolate, automobiles, historical forts and sites, famous buildings, Active Federal facilities even fun geology: like fossils and volcanic areas

Santa Cruz County

• Clearview Orchards - CERTIFIED ORGANIC, apples, Honey from hives on the farm, U-pick and already picked, picnic area
  646 Trabing Road, Watsonville, CA 95076. Phone: 408-472-1958. Email: info@clearvieworchards.com. Open: Saturday and Sunday, from 10am to 5pm, Saturday September 5, 2015 through Sunday November 1st. Directions: from Santa Cruz: Highway 1 South towards Watsonville Exit Buena Vista Road Turn left at stop sign Turn left on Trabing road to orchard. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard. We are certified organic for all crops! We will open Sept 7th Labor Day Monday. You Pick Organic Fuji and Gala Apples. Fresh Pressed Fuji Apple Cider and Frozen Apple Pops. Our Local Honey for Sale Year Round. Clearview Organic Orchards also has dried lavender, certified organic pumpkins and squash, and our own fresh pressed organic apple juice served ice cold at the orchard along with our fresh baked apple turnovers (UPDATED: May 06, 2018, JBS)
• Gizdich Farm - apples, blackberries, boysenberries, olallieberries, raspberries (Spring, red), strawberries, Cider mill (fresh apple cider made on the premises), U-pick and already picked, farm market, gift shop, concessions or refreshment stand, porta-potties are available, school tours
  55 Peckham Rd, Watsonville, CA 95076. Phone: 831-722-1056. Open: 7 days a week, 9am to 5pm. Directions: From Highway 1 \(southbound\), take Riverside Drive EXIT, turn left overpass, straight through downtown Watsonville \(high school on left side\), over a bridge, left on Lakeview Road, right on Carlton Road, left on Peckham Road. From Highway 1 \(northbound\), same exit, right on Riverside, follow above. From Highway 101 \(southbound & northbound\), take 129 WEST to Watsonville, fork right on Carlton Road, \(stop sign Thompson Road\), straight on Carlton, right on Peckham Road. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Visa, MasterCard. Picking updates: Click here for picking updatesFrom Highway 1 (southbound), take Riverside Drive EXIT, turn left overpass, straight through downtown Watsonville (high school on left side), over a bridge, left on Lakeview Road, right on Carlton Road, left on Peckham Road. From Highway 1 (northbound), same exit, right on Riverside, follow above. From Highway 101 (southbound & northbound), take 129 WEST to Watsonville, fork right on Carlton Road, (stop sign Thompson Road), straight on Carlton, right on Peckham Road Strawberries: May to September. Olallieberries: June. Boysenberries and Blackberries: Mid June to July. Apples: September (3 weeks). Pie Shop open Daily 9 am to 5 pm Serving our famous farm fresh pies and our Award winning Apple Juice. They grow 16 varieties of apples but only Red Delicious, Newton Pippins & Golden Delicious are U-pick. Pik-Yor-Self - Strawberries, Olallieberries, Boysenberries, and Apples are available in our Pik-Yor-Self program. Experience the most fun part of growing fruits, here at the Ranch! Combined with fresh air, sunshine and a little sweat, it's a whole lot of fun for the kids and the entire family. Don't forget your camera.Call for our opening dates and prepare for a fun day of picking delicious fruit. Bring your own containers or let us provide boxes for a small fee.After picking, take a self guided tour of our apple orchard and berry farms. If you're here on Saturdays (September-April only), you can watch the apples get pressed for juice!
  Comments from a visitor on June 20, 2011: "This place has been around forever!! I picked berries here as a kid. I took my teenagers last year. My mom and all her friends use them for their jam berries. Worth the trip (unless Rancho Not So Grande can beat their prices. They are local while Gizdich is an almost 3 hour drive"
  Comments from a visitor on June 26, 2010: "Love it, have been going for many years. "
  Comments from a visitor on December 21, 2009: "Have been going to their ranch for years. It is a wonderful place. Their olallieberries and apples are the best! Gizdich Ranch is surrounded by other small family farms. The whole county is rich in agriculture. Fields of artichokes, strawberries, olallieberries, boysenberries, apples, vegetables, etc. In the fall the area it is a cornucopia to the season. They have a shop located in their barn that sells farm grown apples and fresh berries in season or bags of frozen berries ( 4 & 8 lbs.), frozen berry puree, freshly pressed apple juice and a variety of jams, etc. There is also a bakeshop/deli that serves: freshly baked pies (sold whole or by the slice), shortcakes, pastries, apple dumplings, sandwiches, box lunches & drinks. Also have an antique shop next to the barn. Yes they have restrooms. Yes, credit card and ship nation wide. There are picnic tables & tours of ranch. Family friendly. They are not organic. But are trying a variety of natural approaches to cut back on spraying."
• Live Earth Farm and Discovery Program - Certified Organic, apples, apricots, beans, blackberries, olallieberries, peppers, pumpkins, raspberries (red), raspberries (Spring, red), raspberries (Autumn, red), raspberries (yellow), raspberries (Spring, yellow), raspberries (Autumn, yellow), raspberries (black), raspberries (Spring, black), strawberries, tomatoes, Honey from hives on the farm, Fresh eggs, Cider mill (fresh apple cider made on the premises), concessions or refreshment stand, porta-potties are available, restrooms, picnic area, picnic area you may bring your own food, face painting, farm animals, birthday parties, weddings and wedding parties, school tours, group reservations
  1275 Green Valley Road, Watsonville, CA 95076. Phone: 831-763-2448. Email: farmers@cruzio.com. Open: U-Picks will be held seasonally on Saturdays and Sundays only from 10 am to 3 pm, May to October; call before you come. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard.
  Live Earth Farm and Discovery Program Facebook page. . Alternate Phone: 831-728-2032 We are certified organic for all crops! Please be advised that availability of crops varies from week to week; check the table below for the status of available items. Discounts apply to produce the more you pick! Bring buckets, boxes, or other containers to harvest into, or purchase containers from us for a small fee. Make sure to dress accordingly to layers, hats, sunblock. Load up the kids, pack a picnic lunch and make a day of it! Though we appreciate canine friends, please do not bring your dogs to our farm. Typical dates (may change!):Strawberries Mother's Day Weekend Saturday and Sunday May 12th and 13th Blackberries End of July Dry-farmed Tomatoes August Peppers Apples September/October )

 

Apple

Apple Picking Tips, Recipes and Information

Apples ripen from the outside of the tree towards the center, so the apples out the outside of the tree will ripen first.  Once they are picked, they stop ripening. Picking apples directly from a tree is easy. Roll the apple upwards off the branch and give a little twist; don't pull straight away from the tree. If two apples are joined together at the top, both will come away at the same time. Don't shake the trees or branches.  If the apple you are trying to pick drops, (or others on the tree) go ahead and pick it up. They're perfectly fine! But do wash them before you eat them! More info: How to tell when apples are ripe

• Once picked, don't throw the apples into the baskets, place them in gently, or they will bruise and go bad more quickly.
• Don't wash apples until just before using to prevent spoilage.
• For an explanation of why apple slices turn brown and how to stop it, see this page!
• Keep apples cool after picking to increase shelf life.  A cool basement is ideal, but the fruit/vegetable drawer of a refrigerator will work, too.  A refrigerator is fine for small quantities of apples. Boxed apples need to be kept in a cool, dark spot where they won't freeze. Freezing ruptures all of an apple's cells, turning it into one large bruise overnight. The usual solution is to store apples in a root cellar. But root cellars often have potatoes in them: apples and potatoes should never be stored in the same room because, as they age, potatoes release an otherwise ethylene gas, which makes apples spoil faster. If you can keep the gas away from your apples, they will keep just fine. Just don't store them right next to potatoes.
  Prevent contact between apples stored for the winter by wrapping them individually in sheets of newspaper. The easiest way to do this is to unfold a section of newspaper all the way and tear it into quarters. Then stack the wrapped apples. See more here: How to store apples at home
• Apples don't improve or "ripen" after being picked - this is an urban myth - see this page for the truth - with references!

Which apple variety is best?

There are tens of thousands of varieties of apples, developed over centuries. They vary in sugar, acoidity, flavors, storing, crispness and many other attributes. See our guides to apple varieties:

• Summary table of many apple varieties and their characteristics
• Detailed descriptions of each apple variety with detailed characteristics
• Apple varieties, sorted by the order in which they typically ripe
• Apple varieties that don't turn brown when they are cut
• Why are some apples brown or spotted inside when you first cut them open?

Canning apples - fully illustrated, with step-by-step instructions

• How to make applesauce
• How to make apple butter 
• How to make apple jelly
• How to make apple pie filling (canned)
• How to can apples
• Home canned apple juice

New!As inflation remains high, see this page for reliable (tested) brands of generic canning lids at lower costs, and cost-saving measures for getting fruit and vegetables and home canning.
 If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

Recipes, illustrated with step by step instructions

• Apple pie recipe and directions and illustrated! I can say, with, ahem, no bias at all, that this is the best apple pie recipe in the world! (Alright, I did have an apple strudel in Vienna once at that place listed in Fodors that was REALLY good, but that wasn't a pie, was it? And since this was the recipe my grandmother used, it must be great!)
• How to make applesauce for a single meal (not canning it) with NO special equipment
• Apple cobbler
• Apple crunch - best of all! Moist, low sugar and using oats!
• Apple crisp - ever-popular, low sugar and using oats!
• Apple, blackberry, cherry, and/or peach cobbler
• Apple-blackberry, crumble - a English favorite (or favourite)

Using fresh apples and miscellaneous

• How to stop cut apples from browning
• Apple festivals - find one near you!
• Apple facts
• Apple seeds and cyanide

 

Other Local Farm Products (Honey, Horses, Milk, Meat, Eggs, Etc.)
(NOT pick-your-own, unless they are also listed above)

• Farm markets and roadside stands
• Local Honey Finder
• Local Meat, Milk and Eggs
• Venues: Farms, Wineries, Orchards for your event, wedding or party
• Easter egg hunts
• Children"s consignment sales
• Fruit and vegetable festivals
• Winery tours and wine tastings
• Horse rides, stables, lessons, trails
• Maple Syrup farms and sugarworks
• Bed & Breakfasts on Farms, Wineries, Ranches and Orchards
• Pumpkin patches
• Corn mazes
• Zombie Paintball venues
• Christmas Tree Farms & lots
• Environmental resources
• Consumer fraud information
• Wholesale food sources
• Resources for Farmers