Gorge U-Pick Season in Full Swing: Where to Find Fresh Cherries, Berries, and More This Summer
From Gorge U-Pick:
By Dana Greyson
The Dalles, Ore., June 17, 2026 — If you love fresh-picked cherries and supporting your local growers, picking time is already in full swing, and sweet strawberries are like done, but more locally grown goodness is on its way.
Nothing beats hands-on (and fruit-stained) for the full fruity experience. Fortunately, from late spring through fall, the Gorge offers a bounty of pick-your-own, aka “u-pick” options—fruits, vegetables, and even flowers. “I can smell the apricots ripening,” Carrie Reeves of Rosedale Fruit Farm in Mosier says. Raspberries are ripe. apricots are coming soon, followed by blueberries. Mid-to late summer, there are peaches, then apples and pears in the fall.
With the agricultural worker’s labor shortage and global trade unpredictability, you might believe that u-pick is the perfect solution for orchardists. Farmers must seek insurance for their farms, and fruit farmers are finding insurance for u-pick hard to come by. Those that do impose restrictions—such as no ladders, though fruit can still be picked as u- pick orchard trees are usually short. But one local Mosier grower, Idiot’s Grace/Stepping Stone Farm, stopped offering u-pick because their large, heritage cherry trees require a ladder for picking. U-pick also requires different agricultural practices and additional staff.
While most u-pick farmers also sell commercially, according to the Farmer’s Market Coalition, when you buy direct from a farmer, you’re contributing nearly twice the revenue to the local economy. Davina Craig, of Evans Fruit Company in Mosier, Oregon, explains that while u-pickers pay for their fruit when they purchase it, commercial customers do not pay anything until October and do not complete their payments until November. That’s a long time to wait while covering costs like mortgage, payroll, and other expenses like pollinating bees, which mostly start in May.
“We bought our orchard from my husband’s Sunday school teacher twenty-six years ago. There were no u-pick signs. Folks just showed up and asked if they could pick, because that’s what they did before we bought the orchard,” says Davina.
“When you buy direct from a farmer, it’s like going to Nordstroms and buying a pair of jeans from the person who dyed the fabric and sewed them, versus someone who just knows how to sell,” she adds. “Thanks to social media, and meeting our customers in person, we’re able to show them how to pick, help them understand more about the business of growing, picking and processing.’
“We love the relationships we build with our customers. They still come every year to pick, and we share stories about how our ‘kids’ are grown up and married.”
Show your support for our area’s orchardists, who are still willing to do the work to plant, grow and maintain the orchard for you. All you have to do is to simply show up, soak up the sunshine, pick your fruit and enjoy some of the best fruit in the world, right here own Gorge-ous backyard.
But don’t wait! Cherry harvest will likely be done by early to mid-July this year.
Where to go
If you fancy exploration, mosey around Mosier or head onto Hood River’s Highway 35 “fruit loop.” Or cross the river to kick around Klickitat (Bingen-White Salmon, Underwood, Lyle, Husum, Trout Lake, Goldendale) and follow the u-pick signs. If you want to consider your options beforehand, check out these resources.
Pick Your Own Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman counties and central Washington State by county (including Klickitat)
From the more general list information, check with the individual farmers, the websites, social media, or give them a call (keeping in mind they’re often busy harvesting and serving visitors there to take or return your call). Not all lists are fully updated.
12 U-Pick Tips
1. *Savor experience over savings. U-pick may or may not be cheaper than your local grocery store. You are comparing apples and oranges, or in this case, radically different cherries. Most fruit at the grocery store arrives weeks after it’s been picked. Fruit freshly picked at its peak ripeness is usually tastier, though that’s not guaranteed, as variety and weather can affect flavor, too.
2. Pick when it’s cooler. The fruit comes off more easily. In the case of cherries, they keep longer when they are picked with their stem rather than off their stem. The stem is more likely to stay connected to the cherry when the temperatures are cooler. Cherries get mushy in hot weather. Hot weather is harder on you, too!
3. Bring water to drink—and maybe a picnic while you’re at it. Many orchards also offer picnic facilities for their visitors, and if they don’t, there’s likely a spot nearby.
4. Keep it clean. Wet wipes serve double-duty for sticky picker’s hands and after-meal clean-up.
5. Protect your skin. Cover up and remember to put on sunscreen.
6. Bring your own container(s) to gather your harvest. Orchardists provide buckets for you to use while picking and can sell you bags or boxes to take your pickings home. But it’s gentler on your produce, and there’s no need to transfer it if you bring what you will store your harvest in. When you use your own containers, you’ll need to let the orchardist weigh them before you fill them, so you’ll only be charged for the weight added once your containers are filled. They will not weigh you before and after, even though they know you’ll sample some.
7. Pick where others aren’t. Some of the best cherries hide amongst the leaves. If everyone else is picking on the trees closest to the start…venture further. If everyone else is picking at eye level, look closer to the ground.
8. Respect the rules. Stay within the designated areas where you’re allowed to pick, and ladders are not allowed! Other rules may include no smoking, no animals, or food in the orchard.
9. Accept unpredictability—harvest times vary. This year might be earlier. Or later (and the rains were especially hard on the Bing crop this year). Picking times will also vary by location. Those with higher elevation or fewer hours of sun may start and end their season later, while others at a lower elevation started their first u-pick in early June this year. Different varieties—especially for cherries—will change through the harvest season.
10. Check ahead and be flexible. Most farmers and orchardists are small businesses with small staffs—if something comes up, they may not be able to stay open. If it gets too hot, orchards may close early, or they may open earlier to accommodate. In Mosier, some of the orchardists work together to ensure that at least one will be open, or direct you to a neighboring orchardist for the variety you’re seeking. Check websites and social media, as they may give updates on what’s available for u-pick now.
11. Chill. Keep your just-picked fruit out of the hot sun. A trip home in your air- conditioned car should be enough to keep your fruit from spoiling. But if you’re picking on your way to a hike or have other stops to make, consider bringing a cooler and some ice to cool your efforts.
12. Consider other options if all this sounds like too much work. Maybe you agree with C. S. Lewis, who said, “The best fruits are plucked for each by some hand that is not his own.” You can still enjoy the best of our locally-grown produce and support our community farmers by buying at farmers’ markets, farm stands, and Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSA) subscriptions.
Special thanks to
City of Mosier: Andrea Rogers
Evans Fruit Company, Mosier, OR: Davina Craig, Philip Evans
Garnier Winery, Mosier, OR: Daniel Rubio
Gorge Grown Food Network: Hannah Nanda
Idiot’s Grace/Stepping Stone Farm LLC, Mosier, OR: Brian McCormick
Lopez Farm, Mosier, OR: Rocio Lopez
Rosedale Fruit Farm, Mosier, OR: Carrie Reeves, Tate Shay
This area is world-renowned for our cherries. You cannot compare fresh-picked fruit to what you paid $1.98/pound for using your grocery club card. Yet there is now a whole generation who grew up here…and think food only comes from the grocery store. They’ve never picked fruit.—Davina Craig, Evans Fruit Company
Cherry-pick: to select the best or most desirable. —Merriam Webster Dictionary
Support Local News!
Available for Everyone; Funded by Readers.
