While there’s something charming about buying your produce at a farmer’s market, many people enjoy the thrill of the hunt, going out and picking all their own fruit and produce straight from the farm. 

Thus farms near Asheville, NC, have created an experience out of fruit picking, allowing you to buy the berries and apples you pick by the pound. Orchards near Asheville in nearby Henderson County often grow some rows of berries even if their primary fruit crop is apples (the area is known as Apple Alley!). 

If you’ve got a hankering for fruit and prefer to pick your own, here are some farms where you can often find u-pick berry options near Asheville! 

Don’t forget to check out our web story: The Best Places to go Berry Picking in and Around Asheville

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U-Pick Berry Farms in Asheville

Asheville and the small towns that immediately border it, like Arden and Fletcher, are great places to pick your own berries. The key with all the u-pick berry places is that you’ll want a way to get in touch a few days before you want to go. 

While they may have limits on who can come and how much fruit is picked, they can still have fields that get unexpectedly picked clean before another part of the farm is ripe for picking. The good news is that even if your first one or two calls yield farms that need a few days to grow before their next harvest, there are enough small local farmers ready to offer u-pick berries that you’re likely to find a spot to suit you!

1. Complete Your Retreat at Cloud 9 Farm

Cloud 9 Farm really combines a variety of agricultural and tourism pursuits to create a sustainable business model. They have four vacation rentals that make a perfect place to stay if you’re visiting town for an event or want to see the Biltmore Estate, and they raise beef and have a sawmill on the property, in addition to gorgeous wooded areas for nature walks. 

The top billing, of course, goes to their u-pick blueberry fields, which open in late June and run through the end of harvest in August. There are also bees for harvesting honey and making their own skincare and beeswax products, as well as on-site chickens. 

While you might truly just be in it for a trip to the blueberry patch, remember that you can extend your day at the farm by opting to enjoy some of the other facets of the property, showing kiddos you bring with you what a modern farm can look like when they focus on their own specific strengths. 

Location: 137 Bob Barnwell Road, Fletcher

2. Opt for Organic at Dogwood Hills Fruit Berry Farm

This beautiful farm outside of the small town of Weaverville offers blueberries, blackberries, grapes, and apples, all grown to organic standards (though not certified) to make them high-quality options for you and your family in search of a u-pick berry experience. 

Dogwood Hills Farm is a beautiful spot to visit with friends or family. While most of us would see the 10 acres of production here as a large endeavor, this is actually a fairly small farm by modern farm size standards, and by that standard, they keep their picking days limited, just Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9 am to noon in the past. 

The best strategy is to call them before you head out to the farm, find out what is ripe and perfect for picking, and get additional details about the crop this year. 

Location: 27 Dogwood Hills Lane, Weaverville

3. Add Flowers to Your Picking Adventures at Flying Cloud Farm

Flying Cloud Farm brings a lot to the table: they have a market stand, they offer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes, and, as of recent years, they have a strawberry patch for u-pick berries. 

While strawberries tend to be ripe in May and June, later in the summer, you can visit Flying Cloud Farm to shop their market stand but also to participate in u-pick flowers! Decide which amount of stems you want for your bouquet, bring your own clippers (or borrow a pair of scissors), and clip the beautiful full blossoms for the most unique bunch of flowers you ever brought home to your favorite person. 

It’s a sweet and fun atmosphere at Flying Cloud Farm. 

Location: 1860 Charlotte Highway, Fairview

4. Support Local Farms at Ten Acre Garden

Like Flying Cloud, Ten Acre Garden operates a CSA (or Community Supported Agriculture program). These programs allow people to pay an upfront cost and receive delicious produce each week of a whole season, with whatever is at the peak of freshness delivered each week.

At Ten Acre, they have greenhouses that also help to extend the growing season, getting things planted before the fields are warm and ready for summer crops. During the summer, they have events like chili cookoffs and fall festivals out at the farm, in addition to their u-pick berries and flowers. 

Make sure that you keep an eye on their social media or give them a call to know what’s ripe and ready when you’re coming out to the farm. 

Location: 158 Chambers Farm Lane, Canton

5. Learn About Nature at Long Branch Environmental Education Center

This productive, innovative, and scenic farm is located in Leicester, outside of the Asheville city limits but not far off. At Long Branch Environmental Education Center, you’ll find options for all kinds of berries, from heritage red raspberries to the native black cap raspberries, as well as blueberries, wineberries, and thornless blackberries. 

In some cases, you can even donate to the farm and take a berry plant home! This farm offers u-pick apples in 72 varieties as well. 

While u-pick berries are a great option for what to do when you visit the Long Branch Environmental Education Center, it’s truly not the only option. People enjoy the many hiking trails on the property, the various gardening and farming techniques demonstrated, as well as their commitment to both passive and active solar power on many of their structures. 

There is trout fishing, picnic spots, cool vermiculture to learn about, and incredible bird-watching – any nature-loving family will find more than enough to fill a day-long visit to this beautiful tribute to the natural world and its bounty. 

6. Go Off the Beaten Path: Hiking with Wild Edible Berries!

While the general idea of u-pick berries in Asheville is to go and pick cultivated berries and pay per pound, it’s possible to forage for wild berries in this area as well. On the Blue Ridge Parkway, hiking areas like Craggy Gardens, Graveyard Fields, and Black Balsam Knob all have some wild blueberry thickets, giving you the opportunity to get a few berries for the hike and maybe even pick some for later.  

U-Pick Berry Farms Near Asheville, NC

While most of the farms we’ve mentioned so far are within 20-30 minutes of the city center, driving just a little farther from Asheville will land you in a fruit-growing area of the mountains that is just as plentiful, if not more so, than Asheville. 

In the Hendersonville area, many of the thriving apple orchards also offer u-pick berries in the summer, so if you happen to be heading south to Henderson County anyway, try one of these spots and find some sweet treats!

Be aware that some farms alternate between offering u-pick berries and some years opt not to, so the best way to find a u-pick farm is to call, and if they aren’t opening their fields this year, ask if they know of another farm their vicinity that is doing so. 

7. Enjoy Ice Cream With Your Berries at McConnell Farms

McConnell Farms specializes in a variety of farm products but has plenty of u-pick options during the summer. 

Depending on the season and the availability, you might find strawberries or apples, so call ahead and see what’s happening at the farm – there are often events like their annual Fig Fest in September with lots of themed baked goods, homemade ice cream, and family-friendly games to make a whole day out of it. 

If you happen to stop by during their non-u-pick times, you’ll still find a farm stand full of baked goods, produce, and ice cream that can fill you up for now and keep you well-stocked for cooking, baking, and eating later on in your trip!

Location: 177 Old Dana Road, Hendersonville

8. Taste the Blackberry Sweetness at Fruits of the Spirit Orchards

Fruits of the Spirit Orchards on Sugarloaf Mountain offers an amazing view and lovely breezes as you pick your own blackberries in four different varieties. While lots of the berries go to stores, being open for u-pick is part of their model. 

They also offer a wedding venue at their quaint berry farm – if you and your beloved are big berry fans, it could make an amazing spot for a vow renewal, micro wedding, or full wedding. The main show is definitely the berries, though. Come ready to find the main ingredient for your next few blackberry pies!

Location: 756 Dalton Trail Drive, Hendersonville

9. Get Your Blueberries From Gypsy-Mountain Blueberry Patch

Down the mountains a bit in Marion is the Gypsy Mountain Blueberry Patch, which offers a great blueberry spot for those who want to pick in the area. They have rules about their property and particularly recommend that late-season visitors keep an eye out for bees, who also like the berries as more of them split or fall on the ground. Through August, you’re likely to find berries still coming ripe in this area.

Location: 59 Gypsy Mountain Road, Marion

Still Want More Berries? Find Them Around Asheville!

Before u-pick opens and right after these farms shut down for the season, you can often still find farmers without a u-pick option who come to the local farmer’s markets with berries to sell. In particular, visiting the Western North Carolina Farmer’s Market, open every day of the week, can be a great way to find the berries you need for that last berry pie of the season. 

Also, if you go through the berries you picked at a u-pick farm faster than expected, stopping off at local spots like Blue Ridge Market in Woodfin can get you access to local berries in a farmstand environment. 

If you happen to be visiting with locals, check with them too – there may be more well-known farmstands near you than you think, all with the pick of blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries on hand. 

There you have it! Where to find u-pick berry farms near Asheville, NC. What are your favorite places to go for u-pick berries near Asheville? Let us know so we can add them to the list!

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