🍓 Strawberries: 14 Places to Pick Your Own

If you want to know which fruits are in season, follow the U-Pick signs! In June, it’s strawberries—lasting only a few weeks. Rain and temperature play a significant role in a strawberry’s life, so call the farm before you head out to verify picking is open for the day.

Helpful tip: bring cash, sunscreen, something to kneel or sit upon, and a hat. You can also bring containers, though the farm will have baskets for purchase.

Up next in the seasonal harvest will be cherries and raspberries. On our Locally Grown Produce harvest guide, you can find U-Pick and farmers’ markets for the entire harvest season.

I updated the information for each farm on June 2, 2023, so please check with the farm directly before you head out. Temperature and rainfall can affect the length and quality of the growing season.

Monroe County

Bauman’s Farm Market

Webster

Their website states, “With over 200 acres of farmland across the towns of Penfield and Webster, Bauman’s farms have proudly served the community since 1908. Our convenient location on the corner of Five Mile Line Road and Plank Road in Penfield is a short drive from the city of Rochester. Our employees are hired from within our own community. The hard-working staff is here to assist you with their knowledge and dedication to provide you with nothing but the finest fruits, vegetables, plants and more. Stop in today and try one of our fantastic fried cakes. Take a stroll through our 21 greenhouses. Come see all that we have to offer! Fresh produce. Low prices. Plants that will make your garden the envy of your neighbors!”

Chase Farms

Fairport

Their website states, “We look forward to strawberry picking early to mid June, 2023.”

Gro-Moore Farms

Rush

Call the Strawberry Hotline for daily updates.
(585) 533-1578

Their website states, “Gro-Moore Farms is owned and operated by the Moore Family. The family has farmed in the Henrietta and Rush, New York area since 1917. Jack and his brother George are the third generation in that line. The farm has pick-your-own strawberries since 1977.”

Kirby’s Farm Market

Brockport

Their website states, “Strawberries were one of the favorite crops of our patriarch, George Kirby. He was happiest when he could spend hours in the strawberry patch, picking or supervising the pickers. Everyone in our family is confident that he’s picking strawberries in heaven right now! Because of him, we grow at least an acre of strawberries. You can even pick your own at the market.”

Mendon Acres

Mendon

Their website states, “Mendon Acres is happy to welcome you to our operation. We look forward to providing you with exceptional fruit and plants while also providing you with a working farm experience.”

Hydroponic Strawberry Farms

Because these two farms offer strawberries in a unique vertical growing environment, they are more accessible for individuals with limited mobility and more enjoyable for those who would rather not sit on the ground to pick strawberries. They are also available through October!

Strawberry Fields U-Pick Hydroponic Farm

Auburn on US-20 closer to Skaneateles

Their website states, “Picking strawberries while standing holds never been easier and more fun for folks of all ages.”

Summer Breeze Strawberries

Castile

It is not open on Sundays.

Greater Rochester

Burnap’s Farm Market & Garden Cafe

Sodus

Their website states, “Burnap’s is located by Lake Ontario in Sodus, New York. While driving along Lake Road in Wayne County, you can find Burnap’s on your way to Pultneyville or Sodus Point. We offer Pick-Your-Own of many different fruits, sell farm-fresh fruits and vegetables, and bake some of the best pies around. When you are finished with one of our farm-to-table lunches, don’t forget to try one of our homemade desserts or ice cream on a homemade waffle cone.”

G & S Orchards

Walworth

Their website states, “G and S Orchards is a 210-acre real working, full-time family-owned fruit and vegetable farm that specializes in growing high quality fruit and vegetables with exceptional flavor. Gary and Stephanie (the “G” and “S”) have been farming in the area for more than 35 years. Gary is a graduate of the School of Experience and Stephanie graduated from Cornell University. Combined together they have more than 75 years of experience in Agriculture and have been offering You Pick and already picked fruits and vegetables in the area for over 25 years.”

Hurd Orchards

Holley

Their website states, “Hurd Orchards is a family-owned fruit and flower farm and canning company nestled in the fertile lake plains of Western New York between the banks of the Erie Canal and the shores of Lake Ontario. Our farm philosophy centers around our love of fruit growing, our endless appreciation for the earth’s gifts, the heritage of our region, and the beauty which surrounds us each season.”

LaMora Farms

Ontario

Their website states, “The Garden Gazebo is now open for the season! It is open daily from dawn until dusk, seven days a week, June through November. Right now, our strawberry patches are bursting with ripe berries, fresh picked daily and available at the stand. They are also available for u-pick Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm. Come on out and see us. The best strawberries are the ones you can pick at LaMora Farms.”

Mehlenbacker Farms

Castile

From Facebook, “Strawberries from mid-June to early July. Open from 8 am–6 pm weekdays and Saturday, but closed on Sundays.”

Morgan’s Farm Market

Marion

Their website states, “Our family has been operating Morgan Farms for more than 50 years. The time we invested in this farm is what shows our commitment to quality produce.”

Old Silo Farms

Conesus

Mid-June – Early July

Strawberry Festivals

Albion Strawberry Festival

June 9–10, 2023

Tips for picking and storing strawberries

Thank you to pickyourown.org for these helpful tips!

1. Always call before you go to the farm. Strawberries are more affected by weather (both rain and cooler temperatures) than most crops. A large harvest can deplete a field by noon during peak season.
2. Select firm, fully red berries. Strawberries do not continue to ripen after they are picked.
3. Most growers furnish picking containers designed for strawberries, but they may charge you for them; be sure to call before you go to see if you need to bring containers.
4. Leave early. On weekends, then fields may be picked clean by noon!
5. If you use your own containers, remember that heaping strawberries more than 5 inches deep will bruise the lower berries. Plastic dishpans, metal oven pans with 3-inch tall sides, and large pots make good containers.
6. Bring something to drink and a few snacks; you’d be surprised how you can work up your thirst and appetite! And don’t forget hats and sunscreen for the sun. Bugs usually aren’t a problem, but some deet might be good to bring along if it has been rainy.
7. U-pick strawberries are much healthier than store-bought strawberries. Consumer reports say store-bought strawberries have so many pesticide and fungicide residues that they are not recommended for eating!
8. Generally, 1 quart of fresh, whole, just-picked strawberries = approximately 3.5 cups of hulled, whole berries. In other words, removing the caps/hulls and the occasional mushy berry means you lose 1/4 cup or about 7 to 10% of every quart you pick.
9. Do the math and be careful not to over-purchase, as strawberries quickly mold when left at room temperature and only last a few days in the refrigerator.
10. You can quickly freeze berries that you cannot use immediately—wash, cut the hulls off, and pop them into a ziplock bag, removing as much air as possible. Those vacuum food sealers really do a good job of this! The berries will stay frozen without air for many months.
11. To help the farmers, remove berries showing rot, sunburn, insect injury, or other defects from the plants and place them between the rows behind you. If they are left in the plants, the rot will quickly spread to other berries.
12. Don’t wash the berries until you are ready to use them. Washing makes them more prone to spoiling.

Where is your favorite spot to pick strawberries?

Your insights and experiences are valuable. Please share them in the comments.