BERRY PICKING IN THE GTA
I’ve now gone berry picking two summer’s in a row, so I feel like I’m some kind of berry picking connoisseur.
In the summer of 2020 we visited and picked raspberries and blueberries at Andrew’s Scenic Acre’s in Milton. We had actually been to Andrew’s in the fall of 2019 for pumpkin’s which is part of the reason we returned for berry picking. At the time it was one of the less expensive tourist farms in terms of entrance fees, at $12 per person and kids 5 and under free. As with everything else since Covid their admission has gone up to $15 plus HST per person. Kids are still free 5 and under. How their pricing compares to other farms that were more expensive then them in 2019/2020 I’m not sure, they may still be competitive and though their admission has increased the farm offers quite a lot to make an entire day trip out of visiting there.
The farm is huge, the website states 165 acres, so lots and lots of berry bushes to pick from. When we visited we picked both fresh raspberries and blueberries, but they also have pick your own strawberries, blackberries, asparagus, rhubarb and in the fall pumpkins, other seasonal squashes and apples. They even have a pick your own peonies and dahlias in the spring and summer months, so if you time it right you can pick berries and flowers. The flower garden is also an Instagram influencer's dream for pictures.
They encourage you to bring your own harvesting basket but do have baskets onsite for $1. You can get that $1 back by returning the basket at their little store when paying for your berries. I honestly don’t know how much the berries were at the end of our picking because my parents paid for them but looking at their website strawberries are charged at $4.25 per pound. I’d assume the same charges would apply for picking their other berries.
Beyond the berry picking part of your day, Andrew’s also has walking trails, wagon rides (I believe only in the fall though) and some sweet little farm animals on site which is a hit with any toddler or kiddo. Pigs, chickens, ducks, some goats. There’s a little playground for kids, a BBQ restaurant and an onsite store with homemade baked goods. I also found the entirety of the farm to be super stroller friendly, as my little was still not up to lots of
walking in our first visits. The added bonus for adults is their own winey on site, with homemade wines made from the fruit on their farm!
Last summer, 2021, we visited Stonehaven Farms for strawberry picking. Check out the video here. The draw for Stonehaven is it's very close to where I now live and there's no admission fee and only $10.49 to buy a basket that will fill up to 2lbs of strawberries. They also have a 4lb basket to purchase for $20.99. These prices are based on 2021 so not sure if it will increase for this season. Stonehaven only does pick your own strawberries in the summer and then pumpkins in the fall. The rest of their fruits and veggies are picked by their staff and sold at their onsite market store. The Market also has a ton of their own homemade, and other locally made, jams, pickled vegetables, pies, meat pies, quiche, corn chips, salsa's and my fave butter tarts! Stonehaven is apparently famous for their tarts and I fully support that, so delicious! The Market also has homemade soft serve vanilla ice cream and you can get it in a cone or as a sundae with fresh strawberries on top during strawberry season or as an ice cream sandwich. All ice cream options are $5 but it's an enormous amount of ice cream! My kiddo couldn’t even hold the cone herself it was SO heavy! They also have some activities for kids onsite, like a giant sandbox in the summer and in the fall they have a corn maze and tractor rides. Their property is stunning and it’s such a nice tractor fall foliage ride in the fall.
The biggest difference between raspberry/blueberry picking to strawberry picking is I had NO idea strawberries grew out of the ground. I just assumed they were on a bush like other berries I’ve picked. This may sound silly but my summer attire is usually always dresses and thankfully I didn't choose a dress this day. I would have found it a tad difficult to feel comfortable picking my strawberries in a dress, so definitely wear shorts for a day of strawberry picking and bring a hat!
Both farms have daily updates on picking conditions on their websites and social medias' so you can plan your picking accordingly.
We also visited Marcy’s Berries last summer, which is strictly just berry picking. There’s no fancy playgrounds, shops or animals for kiddo’s but honestly mine just loves the interaction of going with momma somewhere and finding the perfect berries to put in our basket. A basket costs $10 for filling up and you can check out our day here.
