You can’t get more California than picking strawberries at a local farm along Highway 1 with a view of the ocean behind you.
This past Sunday we woke up in San Francisco in a blanket of fog but decided to seek sunshine elsewhere, so my husband and I hopped in the car and headed down the coast. We love this drive and make it often, usually to get pie at Pie Ranch, hike to Shark Fin Cove, visit the Pigeon Point Lighthouse or just at clam chowder at Sam’s.
Toady, though, we were on a mission for Swanton Berry Farm for U-Pick strawberries by the ocean.
Open only on weekends during strawberry season, which is usually May through early July, this fleeting weekend date idea is easy to miss. In fact, I’ve lived in San Francisco for 10 years and for 10 years I’ve said “I want to go strawberry picking this year!” and then I blink and it’s August.
But not this year!
We rolled up to Swanton around 10:45 and there were a few people there, but not too many. We grabbed boxes and headed to the strawberry fields to pick as many ripe berries as our foodie hearts wanted. We both grew up in Wisconsin where we would both pick strawberries each summer so it was an oddly nostalgic activity.
Between a few samples in the fields, we filled up two small boxes that ended up being around 4 pounds. Swanton sells U-pick strawberries for $8 a pound, so $36 later we walked back to the car with a huge bag of strawberries and silly grins on our faces.
But the day didn’t end here. Up the road a few miles is Pie Ranch, my favorite local farm stand, or rather barn, on Highway 1. They make the best pies in the world and also have a nice curation of local food goods such as shrubs, salsas, hot sauce, canned tomatoes and fresh produce.
Our favorite pie is their lemon blueberry pie. We grabbed a frozen pie to bring home along with rhubarb (to make a strawberry rhubarb pie) and a fresh batch of pear shrub for drinks.
I swear I was a lighthouse keeper in a past life, and normally love to swing by Pigeon Point Lighthouse, but it’s under construction right now so we skipped it (I included some images of it from past trips since it’s so pretty!)
Our last stop of the day on our way back to San Francisco was to Harley Farms in Pescadero. This goat farm is truly special. They have baby goats available for petting, along with a sassy miniature horse and other farm animals. But the highlight is their goat shop filled with freshly made goat cheeses along with honey, jams and soaps.
I’m obsessed with their dill goat cheese so we picked up a log before giving head rubs to a few baby goats.
Now, I am staring at our 4 pounds of freshly picked local strawberries trying to decide what on earth to do with them. Crumble? Pie? Shortcake? Popsicles? Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be tasty.
If you haven’t done a u-pick strawberry farm visit in California yet, this is your sign to go! Your heart and stomach will thank you.
