Blueberry U-Pick Orchards in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties in California in 2024, by county

Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for blueberries that we know of in this area. Not all areas of any state, nor even every state, have blueberries orchards that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!

Remember to always check with the farm's own website or Facebook page before you go - or call or email them if they don't have a website or Facebook page. Conditions at the farms and crops can change literally overnight, so if you want to avoid a wasted trip out there - check with the farm directly before you go! If I cannot reach them, I DON'T GO!

PLEASE report closed farms, broken links and incorrect info using the "Report Corrections" form below.

San Luis Obispo County

• Cal Poly Fruit and Crops - apples, apricots, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, olallieberries, pears, peaches, pumpkins, raspberries
  California Polytechnic State University Use the Highland Drive entance off of Hwy 1, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407. Phone: 805-756-2224. Email: orchardmanager@calpolyfruitandcrops.com. Directions: From Hwy 101 in San Luis Obispo, Take Highway 1 north toward Morro Bay, Right on Highland Drive, Follow the signs to the designated U-Pick area, Parking is free on weekends. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check. . Better call before you go; their website disappeared over the winter, so I put a link to the department's website; Saturdays 10am to 1pm Occasionally Wednesdays 3pm to 5pm Picking is available when the crops are ready. Crops are usually available all year. We have Satsuma Tangerines in the Winter months and Various Navel Oranges, blood oranges and other citrus for most of the year. We also have many varieties of prepicked avocados that change throughout the year. (UPDATED: May 02, 2018, JBS)
• Dragon Spring Farm - blueberries, porta-potties are available, picnic area, school tours
  6115 Santa Rosa Creek Road, Cambria, CA 93428. Phone: (805) 927-2825. Email: dragonspringfarm@gmail.com. Open: Saturdays from 10am to 2pm starting Memorial Day Weekend May 27th and ending late June. Directions: Headed north on Highway 1: Turn right Main Street in Cambria. Turn right on Santa Rosa Creek Road DSF is located 4.7 miles down Santa Rosa Creek Road on the right hand side. Headed south on Highway 1: Turn left on Main Street in Cambria \(the last exit into town\). Turn right on Santa Rosa Creek Road . DSF is located 4.7 miles down Santa Rosa Creek Road on the right hand side. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only.
  Dragon Spring Farm Facebook page. . Saturdays from 10am to 2pm starting Memorial Day Weekend (May 27th) and ending late June. Headed north on Highway 1: Turn right Main Street in Cambria. Turn right on Santa Rosa Creek Road DSF is located 4.7 miles down Santa Rosa Creek Road on the right hand side. Headed south on Highway 1: Turn left on Main Street in Cambria (the last exit into town). Turn right on Santa Rosa Creek Road . DSF is located 4.7 miles down Santa Rosa Creek Road on the right hand side. (ADDED: May 23, 2017)

Santa Barbara County

• Blueberries Ole'!, LLC - No pesticides are used, blackberries, blueberries, flowers, lavender, strawberries, tomatoes, Honey from hives on the farm, farm market, porta-potties, picnic area you may bring your own food, school tours
  3665 Dominion Road, Santa Maria, CA 93454. Phone: (805) 260-0497. Email: upickberries@yahoo.com. Open: Typical season is Aril through August, open Wednesday through Sunday, from 9 am to 4 pm; Closed Monday and Tuesday. Directions: From Highway 101 at the South end of Santa Maria, take the Clark Avenue Exit \(Orcutt\) and head East on Clark to the end \(2+ miles\). Make a left turn onto Dominion Road and go 1.8 miles to our UPICK Farm. We are on the left side of the road. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx.
  Blueberries Ole'!, LLC Facebook page. . Alternate Phone: (805) 361-0360. . Typical season is Aril through August, open Wednesday through Sunday, from 9 am to 4 pm; (Closed Monday and Tuesday). From Highway 101 at the South end of Santa Maria, take the Clark Avenue Exit (Orcutt) and head East on Clark to the end (2+ miles). Make a left turn onto Dominion Road and go 1.8 miles to our UPICK Farm. We are on the left side of the road. Blueberry season usually wraps up in July, while blackberry season starts in June and ends in September; Strawberries are ripening in February and continue through the summer;. We do not use pesticides on the crops. Check our website or Facebook page for updates on events and specials. (UPDATED: February 12, 2020)
• Santa Barbara Blueberries at Restoration Oaks Farm - Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
  1980 US Highway 101, Gaviota, CA . Phone: 805-686-5718. Email: info@santabarbarablueberries.com. Open: Call for availability and hours; during the season typically starts in May from 10 am to 6 pm; UPick closes at 5:30 pm; Fall Hours Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm for UPick raspberries and blackberries. Directions: Email, or call or . Click here for a map and directions. . Alternate phone: 805-683-2143. . Call for availability and hours; during the season (typically starts in May) from 10 am to 6 pm; UPick closes at 5:30 pm; Fall Hours Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm for UPick raspberries and blackberries. The farm store will be stocked with already picked raspberries and blackberries as well as lots of other fun stuff through the weekend. see this page. Blueberry UPick season is from late May through June and July every year, and if the weather is good, we may open as early as April and have blueberries into August. After many surveys of our regular pickers, we planted 6 varieties of raspberries that will be ripe and ready from August through October. We will also have watermelons, cantaloupe and other fun fruits and veggies for picking in the late summer and fall. Every year, we open the fields for a day or two in the off-season to our registered VIP guests. The select fields will be open, even though the freeway signs will say "closed". We've had these VIP private field openings as late as Dec 10th. To participate in our private field openings, add your name to our VIP Email list. (UPDATED: March 19, 2021 JBS)
  Comments from a visitor on May 26, 2009: " I've been driving by and seeing their huge Pick Your Own Blueberries sign for months but I have not gone there yet. I just called to confirm they are open and my daughter and I plan to go this weekend and pick blueberries"
• U-Pick Blueberries - blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, tomatoes, lavender, apricots & plums
  3665 Dominion Rd, Santa Maria, CA 93454. Phone: (805) 260-0497. Email: upickberries@yahoo.com. Open: Starting June 6th, Everyday 10AM-4PM; see their Facebook page or website. Click here for a map and directions.
  U-Pick Blueberries Facebook page. . Fun family outing! We offer spray-free in season..for you to pick! Bring your family and friends out for a fun outdoor experience and learn all about all the wonderful things Central Coast Farming has to offer. At , not only can you have fun harvesting seasonal berries, but you can sample while you pick because we don't spray any pesticides! You can also find us on Saturdays at the local farmers markets below:Templeton and San Luis Obispo. Facebook page. (ADDED: June 27, 2022, JBS)

 

Blueberry Picking Tips, Recipes and Information

Blueberries are one of the easiest fruit to prepare and serve. There's no peeling, pitting, coring or cutting. They have few natural pests, (other than birds), so pesticides are generally unnecessary! This year's crop is fantastic (see related news story), thanks both to the weather and to more farms planting more blueberry bushes due to increased consumer demand over the past few years as more studies proclaim the anti-oxidant and other health properties of blueberries.

Click here to find a local Blueberry Festival (usually held between April and July).

If you are looking for information about a similar berry, the saskatoon (also called the June berry or Serviceberry) see this page about saskatoons.

Picking tips:

Select plump, full blueberries with a light gray-blue color. A berry with any hint of red isn't fully ripened.

Ripening AFTER picking?

First, it is key to know that once picked, blueberries will NOT become any sweeter, nor will the flavor improve. The only change that occurs is the color. They will APPEAR to ripen, but it is only a color change, from white to green to rose to red to pale blue to fully blue. So, white and green colored blueberries will not "ripen" after they are picked; while blueberries that have already turned purple, red or blue-ish usually DO change color after they are picked (if they are kept at room temperature to "ripen").

As the blueberries ripen ON THE BUSH, the flavor goes from tastless to bitter to tasteless tart to tart blueberry flavor to sweet blueberry flavor.

Grocery stores sell blueberries that are tart, not sweet because they had them picked unripe by machine so they are very firm and can handled being bumped around in shipping. They may look good, but are not as tasty as those picked when actually ripe.

So, the key is, PICK ONLY RIPE BERRIES!

How to pick blueberries

Since blueberries hang on the bushes in bunches a but like grapes do, the easiest and fastest way to pick them is hold your bucket under them in one hand and with your other hand, cup a ripe bunch and gently rub them with your fingers. The ripe berries will drop into your bucket, while the unripe ones will remain attached to the bush.

When the bushes are at peak, I can easily pick 2 gallons per hour (if I'm not being distracted by the kids and the sun isn't too hot!). A newbie might do 1 gallon per hour.and at the beginning or end of the season it takes more time as the berries are not as plentiful nor concentrated in clusters.

Tips for storing blueberries after harvesting:

• Once picked, don't place the berries, still warm from the sun, in a closed bag or container. Leave the container open so moisture doesn't form in the container.
• Don't wash berries until just before using, to prevent berries from becoming mushy.
• Chill berries soon after picking to increase shelf life. Store your fresh blueberries in the refrigerator as soon as you get them home, without washing them, in a covered bowl or storage container. If refrigerated, fresh-picked blueberries will keep 10 to 14 days.
• Freeze berries in freezer containers without washing to keep the skins from toughening. Place berries one layer deep. Freeze, then pour the frozen berries into freezer containers. Because unwashed blueberries freeze individually, they can be easily poured from containers in desired amounts. Remember both frozen and fresh berries should be rinsed and drained just before serving. Just before using, wash the berries in cold water.

Blueberry Measurements and Conversions

Keep in mind that blueberries vary considerably in density and moisture content, so these ranges are approximates.

• 1 gallon of blueberries weighs about 7.5 lbs or (4 liters of blueberries is about 3.5 kg)

• 1 pint of fresh blueberries weights about 3/4 of a pound. (1 liter of blueberries is about 700 grams)

• 1 pound of fresh blueberries is usually between about 2 and 3 cups of berries.

• It takes about 4 cups (about of blueberries to make a blueberry pie (see this fantastic and easy blueberry pie recipe)

• A normal batch of blueberry preserves, jam or jelly requires 5 pints of berries.

• Blueberries do come in a variety of sizes from small (190-250 berries per cup) to extra large (<90 berries per cup).

Blueberry Recipes, Canning and Freezing Blueberries

Recipes

• The world's best Blueberry pie, recipe and directions and illustrated!
• Blueberry buckle coffee cake: illustrated directions for this great crumb-topping blueberry coffee cake
• Other easy directions to make blueberry desserts: cobblers, etc.

Canning, freezing and other blueberry recipes:

• How to Freeze Blueberries
• How to Can Blueberries
• How to Make Homemade Blueberry Jam
• How to make blueberry jelly
• How to make and can blueberry syrup (it works for strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, too)
• blueberry pie filling to use later,
• blueberry butter

Baking tips

If you have trouble with blueberries settling to the bottom of muffins and blueberry breads, try one or more of these tips:

• Coat them with flour before adding to the batter. Just gently shake the blueberries in a bag (plastic or paper) with 1/2 cup of flour, then dump them mix in a sieve to remove excess flour.
• It may just be that your batter is too thin. try making the batter a little thicker!
• Fill the muffin cups or baking pan up to 1/4 full with batter (which hasn't had blueberries added to it yet); then stir the blueberries into the remaining batter, and continue to fill the muffin cups or bread pan. The blueberries will start off higher in the mix!

Other Local Farm Products (Honey, Horses, Milk, Meat, Eggs, Etc.)
(NOT pick-your-own, unless they are also listed above)

• Farm markets and roadside stands
• Local Honey Finder
• Local Meat, Milk and Eggs
• Venues: Farms, Wineries, Orchards for your event, wedding or party
• Easter egg hunts
• Children"s consignment sales
• Fruit and vegetable festivals
• Winery tours and wine tastings
• Horse rides, stables, lessons, trails
• Maple Syrup farms and sugarworks
• Bed & Breakfasts on Farms, Wineries, Ranches and Orchards
• Pumpkin patches
• Corn mazes
• Zombie Paintball venues
• Christmas Tree Farms & lots
• Environmental resources
• Consumer fraud information
• Wholesale food sources
• Resources for Farmers