As part of our annual summer camping trip to Butano State Park, our tradition is to go strawberry picking at our favorite organic u-pik farm, Swanton Berry Farm, located just south of Pescadero (or north of Santa Cruz). This is an easy day trip from the Bay Area, and great to incorporate into a visit to Ano Nuevo State Park or Pigeon Point Lighthouse.
What’s not to love about this place? The location of the patches varies each year, but they’re always located right off Highway 1, with gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean. Last year, the berry patch was on a bluff right above the ocean! Gorgeous. This year, it was on the other side of the highway, but still with beautiful scenery. Additional benefit? Organic berries! And I love the payment system here. The payment box is open, so we, the customers, weigh the berries ourselves, calculate what we owe, and put our money into the box, without anyone watching over us. Gotta love the trust!
I coincidentally came across this NPR article last evening… The Psychology of the Honor System at the Farm Stand. It’s about Swanton Berry Farm!
Here are the photos from our visit yesterday…
Interested in going? In addition to strawberry picking, depending upon the season, the farms also have olallieberry, blackberry, and kiwi u-picks. Check out their website for details… swantonberryfarm.com
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