U-pick while you can: Strawberry fields not forever

Squeezed between the end of spring and the beginning of summer, strawberry season in the Catskills emerges for a brief but illustrious period.

For most farms, the season begins in June and lasts about four weeks, sometimes stretching into the first week of July. In the higher elevations, the season tends to run later. This year's cooler spring could also make for a later strawberry season, according to farmer Jim Story of Catskill's Story Farms.

Listed below are farms around the Catskills region that will be open this summer for U-pick strawberries and other seasonal fruits, including raspberries and blackberries.

DELAWARE COUNTY

Greenane Farms
196 County Route 10, Meridale
607.746.8878
Open for U-Pick between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
Strawberries available late June through July; blackberries and raspberries available July through October.

GREENE COUNTY

Story Farms
4640 Route 32, Catskill
518.678.9716
Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
U-pick strawberries open now until approximately July 4.

SCHOHARIE COUNTY

Bohringer’s Fruit Farm
3992 State Route 30, Middleburgh
518.827.5783
Open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Bohringer's roadside stand will open on June 12; U-pick strawberries will be available shortly after. The farm has U-pick blueberries and raspberries later in the summer. Call for specific dates. 

ULSTER COUNTY

Dressel Farms
271 Route 208, New Paltz
845.255.0693
Open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
U-pick strawberries are expected to begin the weekend of Fathers Day, June 14 and 15.

Kelder’s Farm 
5755 Route 209, Kerhonkson
845.626.7137
Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week.
U-pick strawberries have begun, and will run through the month of June. U-pick for blueberries and raspberries will happen in July, August and September. Blackberries and grapes can be picked in August and September.

Saunderskill Farm
5100 Route 209, Accord
845.626.2676
Open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Closed on Monday.
U-pick strawberries start the first week of June, and raspberries from July through mid-October.

Jenkins-Lueken Orchards
69 Yankee Folly Road, New Paltz
845.255.0999
Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.
U-pick raspberries will start in mid-July, and blackberries will begin around August 15. Call for specific dates as the season approaches.

Westwind Orchard
215 Lower Whitfield Road, Accord
845.626.0659
Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekends in September and October for U-pick raspberries and blackberries.

Topics: 
Place: