Beyond the Basket: Unique Experiences During U-Pick Season

Cherry season in Brentwood is one of the most beloved traditions in the Bay Area, but for some of our farms, the picking is just the beginning. From animal encounters rooted in rescue and education to one-of-a-kind rides woven right into the U-Pick experience, these farms offer something you won’t find at an ordinary orchard.

Some of the most lasting farm memories happen not in the orchard, but at the fence, face to face with the animals that share this working land.

Smith Family Farm’s fruit stand opens each spring and remains open daily through the end of November, and a visit to the farm is about much more than taking home a bag of cherries. The farm is home to chickens, peacocks, a donkey, a cow, and more, and during the season there are even baby chicks in a hatchery. You can grind corn to feed the chickens, wave at a peacock or cow, and hold a bunny. It’s the kind of unhurried, hands-on interaction that makes a farm visit feel truly different from anything in the city.

Oasis Family Ranch in Knightsen takes the animal experience in a different direction, one rooted in rescue and community. In addition to fresh produce, the ranch operates a nonprofit animal rescue called Delta Oasis Goats, where they provide sanctuary for displaced animals, foster and rehome them, while offering educational resources for families who want to learn more about farming. The ranch offers regenerative farm experiences, farm tours, and field trips by RSVP, with a farm shop on site. A visit here connects you with a farm doing meaningful, year-round work for animals and the broader agricultural community.

Three Nunns Farm has built a well-deserved reputation for great U-Pick fruit, but they’ve also added a layer of fun that sets them apart from any other farm on the trail.

The tractor shuttles visitors around to each of the picking stops, and Three Nunns includes small attractions at each one, including a tiny roller coaster and vintage toy tractors for kids to ride. The highlight of the cherry stop is a little food truck selling homemade popsicles made from fruits grown right at the farm.

Near the strawberry fields, the Berry-Go-Round is a spinning, strawberry-themed ride that perfectly captures the playful spirit of the season. During strawberry U-Pick, Three Nunns features the tractor ride and Berry-Go-Round alongside the fields, making the whole outing feel like a complete experience rather than a simple errand.

The orchard is a 10-minute tractor ride away, and upon arriving, staff are on hand to help visitors find the best crops and share a few cherry-picking tips. Three Nunns is currently open seven days a week for strawberry, cherry, peach, apricot, and blackberry U-Pick, with homemade FarmPops available on site.

There’s something timeless about climbing aboard a wagon and rolling out into the fields, the rows of trees passing by, fruit hanging heavy overhead, the kids getting their first real sense of just how big a farm actually is.

At Three Nunns Farm, the complimentary tractor ride is one of the farm’s signature features, giving visitors a way to explore the farm and let off some energy before or after picking. During cherry season, it’s the tractor that carries you from the barn out to the orchard, making the journey itself part of the adventure. Catching the first tractor ride of the morning is a favorite move for families who want to beat the crowds.

G&S Farms (Ghiggeri & Stonebarger) has been welcoming Bay Area families into their orchards since they launched cherry U-Pick in 2013. Each May, they welcome families into their orchards for their annual cherry U-Picks, providing buckets and a beautiful crop of fruit to pick yourselves, with the season running from early May through mid-June. G&S is proud to welcome thousands of U-Pick visitors into their five public orchards each spring, and the family-run atmosphere, with generations of the same family still working the land, makes every visit feel genuinely personal.

Always check each farm’s page in our directory or follow them on social media before heading out. Cherry season moves fast, and open/closed status can change day to day based on the crop.