There’s a kind of ‘fruit gold rush’ at Hood River where everyone goes around plucking fruits to their heart’s content. Brace yourself for hours of fruit-munching because can find almost any kind of fruit at the said event. You’ll be walking around numerous farms and orchards, so expect considerable variety.
There are several u-pick spots in the Hood River Valley that are all easily accessible. You’ll see apples, berries, cherries, pumpkins and even flowers like fresh lavender. If anything, such flowers make the air pleasant while you pluck at the goodies all around you. The tips below should make this activity even more fun and pleasant.
We know it can be quite exciting thinking about all the fruits the orchards have grown just for you, but a little pre-planning won’t go amiss. The official website of Hood River’s most popular event, the County Fruit Loop, is an excellent resource that gives you detailed information on harvest seasons, the locations of each u-pick farm and a very helpful online map, making the need for a guide more of a preference and less of a necessity. So, log on to the site and learn as much as you can about the events taking place.
The majority of these farms can be found in and around the Hood River County Fruit Loop, though quite a number of them are scattered around the valley too. The Fruit Loop is over 35 miles long, so that’s a lot of ground (and sweet fruits!) to cover.
The best part about these farms is you can drive around and visit each of them without a guide. And don’t think you’ll only see farms and orchards on your way; there are cideries and wineries too.
When it comes to the u-pick farms, make sure you call ahead to ascertain which fruits are available and which aren’t. Bring a picnic lunch too. It will make the experience considerably better. If your friends are tagging along, create a Fruit Loop carpool for the sake of convenience.
Starting from summer all the way to fall, the Fruit Loops hosts so many events it can be quite challenging on deciding which one to start and end with. The ‘Cherry Days’ run throughout the month of June, just like the ‘Lavender DAZE Festival’ does too. Then the ‘Summer Fruit Celebration’ begins in August while the ‘Gravenstein Apple Days’ begins and ends in September.
You can acquire calendars and maps which give you more detail on these events, but what you won’t find on that calendar is a place called Spa Remedease. We can tell you right now that many of those you meet at the County Fruit Loop eventually end up at this spa before retiring for the rest of the day.
Hood River’s events will have you going from one end of the region to another, so a place where you can cleanse your body and have all the fatigue massaged out of you is heaven-sent, wouldn’t you say?
