Where to Pick Your Own Fruits & Veggies

Sure, you can get most fruit and vegetables year-round, but there’s nothing quite like picking your own right from the ground or off the tree. Strawberry crops are abundant in May, but strawberry fields aren’t forever. That’s OK, though, because coming in June are more berries, cherries, peas and tomatoes at farms within about an hour’s drive from Arlington.

Butler’s Orchard

Drive time: 45 minutes

May is when the strawberry picking gets underway on this 300-plus-acre family-run farm. Come back in June for tart cherries, black raspberries and blueberries, as well as sugar snap and English peas. Blackberries, three types of peppers, herbs, potatoes and tomatoes join the list in July and August. Butler’s has a Farm Park that’s open Tuesday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. through Sept. 2. The $4 entrance fee covers access to the park’s giant slides, farm animals, pedal tractors, a playground and more kid-friendly fun. //22222 Davis Mill Road, Germantown, Maryland 

Great Country Farms

Drive time: About 1 hour

This popular picking place is experiencing one of its earliest strawberry crops in 31 years, according to its website. Forage for fruit during the annual Strawberry Jubilee Festival on weekends through June 2. It includes a pie-eating contest, Diaper Derby for speedy babies and a parade of strollers, wagons or carts decorated with a strawberry theme. Food (strawberry rhubarb pie), drinks (strawberry lemonade) and live music are also on tap. Prefer to go on a weekday? May 21 is Rock Cycle Day, when visitors can learn about rocks and mine for gems. Watch a mobile saw mill in action on Saw Mill Day, May 28. Every Thursday this month is Baby Animal Story Time at 10:30 a.m. Regardless of when you go, the berries (which are farmed sans chemicals) will set you back $4.99 per pound, in addition to the entrance fee ($10-$12), which gives you access to the farm’s new Irrigation Station Splash Pad, giant mazes, a jumping pillow and Cow Pie Putt-Putt. Note that peaches and blackberries will be ripe in July. // 34345 Snickersville Turnpike, Bluemont, Virginia

Hollin Farms

Drive time: About 1 hour

This family-owned, 40-acre farm in Fauquier County offers a wide variety of summer fruits. Strawberries are available now, with cherries coming soon. As we move into July and August, you’ll also be able to pick blueberries, black and red raspberries, blackberries, peaches, nectarines, summer Asian pears and European pears. Depending on when you go, you can also pick veggies, such as peas, Swiss chard, kale, beets, tomatoes, squash, sweet corn and peppers. Check the website for availability. // 1524 Snowden Road, Delaplane, Virginia

Mackintosh Fruit Farm

Drive time: 75 minutes

Located in Berryville (the name fits), this farm reopens for the season on May 16. Snap up strawberries for $7 per quart from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday. On weekends, adults can also check out the Cider Room, where you can sip local hard ciders, wines and brews and munch on apps. Check the website for the live music roundup, and mark your calendar for Peach Fest on Aug. 10, or sign up to attend summertime farm dinners on June 15 and Aug. 17 at 6:30 p.m. // 1608 Russell Road, Berryville, Virginia

Miller Farms

Drive time: 40 minutes

Reserve your spot to be part of farm history at Miller Farms’ first annual Strawberry Fest on weekends from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through June 2. Activities include a massive jumping pad, yard games, face painting (for an additional fee) and access to the pick-your-own fields. Admission is free, but the farm requires a pre-purchased picking container. They’re $7 per quart, $25 for the first gallon basket and $21 for each additional gallon basket. Weekday picking—when strawberries are $3.99 per pound—is also open and will continue until mid-June. // 10499 Tippett Road, Clinton, Maryland 

Wegmeyer Farms

Drive time: About 1 hour

This 22-year-old Loudoun County farm specializes in strawberries and pumpkins. Swing by May 17-19 for the inaugural Lincoln Strawberry Festival, where you can compete in the Strawberry Ice Cream Eating Contest and Strawberry Pie Eating Contest, enjoy live music, and buy strawberry-based goods. Can’t make it to that? No worries. The farm has three pick-your-own locations. Reservations are required for each family and cost $30, which includes your first bucket of strawberries and one hour of picking time. (A bucket holds about 5 pounds of berries.) // Wegmeyer’s Home Farm, 38299 Hughesville Road, Hamilton, Virginia; Oatlands Historic Mansion, Little Oatlands Lane, Leesburg, Virginia; Strawberry Hill, 18451 Taylor Road, Hamilton, Virginia

Yankey Farms

Drive time: About 45 minutes

Browse the berry patches at this Prince William County fresh market produce farm. Pick-your-own berries are $32 per gallon or $9 per quart. Check the farm’s Facebook page for daily updates on picking conditions and weather-related closures. // 11812 Bristow Road, Bristow, Virginia