Orchards Near Me
Cherry Picking Near Santa Fe: What You Need to Know
New Mexico's high-elevation orchards, particularly those in the Rio Grande valley communities of Velarde, Dixon, and Alcalde north of Santa Fe, grow sweet cherry varieties harvested in early to mid-June. The cherry season here is brief—sometimes just two weeks—but the fruit produced at these elevations is extraordinary in its sweetness, and the setting in the sage-brushed canyon country is spectacularly beautiful during the early summer harvest.
Mountain West Cherry Orchards
The mountain west's cherry orchards benefit from the same altitude and climate extremes that make the region exceptional for apples—the intense sunshine and cool nights of high-elevation growing produce cherries with concentrated sweetness and flavor that flat-country orchards can't match. Utah's Wasatch Front orchards, Colorado's Western Slope, Idaho's Treasure Valley, Montana's Flathead Lake region, and Nevada's Sierra Nevada foothills all host cherry growing operations that welcome pick-your-own visitors in late June and July. The scale is smaller than Pacific Northwest cherry production, but the quality is often exceptional, and the settings—against mountain backdrops with clear high-desert sky—make for some of the most beautiful orchard visits available anywhere.
Best Time to Go Cherry Picking Near Santa Fe
Early through mid-June for the Rio Grande valley orchards near Velarde and Dixon, with the high-altitude harvest window brief and weather-dependent.
Tips for Your Santa Fe Cherry Picking Trip
The Rio Grande valley cherry orchards north of Santa Fe—in Velarde and Dixon—are among the most scenically situated cherry orchards in the country. Go in early June before the heat of summer fully arrives, and plan to spend time in the village of Dixon and its artistic community alongside the orchard visit. The combination of culture, scenery, and fresh cherries is exceptional.