Harvest Fun at Sweet Berry Farms

Sweet Berry Farms has been a family favorite for the last ten or more years - whether we go in the spring for strawberry picking or in the fall for their harvest fest.  Details for both are below:

Note added 4/9/15:  Strawberry season started off a little slow this year, but the strawberries are now at their peak and super abundant, so now is a perfect time to go!

Spring Picking

Enjoy family fun by picking your own fresh strawberries and blackberries at this farm just outside Marble Falls. Nothing tastes as good as fruit you have hand picked yourself and the kids love wandering through the rows looking for the biggest!

March through April is the best time to pick strawberries. Check out their website ahead of time, as they give weekly updates (daily sometimes) on how much fruit remains.

But it isn't just the opportunity to pick fruit, you can feed the goats, jump on the berry bounce or take a ride on the berry barrel train (Saturday and Sundays only)

Make sure you bring cash enough to try their homemade strawberry icecream!

June is the best time for the blackberries, but you can come as early as May. 
There will be a spring hay-field maze in May and June while the blackberries are at their peak. The location also has goats and horses for petting. So bring a lunch to enjoy under the tall pecan trees and have a wonderful time!

Spring Tips and thoughts:  

* The farm takes only cash or check.  The various activities adds up so make sure you bring enough cash!  ATMs are now available on site. Just to help you figure how much cash to bring: Strawberries are $2.85 per pound, with picking boxes (holding up to 8 pounds of strawberries) an extra $0.50 

* Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy under the tall pecan trees. 

* When planning timing, Sweet Berry is about 45 minutes outside of Austin.  


* No dogs allowed

Harvest Fest

And in the fall, they have a wonderful Fall Harvest with tons to do. 

We've have been enjoying autumn at Sweet Berry Farms for many, many years now!  I truly can't remember the first time we came, but the boys were very young.  As they have gotten older, they have enjoyed different activities -- and Sweet Berry has added more fun!

The are many things to do at Sweet Berry.  My favorite is the corn maze.  The age recommendation for this activity is 6 years and with good reason.  The maze takes a minimum of 45 minutes to complete... Our time this year was one hour and 3 minutes :o)  The owners have scattered sign posts throughout the maze, and the goal is to find all of them (ten total maybe).  We found our first six in fifteen minutes, but the last one took at least fifteen minutes to find!  Very fun! 

Note: they also have a Candy Corn maze which is much different. It is a straight-through maze with the goal of getting from beginning to end.  It takes between 5 and 10 minutes and is perfect for younger children.

This year, we had some girls along, and so I felt safe in suggesting we try the flower picking.  Sweet Berry has a field full of zinnias, and for $3 you can buy a cup and some scissors.  Honestly, I think the boys enjoyed this as much as the girls :o)  And I came home with a beautiful bouquet!

We also tried the hay ride.  It is a short trip into the back field decorated with various scene of scarecrows.  The girls and I thought it was cute and original, but K wasn't as impressed and it did seem a bit short.  This might be one that is best for the younger kiddos.

Probably one of the boys' favorite activity every year is feeding the assorted livestock on the farm - an almost completely free activity- $0.25 per cup of goat food, with lots of nearby plants, hay and acorns to use once the cup is empty!  We usually bring a bag of carrots, which are quickly munched by the horses and donkeys. And this year was special, as they had a one-day old donkey in the pen! 

The goat pen is incredible, with two large yards connected by an overhead bridge.  We never saw any of the goats cross using the bridge, but the kids probably spent twenty minutes feeding and coaxing the goats along!
 
The farm also had paint your own pumpkins, an activity we have enjoyed in the past, but just ran out of time for this year, face painting and a stuff-your-own scarecrow.  There are also horse rides on the weekend.

We always finish the day off by picking out the best pumpkin from the pumpkin patch -- if you were hoping to get the best this year - sorry, we've already got it ;o)  In the past the pumpkins were priced by the pound, which got somewhat pricey, but this year they sold most of the jack-o-lantern pumpkins for $6.  They also had a huge assortment of variety pumpkins, and a pile of pumpkins that were huuuge (and $28).

And no trip to Sweet Berry is complete without a cup of their homemade pumpkin ice cream. The strawberry and vanilla are good, but for me, the pumpkin is the best!

Tips and thoughts:  

* The farm takes only cash or check.  The various activities adds up so make sure you bring enough cash!  ATMs are now available on site. To participate in most of the activities in the autumn fest is around $20-$25 per person, plus $6 for a take-home pumpkin and an extra $16.50 for the scarecrow...  Just to help you figure how much to bring.   Strawberries are $2.85 per pound, with picking boxes (holding up to 8 pounds of strawberries cost an extra $0.50 

* Recently, the farm is offering their new Pumpkin Grille with hot food.  But they also have wonderful outdoor tables that are just perfect for a fall picnic lunch.

* When planning timing, Sweet Berry is about 45 minutes outside of Austin.  We spent around 4 hours at the farm this year.  But without the Texas maze, plan on spending 2-3 hours to see everything.