Seasonal guide ·
Strawberry Picking Season 2026: When to Pick Strawberries in Every State
Strawberry picking season is the shortest, most weather-driven U-Pick window of the year — most farms run 21 to 35 days from opening day to last fruit. The U.S. strawberry crop ripens in a slow north-bound wave starting in mid-December in Florida, reaching the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest by late May, and closing out in New England and the Upper Midwest by mid-July. Below is a state-by-state strawberry picking calendar with opens, peak, and wrap dates, plus regional notes on which farm corridor opens first within each state. Dates are 5-year averages for U-Pick fields specifically — not commercial harvest, which can start a few days earlier as growers pull less-ripe fruit for shipping.
Quick answer
- Strawberry picking season opens mid-December in Florida and late February in Texas/Louisiana.
- Most of the U.S. picks strawberries between late April and early July, with each farm running a 3–5 week window.
- Peak picking at any single farm is the second weekend after the field opens — biggest berries, fullest rows.
- California's coastal Watsonville–Oxnard corridor is the only U.S. region with a March-through-November U-Pick window.
- If a farm doesn't list a 2026 opening date yet, call the week before strawberries usually open in your state — opening dates shift up to 10 days year-to-year with weather.
State-by-state strawberry picking calendar
Each row links to a state page with verified U-Pick farm listings. Sorted by approximate opening date, earliest first. If your state runs multiple regional windows (coast vs. mountains, north vs. south), the notes column calls out which corridor opens first.
| State | Region | Field opens | Peak picking | Wraps | Notes | Farms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Subtropical Southeast | Mid-December | January–March | Early April | Plant City is the U.S. winter strawberry capital — the only mainland U.S. region that picks strawberries in January. | View |
| Texas | South | Mid-February (Gulf Coast); late March (Hill Country) | March–April | Early May | Poteet (Atascosa County) is the longest-running U-Pick strawberry town in Texas. | View |
| Louisiana | Gulf South | Late February | March–April | Mid-May | Ponchatoula declares itself the Strawberry Capital of the World; festival the second weekend of April. | View |
| Georgia | Southeast | Late March | April–May | Early June | South Georgia farms open 2–3 weeks before North Georgia mountain farms. | View |
| Alabama | Southeast | Late March | April–May | Early June | Coastal counties open earliest; the Tennessee Valley wraps last. | View |
| South Carolina | Southeast | Late March | April–May | Early June | Lowcountry first; Upstate trails 2 weeks. | View |
| North Carolina | Southeast | Early April | Late April–May | Early June | Coastal Plain opens first; Piedmont dominates volume; Mountain farms run latest. | View |
| California | West Coast | Late February (coast); April (inland) | March–July | October–November (coastal) | Watsonville and Oxnard run the longest U.S. strawberry season — most coastal farms pick into late autumn. | View |
| Tennessee | Mid-South | Early May | Mid-May | Mid-June | Middle Tennessee opens before East Tennessee mountain farms. | View |
| Virginia | Mid-Atlantic | Early-to-mid May | Mid-to-late May | Mid-June | Tidewater opens first; Shenandoah Valley a week behind; Southwest Virginia last. | View |
| Maryland | Mid-Atlantic | Mid-May | Late May–early June | Mid-June | Eastern Shore opens before Western Maryland. | View |
| New Jersey | Mid-Atlantic | Mid-May | Late May–early June | Mid-June | South Jersey farms (Hammonton, Vineland) run the volume. | View |
| Pennsylvania | Mid-Atlantic | Mid-to-late May | Early-to-mid June | Late June | Lancaster County is the busiest U-Pick corridor; Erie Lake-Plain runs latest. | View |
| Kentucky | Mid-South | Mid-May | Late May–early June | Mid-June | Bluegrass region is the volume center. | View |
| Missouri | Lower Midwest | Mid-May | Late May–early June | Mid-June | Eckert's in Belleville (just across in IL) is the regional anchor. | View |
| Illinois | Midwest | Mid-to-late May (south); early June (north) | Early June | Late June | Southern Illinois (Eckert's, Belleville) opens 2 weeks before Chicagoland. | View |
| Indiana | Midwest | Late May | Early-to-mid June | Late June | Tippecanoe and Allen counties run the volume. | View |
| Ohio | Midwest | Late May | Early-to-mid June | Late June | Lake Erie shore (Catawba, Marblehead) opens last but tastes most concentrated. | View |
| Iowa | Midwest | Late May | Early June | Late June | Tight 3-week window; June Dairy Month coincides with peak picking. | View |
| New York | Northeast | Early June (Long Island); mid-June (upstate) | Mid-June | Early July | Hudson Valley dominates; North Country runs latest. | View |
| Massachusetts | New England | Early June | Mid-June | Early July | Pioneer Valley and South Shore farms anchor the season. | View |
| Connecticut | New England | Early June | Mid-June | Early July | Lyman Orchards (Middlefield) is the regional anchor. | View |
| New Hampshire | New England | Mid-June | Late June | Early July | Coastal farms open first; White Mountain farms last. | View |
| Vermont | New England | Mid-June | Late June | Early July | Champlain Valley dominates volume. | View |
| Maine | New England | Mid-to-late June | Late June–early July | Mid-July | Coastal York County opens first; Down East last. | View |
| Michigan | Great Lakes | Early-to-mid June | Mid-June | Early July | West Michigan fruit belt anchors the volume. | View |
| Wisconsin | Upper Midwest | Mid-June | Late June | Early-to-mid July | Door County and southern Wisconsin run separate windows. | View |
| Minnesota | Upper Midwest | Mid-to-late June | Late June–early July | Mid-July | Twin Cities suburban farms are the U-Pick volume center. | View |
| Washington | Pacific Northwest | Late May–early June | Mid-June | Early July | Puyallup Valley opens first; Skagit and Whatcom counties run latest. | View |
| Oregon | Pacific Northwest | Late May–early June | Early-to-mid June | Late June | Willamette Valley Hood and Tillamook varieties are nationally exported. | View |
How to time your visit within a state's window
The single best predictor of a great U-Pick day is timing relative to the farm's opening day, not the calendar date. Within each farm's roughly 3-week window, the second weekend after opening day is when fruit is largest, rows are fullest, and the field hasn't been thinned by earlier visitors. Aim for that weekend, mornings before 11am, and call the day-of: most farms post field-status updates by 8am on their state's strawberry-picking page or social media. If you can only go on a weekend, the second Saturday after opening beats the first Saturday (post-rain, smaller berries) and the third Saturday (drop-off, smaller second-flush berries).
Related crop-season guides
Once strawberry season ends, U-Pick rotates through stone fruits and pumpkins. Plan the rest of the year:
Frequently asked questions
When does strawberry picking season start in 2026?
Strawberry picking season starts in mid-December in Florida, late February in Texas and Louisiana, late March in the Carolinas and Georgia, mid-May across the Mid-Atlantic, late May to early June across the Midwest, and mid-to-late June in New England and the Upper Midwest. As a rule of thumb, strawberry season opens roughly 1 week later for every 200 miles north and every 1,500 ft of elevation gain.
How long does strawberry season last at a U-Pick farm?
Most U-Pick strawberry farms run a 3-to-5-week window from open to close. The exceptions are subtropical farms in Florida (which pick December through April) and California's coastal Watsonville–Oxnard corridor (which can pick March through November). For most of the country, a single farm's U-Pick window is short — roughly 21 days from first opening to last fruit — so call ahead the morning you plan to visit.
When do strawberries peak — and when does picking start to drop off?
Peak picking is roughly the middle 7–10 days of a farm's open season: berries are largest, fields are full, and supply hasn't been thinned by earlier visits. The drop-off begins around day 18–21, when smaller, second-flush berries dominate and farms typically reduce hours or close mid-week. If a farm posts a "field opens" date, the first weekend after is usually still pre-peak; the second weekend is peak; the third weekend is the wind-down.
Are strawberries in season right now?
Strawberries are in season somewhere in the U.S. for most of the year. December through April: Florida and California's coast. February through May: Texas, Louisiana, and the Gulf South. April through June: the Carolinas, Mid-Atlantic, and Mid-South. May through early July: the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and Northeast. June through mid-July: New England, the Upper Midwest, and the northernmost states. After mid-July, fresh-from-the-field strawberries become rare outside California's coastal farms.
What's the difference between June-bearing and day-neutral strawberries?
June-bearing varieties produce one large 3-week crop in late spring (most of the U.S. strawberry crop, and the variety nearly all U-Pick farms grow). Day-neutral varieties produce smaller berries in repeat flushes from late spring through frost — these are what California's coastal farms grow, which is why their U-Pick season can run March through November. If a Northern farm advertises "summer strawberries" in July or August, they're growing day-neutrals on a smaller plot.
Source: 5-year averages of U-Pick opening dates compiled from 30 state extension services and verified farm listings on UPick Atlas. Picking dates shift up to 10 days year-to-year with weather; always confirm with the farm before you drive.