What's in season when on the Hood River Fruit Loop? - Here is Oregon

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A bucket of freshly-picked honeycrisp apples at Draper Girls County Farm in Hood River, a prominent stop along the Fruit Loop. (Jamie Hale/Jamie Hale/The Oregonian)

There’s one big question on the minds of anyone touring the Hood River Fruit Loop: What’s in season?

From summer strawberries to fall pumpkins, the bounty of the Fruit Loop shifts and changes with the seasons, dictating the kinds of fruits, veggies, flowers and baked goods you take home with you.

READ MORE: How to explore the Fruit Loop this fall

Organizers of the Hood River Fruit Loop have produced a handy chart that outlines when each crop is typically available, though as any seasoned U-picker knows well, those schedules are always at the mercy of mother nature.

Theresa Draper, manager of Draper Girls’ Country Farms, said her orchards were set back this year by the wet spring that brought snow to Hood River as late as April, with rains continuing through June.

“We’re running about two weeks late this year because of that cold, wet snap,” Draper said, touring her apple orchards on the first day of fall.

Draper said the late snow interfered with the typical pollination process, which not only delayed the season but limited the production of her fruit trees as well. Several crops came in late or in lesser numbers this year, she said – though crowds of people still showed up to pick the fruit.

It was a similar story at The Gorge White House, where owner Mary Beth Kennedy walked through fields of strawberries, still popping at the end of the summer. With late-season crops like pumpkins and pears also coming in, that’s just meant a greater bounty for visitors this fall.

“There really is a ton to do,” Kennedy said. “People can come out, grab a bucket, they can go pick whatever is available.”

With the caveat of weird weather in mind, the Fruit Loop U-pick season can generally be separated into three windows: early summer, late summer and fall. Each window offers a little something different, giving people the opportunity to come home with something new on each visit.

Here’s what’s available each season on the Fruit Loop:

Late season u-pick strawberries are a treat at The Gorge White House, a farm, orchard and brewery on the Fruit Loop just outside Hood River. (Jamie Hale/Jamie Hale/The Oregonian)

EARLY SUMMER

June to August

The first half of summer is berry season on the Fruit Loop. Strawberries come first, typically starting as early as the first week of June. By the end of the month, it’s time for cherries and raspberries, as Oregon’s summer gets into full swing. July usually brings blueberries as well as apricots to Hood River farms.

Bundles of dried lavender hang inside the shop at Hood River Lavender Farms, one of the many farms featured on the Hood River Fruit Loop. (Jamie Hale/Jamie Hale/The Oregonian)

LATE SUMMER

August to September

Midsummer comes on Aug. 1, and by then, Fruit Loop farms are usually shifting into a new season of crops. Peaches come in at the start of the month and last through September, mirroring the blooms of purple lavender fields in the valley. And as home gardeners know, late summer is also tomato season, coinciding with the arrival of corn and the tart gravenstein apples, which are often used for cooking or making cider.

Honeycrisp apples hang from the branches in one of the Draper Girls Country Farm orchards outside Hood River, a prominent stop on the Fruit Loop. (Jamie Hale/Jamie Hale/The Oregonian)

FALL

September to October

Summer transitions into fall near the end of September, ushering in the tail end of the Fruit Loop season. This is the time for two of the region’s biggest crops: apples and pears, which tend to ripen by the middle of September and last through October. Fall also naturally brings pumpkins as well as other gourds, both edible and decorative. And, just in time for November and December holidays, farms offer hazelnuts and chestnuts in October, ready to be shelled and roasted.

— Jamie Hale

503-294-4077; jhale@oregonian.com; @HaleJamesB

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