UPDATED June 2025
You-Pick, U-Pick, or Pick Your Own (PYO) farm operations invites fresh produce-loving customers onto farm property to harvest crops – everything from strawberries to apples from early summer to fall – and enjoy a little dollop of “agritourism.” These on-farm, in-the-field experiences can be educational and fun, and are also a way to get the freshest produce at some very good prices (there are no labour costs, no packing and shipping costs, and no “middleman” taking a cut along the value chain).
Here are a few PYO farms in and around Waterloo Region where you can go to enjoy your own farm-to-table experience!
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PYO Farm Map
Use the map below to locate the farms detailed in the blog below.
(BONUS: The map includes a few additional PYO farms you can check out too!)
Snyder’s Farm – Bright, ON 🎃
Although you need an admission ticket to access all of the attractions at Snyder’s Family Farm, there’s no ticket needed to visit their 16 acre Pumpkin Patch, open weekends 10am-6pm. Wander through the fields, and find a pumpkin that’s just perfect for your fall décor, or your Halloween Jack-o-lantern!
Shuh Orchards, West Montrose 🍎
(226) 216-0047
www.shuhorchards.com
Head to West Montrose in the fall for a PYO apple delight. It’s a great experience for kids to learn about orchards, pollinators, apple orchards and farming. A fourth-generation farm, Shuh Orchards has 62,000 apple trees on 50 acres near Elmira. Specialists in Ambrosia, Gala and Honeycrisp – some of the very best apples around. Simply weigh the bag of apples you’ve picked, and pay per pound.
Shuh Orchards is open 7 days a week during picking season (which begins in September): there’s plenty of onsite parking.
Downey’s Apple Farm, Maryhill 🍎🌻🎃
(519) 590-4777
https://downeysapplefarm.com
Downey’s offers 20 varieties of apples, with PYO of earlier varieties usually beginning in late August. You get a complimentary bag when you arrive at the orchard – head in, pick your apples, and your haul is weighed when you leave.
Downey’s also offers pick your own flowers – several varieties of both sunflowers and zinnias – and provide everything you need to pick them including mason jars and shears. And, don’t let their name fool you – you can also pick your own pumpkin at Downey’s Apple Farm! They also have some prepicked pumpkins available, along with a lot of farm fun including pumpkin bowling, wagon rides, sunflower walks, and the kids can burn off some energy at Farmer Downey’s Play Field!
Open every day but Tuesday in season from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Moore Farm, Ayr ON 🍓🎃
226-208-7022
www.mooreberries.ca/
Moore’s Farm Stand started as the pick your own strawberry patch. Now, along with the seasonal PYO and ready-picked strawberries, Moore’s also offers their own grown-on-site sweet corn, peas, beans, garlic and radish, while also sourcing other fresh produce from around the region.
Then, in the fall, Moore’s invites you to head to the farm to find the perfect fall pumpkin – either for decorating or creating the perfect pumpkin pie!
Paradise Pointe Orchard, Wellesley 🍎
3811 Weimar Line, Wellesley, ON
This family run orchard is open weekends only during apple season for PYO honeycrips, gala and ambrosia apples. Pick fresh apples, sip their homemade apple cider, savour their delicious treats (including apple fritters!), and create lasting memories together.
Open weekends from 9AM-4PM.
Herrle’s Country Farm Market, St. Agatha 🍓
(519) 886-7576
http://herrles.com
Herrle’s is celebrating 60 years! A long-standing and popular country farm market offering a large variety of farm fresh produce (they are known for their sweet corn!), they also offer a 5-acre PYO strawberry patch with straw bedding (to protect the plants and help deter weeds) from their own wheat fields. You can buy a picking basket for strawberries or you bring your own. Charge is by weight and the picking is seven days a week until late afternoon-early evening, or until the patch is picked out each day.
A PYO tip from Herrle’s: pick only the reddest berries and “go slow and stay low,” when picking. Herrle’s is located at 1243 Erbs Rd, just outside of the village of St. Agatha.
Gillespie’s Garden 🍓
(519) 622-2294
[email protected]
Located just outside of Cambridge, Gillespie’s Garden is a strawberry and blueberry farm. Their PYO patches are open in season from 9-5 daily. Gillespie’s also offers frozen strawberries and blueberries from their store year-round.
Marcy’s Berries, Puslinch 🍓
(519) 623-0219
marcysberries.com
About 15 minutes east of Cambridge off Regional Road 97, Marcy’s Berries has been a working farm since the mid-1970s. PYO strawberries were planted in 1991 with the first crop in 1992. They plant 12 June-bearing varieties meaning strawberries are generally available until early July.
Marcy’s is certainly a berry specialist. Along with strawberries they also offer PYO haskaps (also known as “honeyberries”), raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries and currants. To find out what you can pick and when, check the Berry Crop Report on their website.
No appointment needed, and there’s no entrance fee. Note that they’re not open on Sunday.
Hoffman’s Strawberries, Heidelberg 🍓
(519) 699-4730
www.facebook.com/kwstrawberries
The first harvest of Hoffman strawberries at the farm on Lobsinger Line in Heidelberg was in 1992, according to Ken Hoffman, a sixth-generation farmer. Specialists in what he calls “the quintessential” June-bearing varieties (their preferred varieties over day-neutral or everbearing berries), Hoffman’s strawberry fields are open Monday to Saturday from 8 until 8 during the PYO season. Bring your own container or purchase a re-usable one for $2. Strawberries are weighed and charged per pound.
Hoffman’s features nearly 12 acres of “managed” strawberry fields, meaning PYO from only un-picked rows. Their season lasts about five weeks.
Fay’s Berries, Cambridge 🍓
519-648-2865
Fay’s, at 2255 Kossuth Road in Cambridge, offers You-Pick strawberries (they also have a stand on Hwy. 7 location east of Shantz Station Road near Breslau where you can buy ready-picked strawberries). Bring your own containers, or containers can be provided at no charge. Open 9:30 a.m. – 6 P.m. daily, during strawberry season: check their Facebook page for picking status.
“The berries are sweet and plentiful,” the Fay’s Berries voice-mail greeting says. “Have a berry good day!”
Pinehill Farms, New Hamburg 🍓
519-897-7047
www.pinehillfarms.ca
In operation since 2015, Pinehill Farms, owned by Rob and Stacey Musselman, have 10 acres of strawberries with seven of those available for PYO. June-bearing varieties provide berries for picking until the first week of July or so. They also offer special events during picking season, including wagon rides, special Movies in the Field nights, and other fun-themed days. Open Monday to Saturday.
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