Looking for Fun Family Road Trip? Pick cherries in New Mexico

Feel the need to get out of town and enjoy a fun day trip with the family? Consider a road trip to Southern New Mexico for a fruitful day of cherry-picking.

June is cherry picking season in the Land of Enchantment and luckily for your post-pandemic sanity there are two family-run U-Pick orchards within a few hours driving distance from El Paso.

Cadwallader Mountain Farms, located between Alamogordo and Cloudcroft, and Nichols Ranch and Orchards in La Luz offer you the opportunity to enjoy the mountain views and make some memories while picking some sweet cherries.

Cadwallader opens on June 11 and Nichols Ranch has set an opening date of Monday, June 14, 2021.

The cherry-picking season is short, typically about 2 weeks, so if this sounds like something you’d like to do then you should plan accordingly, and go sooner rather than later.

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Last year, almost one-third of the crop was picked in the first week alone at Nichols Ranch. A lot of that had to do with the pandemic and people just wanting to get out and do something outdoors deemed safe.

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With restrictions loosened and people raring to hit the road this summer, outdoors-focused trips are at the top of many lists again this year.

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Cadwallader Mountain Farms

Open daily beginning June 14 until all the cherries are picked. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Varieties available are Bing, Rainer and Sour (pie) cherries. Cash or checks only. No pets in the orchard.

Facebook: facebook.com/cadwalladermountainfarms
Website: cadwalladermountainfarms.com

How to Get There

13 Mountain Park Road, Mountain Park, New Mexico

Nichols Ranch and Orchards

Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 14 - June 17, closed June 18 to prepare for that weekend's 2021 Nichols Ranch Cherry Festival, which takes place Saturday and Sunday, June 19 and 20 (Father's Day). U-pick will be available at the festival.

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Post-festival hours will be 9 to 5, but you should call before heading out as there may or may not be any sweet cherries left to pick. They will, however, have pick your own apricots and sour pie cherries, which are best for pies and jams.

Cash, check, or card payments accepted. Well-behaved dogs are allowed provided they remain on leash and you pick up after them

How to Get There

236 Cottonwood Canyon Road, approximately 7 miles East of La Luz, NM. Click HERE for driving directions.

Facebook: facebook.com/nicholsranch1882
Website: nicholsranchandorchards.com

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