Blueberry U-Pick Orchards in Lexington and north-central Kentucky in 2024, by county

Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for blueberries that we know of in this area. Not all areas of any state, nor even every state, have blueberries orchards that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!

Remember to always check with the farm's own website or Facebook page before you go - or call or email them if they don't have a website or Facebook page. Conditions at the farms and crops can change literally overnight, so if you want to avoid a wasted trip out there - check with the farm directly before you go! If I cannot reach them, I DON'T GO!

PLEASE report closed farms, broken links and incorrect info using the "Report Corrections" form below.

Bourbon County

• Stepping Stone Farm - Strawberries, Blueberries, Apples, Sunflowers, U- Pumpkins, Indian corn, gourds.
  1674 Cynthiana Rd, Paris, KY 40361. Phone: 859-588-3286. Email: steppingstonefarm2@gmail.com. Open: for the season at the end of April. Click here for a map and directions. . U-Pick Strawberries in May, Blueberries in July, Apples and Pumpkins in September and OCtober, Plus Tomatoes in Greenhouse and Sunflowers in July. pick apples (including Gala, McIntosh, Cortland, Mutsu, Stayman Winesap, York, Granny Smith, Fuji, and many more),(formerly Reed Valley Orchard) (ADDED: May 6, 2022)

Bracken County

• Brackenridge Berry Farm - blueberries
  1090 Belmont Road, Brooksville, KY 41004. Phone: 606-735-2490. Email: brbf@alltel.net. Open: Monday through Sunday 8am to 5pm Berries become available toward the end of June, through July, and may progress into August. Directions: South on Route 19 out of Brooksville to Powersville. Approximately 2.4 miles south of Powersville from Route 19, turn left on the Belmont Road. Approximately 1.1 Miles down Belmont, the farm is on the right. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only. .

Kenton County

• Bright Star Acres - blueberries, porta-potties
  3675 Alexander Road, Demossville, KY 41033. Phone: (859) 356-0612. Email: brightstaracres@zoomtown.com. Open: Seasonal, on Saturdays from 8 am to 12 pm. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only.
  Bright Star Acres Facebook page. . Picking updates: Click here for picking updates. (UPDATED: May 24, 2022)

Scott County

• Evans Orchard and Cider Mill - apples, strawberries, blueberries, flowers, pears, pumpkins, U-pick and already picked, farm market, gift shop, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, picnic area, face painting, pony rides, petting zoo, farm animals, birthday parties, school tours, events at your location (call for info)
  180 Stone Road, Georgetown, KY 40324. Phone: 502-863-2255. Email: info@evansorchard.com. Open: Tuesday to Saturday from 9:30am to 6:00pm, Sundays from 12:00pm to 6:00pm; If you are coming out for a particular variety, please call ahead to see if they are ripe. Directions: From Lexington: Take Newtown Pike \(922\) North eight miles from the I-75 overpass. Take a right on Stone Road. Evans Orchard is the third drive on the left \(approximately 1,000 feet\). From Georgetown or I-75 North: take Exit 126 and turn right off of exit. Go to US 460 and turn Left going East on US 460. Travel 3 miles and turn right onto Newtown Pike \(Route 922\) at the caution lights. Go one mile and turn Left onto Stone Road Evans Orchard is the third drive on the left. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx. . . From Lexington: Take Newtown Pike (922) North eight miles from the I-75 overpass. Take a right on Stone Road. Evans Orchard is the third drive on the left (approximately 1,000 feet). From Georgetown or I-75 North: take Exit 126 and turn right off of exit. Go to US 460 and turn Left going East on US 460. Travel 3 miles and turn right onto Newtown Pike (Route 922) at the caution lights. Go one mile and turn Left onto Stone Road Evans Orchard is the third drive on the left. Pick-Your-Own Apples, Pears, Strawberries and Blueberries. At Evans Orchard, we grow over 20 different varieties of gourmet apples along with several varieties of delicious pears and blueberries. Fresh vegetables all spring and summer, peaches, apples and pumpkins in the fall, Bushels of Family Fun all year long in our playland and petting zoo! Festivals include: Sweet Corn Festival third Saturday in July, Apple picking usually starts second weekend in September and Harvest Festival beginning the third weekend in September and continuing through the end of October. Come explore all we have to offer at Evans Orchard!. (UPDATED: June 28, 2012, by a visitor)

Woodford County

• Wildside Winery - Minimizes chemical and pesticide use, blackberries, blueberries, table grapes (with seeds), wine grapes, Asian pears, gift shop, restrooms, picnic area, birthday parties, weddings and wedding parties, group reservations
  5500 Troy Pike, Versailles, KY 40383. Phone: (859) 879-3982. Email: elishaannholt@gmail.com. Open: Tuesday to Saturday from 12 pm to 7 pm Sunday 1 pm to 5 OM; Additional hours for events. Directions: 5 miles south of Versailles on highway 33. From Lexington, take Versailles Road \(60\) west, exit right onto the Bluegrass Parkway, take the first exit#68 which is highway 33, take it left \(south\)3.5 miles. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, PayPal, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx.
  Wildside Winery Facebook page. . . 5 miles south of Versailles on highway 33. From Lexington, take Versailles Road (60) west, exit right onto the Bluegrass Parkway, take the first exit#68 which is highway 33, take it left (south)3.5 miles. Blueberries in June, Blackberries in July, Apples, pears, grapes in Aug-October Call;. We minimize use of pesticides and other chemicals. (UPDATED: July 20, 2020)

 

Blueberry Picking Tips, Recipes and Information

Blueberries are one of the easiest fruit to prepare and serve. There's no peeling, pitting, coring or cutting. They have few natural pests, (other than birds), so pesticides are generally unnecessary! This year's crop is fantastic (see related news story), thanks both to the weather and to more farms planting more blueberry bushes due to increased consumer demand over the past few years as more studies proclaim the anti-oxidant and other health properties of blueberries.

Click here to find a local Blueberry Festival (usually held between April and July).

If you are looking for information about a similar berry, the saskatoon (also called the June berry or Serviceberry) see this page about saskatoons.

Picking tips:

Select plump, full blueberries with a light gray-blue color. A berry with any hint of red isn't fully ripened.

Ripening AFTER picking?

First, it is key to know that once picked, blueberries will NOT become any sweeter, nor will the flavor improve. The only change that occurs is the color. They will APPEAR to ripen, but it is only a color change, from white to green to rose to red to pale blue to fully blue. So, white and green colored blueberries will not "ripen" after they are picked; while blueberries that have already turned purple, red or blue-ish usually DO change color after they are picked (if they are kept at room temperature to "ripen").

As the blueberries ripen ON THE BUSH, the flavor goes from tastless to bitter to tasteless tart to tart blueberry flavor to sweet blueberry flavor.

Grocery stores sell blueberries that are tart, not sweet because they had them picked unripe by machine so they are very firm and can handled being bumped around in shipping. They may look good, but are not as tasty as those picked when actually ripe.

So, the key is, PICK ONLY RIPE BERRIES!

How to pick blueberries

Since blueberries hang on the bushes in bunches a but like grapes do, the easiest and fastest way to pick them is hold your bucket under them in one hand and with your other hand, cup a ripe bunch and gently rub them with your fingers. The ripe berries will drop into your bucket, while the unripe ones will remain attached to the bush.

When the bushes are at peak, I can easily pick 2 gallons per hour (if I'm not being distracted by the kids and the sun isn't too hot!). A newbie might do 1 gallon per hour.and at the beginning or end of the season it takes more time as the berries are not as plentiful nor concentrated in clusters.

Tips for storing blueberries after harvesting:

• Once picked, don't place the berries, still warm from the sun, in a closed bag or container. Leave the container open so moisture doesn't form in the container.
• Don't wash berries until just before using, to prevent berries from becoming mushy.
• Chill berries soon after picking to increase shelf life. Store your fresh blueberries in the refrigerator as soon as you get them home, without washing them, in a covered bowl or storage container. If refrigerated, fresh-picked blueberries will keep 10 to 14 days.
• Freeze berries in freezer containers without washing to keep the skins from toughening. Place berries one layer deep. Freeze, then pour the frozen berries into freezer containers. Because unwashed blueberries freeze individually, they can be easily poured from containers in desired amounts. Remember both frozen and fresh berries should be rinsed and drained just before serving. Just before using, wash the berries in cold water.

Blueberry Measurements and Conversions

Keep in mind that blueberries vary considerably in density and moisture content, so these ranges are approximates.

• 1 gallon of blueberries weighs about 7.5 lbs or (4 liters of blueberries is about 3.5 kg)

• 1 pint of fresh blueberries weights about 3/4 of a pound. (1 liter of blueberries is about 700 grams)

• 1 pound of fresh blueberries is usually between about 2 and 3 cups of berries.

• It takes about 4 cups (about of blueberries to make a blueberry pie (see this fantastic and easy blueberry pie recipe)

• A normal batch of blueberry preserves, jam or jelly requires 5 pints of berries.

• Blueberries do come in a variety of sizes from small (190-250 berries per cup) to extra large (<90 berries per cup).

Blueberry Recipes, Canning and Freezing Blueberries

Recipes

• The world's best Blueberry pie, recipe and directions and illustrated!
• Blueberry buckle coffee cake: illustrated directions for this great crumb-topping blueberry coffee cake
• Other easy directions to make blueberry desserts: cobblers, etc.

Canning, freezing and other blueberry recipes:

• How to Freeze Blueberries
• How to Can Blueberries
• How to Make Homemade Blueberry Jam
• How to make blueberry jelly
• How to make and can blueberry syrup (it works for strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, too)
• blueberry pie filling to use later,
• blueberry butter

Baking tips

If you have trouble with blueberries settling to the bottom of muffins and blueberry breads, try one or more of these tips:

• Coat them with flour before adding to the batter. Just gently shake the blueberries in a bag (plastic or paper) with 1/2 cup of flour, then dump them mix in a sieve to remove excess flour.
• It may just be that your batter is too thin. try making the batter a little thicker!
• Fill the muffin cups or baking pan up to 1/4 full with batter (which hasn't had blueberries added to it yet); then stir the blueberries into the remaining batter, and continue to fill the muffin cups or bread pan. The blueberries will start off higher in the mix!

Other Local Farm Products (Honey, Horses, Milk, Meat, Eggs, Etc.)
(NOT pick-your-own, unless they are also listed above)

• Farm markets and roadside stands
• Local Honey Finder
• Local Meat, Milk and Eggs
• Venues: Farms, Wineries, Orchards for your event, wedding or party
• Easter egg hunts
• Children"s consignment sales
• Fruit and vegetable festivals
• Winery tours and wine tastings
• Horse rides, stables, lessons, trails
• Maple Syrup farms and sugarworks
• Bed & Breakfasts on Farms, Wineries, Ranches and Orchards
• Pumpkin patches
• Corn mazes
• Zombie Paintball venues
• Christmas Tree Farms & lots
• Environmental resources
• Consumer fraud information
• Wholesale food sources
• Resources for Farmers