One of the great treats of a west coast road trip is the fantastic fruit stands. This one is my favorite and I can’t wait to go back—that probably sounds crazy, but so be it. Their berries have such intense flavor and their shop is a welcoming break from the long drive. Located twenty miles south of Santa Cruz on the California coastal Highway 1 is the fully organic Swanton Berry Farm. They also have a second location just ten minutes further down the coast. The farm keeps their Instagram and Facebook accounts updated with which fruits are in season, and their U-Pick farms are popular with families who enjoy picking their own organic kiwis, olallieberries, blackberries, strawberries and tayberries.
They have a shop filled with berry-licious items, bright blue picnic tables, and hot coffee. Their offerings are homemade daily and include strawberry rhubarb pie, tayberry pie, strawberry shortcake, berry truffles, strawberry pecan scones, toasted almond granola, strawberry lemonade, strawberry apple cider and the one I treasure the most, the olallieberry cheesecake.
Their small batch low-sugar jams are extremely popular too, and they offer free samples of each. Those flavors are so unique and bold, I should have bought them all! I’m really happy to see that Swanton Berry Jams are now available online. Consider this my Christmas wish-list.
For more details, visit the Swanton Berry Farm website.
