I've been making this drive for a few years now — east on Hwy 32, gain a little elevation, and about 12 miles out you're on Doe Mill Road with a bucket in hand and cool foothill air on your face before Chico has even warmed up. This year Denise came with me and we had a blast.
Sierra Cascade is a family-owned, certified organic operation out of Forest Ranch. They grow multiple varieties of blueberries across the property — you'll notice the difference row to row, some sweeter, some a little tarter. It's a working farm, and it feels like one: the check-in table is no-frills, the rows are well-kept, and the family running it clearly knows what they're doing.
U-pick runs on weekends during the season. Picking starts at 7 a.m. and wraps at 11, so there's no sleeping in if you want a full haul. They hand you a white bucket at check-in, you sign the sheet, and then you're on your own in the rows.
There's something about being out in the rows at that hour — the air is still cool, the light is soft, and you're not thinking about anything except which berries are ready. It's a good reset. As a Butte County local, the trip out is worth the 15-minute drive on its own.
We freeze most of what we pick — pies through the fall, cobbler on a random Tuesday in October, blueberries over yogurt and granola most mornings until the bag runs out. At $6.50 a pound, picking a few pounds means you're stocked for a while. Cash only, weighed when you're done.
If the drive doesn't work for you, they sell at local Chico farmers markets during the season and have shown up at Bay Area markets too. But trust me on this — the trip out is the point. You come back with something that tastes like you earned it.
Sierra Cascade Blueberry Farm
12767 Doe Mill Road, Forest Ranch, CA 95942
U-pick: Saturday & Sunday, 7 a.m. – 11 a.m. | $6.50/lb, cash only
Check their site in May for the current season's schedule before making the drive.