I'm surprised to see less than 5 stars! We went for our second year of strawberry picking at…read moreLorence's Berry Farm. We found the operation very well managed both times. They give you a basket and have a system to assign you to your own row for picking. Once done, you wait in line to weigh and pay. Lots of berries on the bushes and it's okay to sample as you go! The strawberries were so sweet and delicious - far more flavorful than you buy at the supermarket. This year they charged $3/lb and I saw a lot of full baskets. It is cash or check only so make sure to come prepared. Plenty of parking available. Call ahead to confirm picking hours, as they do sell out. I also recommend following their Facebook page for the latest picking updates. We didn't buy any this time but I did notice that they sell jams and asparagus at their farm stand as well.

Great little farm to go check out if you feel like getting a little dirty and getting some…read morestrawberries. It seemed like we were maybe a little late in the season or some real pros must have been through our rows a week or two before us because we weren't finding the huge berries. Although we are thinking if we went back in a couple weeks we might get some of the bigger ones. But for 45 mins of picking on a perfect day and 17lbs of strawberries you can't beat the price of $20.

It's getting to be late October and I still hadn't bought my bag of Haralson Apples so in my quest…read moreto find some, I headed toward Northfield to the Fireside Orchard. On a weekday afternoon, it was mostly folks like me, out to buy a few fresh items. I could see the weekends being busier with families. The orchard has nice grounds to amble through, some tractors to climb and pose with, wagons to borrow, and a beautiful outdoor seating area. I found my apples and also picked up some honey. There were also jams, cheese, apple sauce, salsas, coffee, and wild rice options. Freshly baked goods and hot and cold apple cider were fall favorites as well. The orchard is only a short drive off the freeway so stop in and check it out.

Very charming area, staff in the store was amazing! We had a little accident with a jam jar falling…read morethrough a bag and they were so kind to promptly clean it up and replace the jam. Everything was really clean and orderly and the items we purchased tasted fantastic!

A strawberry farmer myself as child, we raised a thousand strawberry plants. They told me here in a…read morerecent visit raise 20,000 strawberry plants. Various crops or types come and go; just know it is all delicious, well worth drive. Now the asparagus is almost done. Come early as it sells out right away in the morning. Soon they told me the raspberry crop will be ready. End of July or so. Great Strawberry smell as soon as you drive in. Wonderful fresh strawberry smell in your car ride home. Easy drive out here. The staff are attentive and waiting for you. Enjoy!

Why 2 stars? Our…read morefamily recently visited Lorence's Berry Farm for strawberry picking and had mixed feelings about the experience. On the positive side, the strawberries were abundant, vibrant, juicy, and very easy to pick. We had three generations together for a fun family outing, including my 4-month-old and 1-year-old granddaughters, and we were excited to spend time outdoors making memories. Unfortunately, the experience was overshadowed by an interaction with an older gentleman who appears to have worked there for quite some time. After a two-hour drive, I briefly pulled over to speak with my daughters and figure out where we should park before unloading the children and heading to the fields. We were apparently stopped in an area where parking was not allowed, although there was no sign indicating that. Rather than approaching us politely, he immediately began yelling. I explained that we were simply trying to get a game plan together and that a softer approach would have been appreciated. Instead of de-escalating the situation, he continued to yell as I drove away to find a proper parking spot. What was most disappointing was that he then directed his yelling toward my daughters while they were standing with my granddaughters. The commotion upset my 1-year-old granddaughter to the point that she started crying, while my infant granddaughter and daughter looked on. Later, I shared my experience with another employee, who apologized for the earlier behavior. However, while we were in line paying, we witnessed the same gentleman confront another visitor who had parked in the area because she could not find handicap-accessible parking. He berated her, refused to provide his name when asked, and the interaction became so uncomfortable that she began recording the encounter on her phone. Ironically, a short while later, the very same gentleman approached me and apologized for his actions earlier. While I appreciated the gesture, he immediately followed it by explaining that "it's a stressful thing," which felt more like a justification for his behavior than a sincere acknowledgment of how his actions affected visitors. The strawberries were wonderful, and the farm itself has the potential to be a great family destination. The fruit quality and ease of picking made for an enjoyable outing, but customer service and the way guests are treated matter just as much as the product. Unfortunately, one employee's repeated behavior toward multiple customers significantly detracted from what otherwise could have been a very positive family experience.

Very well organized. Apples were amazing and the lady that charged us was really warm and helpful…read more Loved everything about it, including the slushies!!! Will be back.

Made my first trip to Sweetland Orchard with a few friends this past weekend and we had such a…read moregreat time! It was a very unique orchard experience. We had ordered a tasting kit which had a large variety of food and drinks to try! We had the Cider Tasting Kit with additional add ons, such as the, Apple Tasting Kit, Heirloom Apple Tasting Kit, Odenthal's Jalapeno and Cheddar Beef Sticks, Shepherd's Way Friesago Cheese, Sweetland Orchard Cider Donuts, Sweatband Orchard Farm Bread Picnic Loaf, and the Vikings and Goddesses Apple Carmel Hand Pie's. Kits are available if you place your order at lease 12 hours in advance. If you do not order a kit, there are items available for purchase as well. You are free to roam to roam the orchard and enjoy all there is to offer. The setting was just the perfect spot for fall, with colored trees around and rolling hills. We brought our kit our to the orchard and had a picnic. We brought a quilt to sit on (there are some picnic tables available, but it is probably wise to bring a quilt to lay down to sit on just in case there are no tables available). Everything was incredibly delicious and I am planning to get back there again soon! It is dog friendly! I love when places allow dogs, it is but probably best to bring your dog only if it will not disrupt other guests or the animals that are on site (chickens, pigs, etc.).

Brand Farms really is a one-stop shop for fall fun! It gets quite crowded during the weekends but…read morethere is plenty of free parking after going down the gravel road leading up to the farm. There were attendants gesturing where to park which was helpful. After parking, there's a small shopping area where you can purchase baking and dip mixes, meat, eggs, jams, honey, and more. This is also where you can purchase empty bags for apple picking. You can pay with credit card or cash here. I tried the maple syrup breakfast sausage links and they were delicious, but definitely on the sweeter side. There is also a food truck where you can get apple cider donuts, and there were baby cows to see too! After exiting the shopping area, you can ride a wagon with straw bales over to the other area of the farm, or you can walk. It's a bit of a hike so I would recommend riding the wagon. The next area has so many activities: pumpkin patch, apple picking, paintball shooting, bouncy mats for children, and other little games and activities for children. There were so many photo spots as well. My favorite activity was the apple cannon, where you can pay $5 (cash, credit card, or venmo) for a bucket of apples, load them into a cannon, and blast them into old cars. The cannon is SUPER loud so bring ear plugs or ear protection -- my ears still hurt a little bit the next day. There was also live music and a couple food stands selling items such as apple cider and walking tacos. If you walk a little further you'll reach rows and rows of apple trees, sorted by type with clear signage. There were a handful of varieties to choose from, such as honeycrisp, sweet tango, sno-sweet, and crab apples. There were a lot of bees and mushed apples on the ground so I would wear appropriate clothing and shoes that you don't mind getting a little dirty.

I went with my wife and toddler to see the tulips here in May. While the farm and flowers…read morethemselves were quite nice, there were several factors that made this a negative experience. The primary one, that I'll write about here, was very poor line management and a huge lack of clarity. They have "Tickets" and "Wristbands" buying a "ticket" makes you eligible for a "wristband, but they are not the same thing. They had a terrible solution. Where you wait in an insanely long line (literally an hour long) to get a "ticket" then you have to go all the way back to another insanely long line to get a "wristband" in order to get in the hayride that takes you to the flowers (they would not allow people to walk). There was not clear signage which lead to a lot of confusion that really slowed things down. What made things worse is that we were there right at opening time, so we completed the idiotic process properly. But about an hour in the staff realized how bad their idea was, and tried to combine the lines which led to a ton of people being able to budge us, which was really unfortunate and frustrating. I certainly would never visit this place again on a weekend. It was such a poor experience. Maybe going during the week when visitation is not at peak could be feasible.

We visited around 8:15AM on a Sunday morning and picked for about an hour. We each picked between…read more4.75-8.50 pounds of strawberries (about 6lbs pictured). The fields were vast, with plenty of space to pick away from people. The area is well kept and I would recommend pants and tennis shoes to avoid rubbing against the plants.

We had a great experience picking strawberries here! They had tons of ripe berries to pick! I…read moreusually pick berries elsewhere but this might be my new berry patch!!

Love this place. Been going here since the early 2000's when it was much smaller. They've added on…read morean entire section and a bunch of decor since then. Would have given it 5 stars if it hadn't been for the owners grandkid who was literally allowed to run rampant. Everyone was staring as he smashed carts, slammed stuff into the ground, and ran around yelling. The teenage staff laughed and said there was nothing they could do but they agreed it was a problem. I finally asked to speak with the owner (grandma) who didn't seem to take it seriously at all. Customers were shocked and gossiping about it. I've never seen this happen before so I'll go back but if it happens again I won't return.

This is such a good and wonderful place. They have a wide selection of candy. I have Ben there 3…read moretimes and planing of going again soon. They not only have can't fur pies and an unforgettable experience that will last a loge time. The things that are there are also cool and worth going for that alone. There is also cool sodas there and a bottle opener wall out the door with and looking bottle openers! The line was also not long you got out quickly after you got your snacks.

I recently made my annual fall stop at Pepin Heights to get apples and more fall goodies! This is a…read moregreat stop for local fall goodies and decor. They offer everything fall- apples, carmel apples, pumpkins, pie, popcorn, and other fall food and decor. Parking is easy with a large gravel lot out front. The staff is always friendly and helpful. This place is worth the stop if you're in the area! They also offer online ordering and shipping.

I loved when we could find pepin Honeycrisp apples locally at lunds but don't see them anymore…read more Have tried other orchards and just prefer these guys so I'll make a trek from Minneapolis at least twice during apple season. I also really loved the new piñata variety. The Apple bread looked delicious but was kinda meh.

The Twin Cities is super lucky in that you can be in a concrete jungle one minute and out in…read morebeautiful Hastings picking your own apples the next. There are loads of orchards and pumpkin patches to choose from but you really have to made a pit stop at Fischer's Croix Farm and Orchard. They have a super cute hay bail for kids/adults to climb on but I'll warn you.. you have to be PRETTY agile to get to the top.. There's also some goats and chickens the kiddies can feed along with a tracker ride out to the corn maze! (You can go on the ride without actually going through the maze). There are loads of different apples/pumpkins to pick your own or buy the preselected bags inside the shop! They're all super friendly staff that'll share their love of apples and really help you select the right one :) oh and there's also a food truck in case you get hungry!!

I can't believe this place isn't more popular! This place exceeded my expectations in more ways…read morethan one. It was easy to find, since they have a lot of signs up which have arrows from the main road. The staff here are very friendly, approachable and kind. It seems to be run by an all women staff woo!! The parking is on the grass or dirt parking. Come as early as you can because it gets crowded pretty darn fast, and loud. The inside building has a lot of items you can purchase, like peanut butter, apple pies, caramel apples, and pre picked apples. They also have samples of each apple in their orchard. My personal favorite was their sweet sixteen apple. They have an outside area, with 1 goat for a petting zoo. They have hay bails for kids to climb, and some open area for them to roam around. They have apple trees spread out everywhere and it's labeled with what kind of apple each tree is. It's a perfect photo spot, they also thought ahead and have a huge family bench near the corn maze where you can take cute pics. The corn maze is challenging but doable for kids and adults. They have an APPLE cutout inside the maze so you can find it, something fun in addition to the maze. There's a wagon that takes you out to the maze or you can just walk there. They have wagon rides at 11 am sharp. The pumpkin patch was sort of a disappointment, because some of them were spoiled and others were fungated? The whole place is perfect for instagram pictures, and fall photo shoots. It's free admission, but the corn maze is $3 per person. The apples and pumpkins are charged based on how much they weigh. It was really affordable. They have new hours apparently so call ahead to confirm. Definitely a family oriented fun outing!

Friendly staff. A good selection of Asian produce and fruits. They have a deli attached that you…read morecan sit down and have soup noodles soup or to go. They have some ready made package good for an easy grab and go. Prices are very reasonable for the food. The frozen section was ok and it seems that one is the freezer was having issues when I was there and alerted the staff. I came for some bitter melons but most of their bitter melons are bruised and are not in good condition. In a pinch, it's a good option when in downtown St. Paul area.

We've been to the smaller location in North St Paul but this was our first visit to the larger…read morelocation off Hwy 52 in St Paul. This market had great prices on produce and had a great selection of items that you can't often find at your big box stores. Prices were clearly marked and there was plenty of parking available in the attached lot. Staff was fast and efficient check out.