Stunning sunflower family farm!…read more Cute little farm with a beautiful gift shop and friendly staff. They had lemonade booth and burgers/hot dogs being cooked out front when we came on a Sunday afternoon. They have their adorable donkeys and portapotties are available onsite. You pay at the gift shop for a wrist band to enter the back flower section. U pick is available. They have petting goats (but we chose not to let our toddler do that) and chickens to see. Lots of open space and areas to sit! Really enjoyed our time here!

Drove out from Newcastle on Friday afternoon when my wife got off work. Her name is SUN & she…read moreloves sunflowers for obvious reasons! Leaving Bellevue it was sunny, but quickly changed to rain, thunder, and lightning. Arrived at the location, signs indicated that they were Open, but a young man greeted us with the news that because of the weather they closed early. My wife explained that we had just driven out from Newcastle; her namesake flowers were her favorite, and she's a City Councilmember! Besides, the rain had stopped and it was clearing! A quick call to the owner resulted in permission to walk out through the gardens, livestock, chickens, and braying burros--at no charge!! Various types of sunflowers available for viewing, but quite a walk out to the currently blooming acreage! Lots of areas still growing for future displays this fall. Lots of photo ops with the setting sun and sunlight playing on area hillsides behind multitudinous Sunflowers! Looks like a fun place, with Shave Ice and Weiner World SuperFantastic Hot Dogs! I'm sure even more fun stuff when the weather cooperates! Thanks to the Lora Lee Family for their kindness! (I'm going to have to come back out for a WW SF Hot Dog!!)

Went for their last weekend of the Lavender festival on Saturday!…read more We pre-purchased tickets online but they were also available at the farm for purchase. Parking was plentiful and easy to find. Overall, I would say it's pretty stroller friendly! We have a 1.5 year old who really loved running along the lavender fields. There was shaded seating, a few vendors (2 matcha/drink vendors near their flower shop, in the lavender fields - book vendor, honey, lavender gifts, vases/art, and a few other options to browse. We opted to do u-pick lavender and they had cute baskets with shears to borrow. Bundles were reasonably priced and you can also buy more lavender goods at their store. I bought some lavender tea which I also use for my baked goods as well! Such a wonderful experience!

Running from mid June to late August, the summer season at JB Family Growers Lavender Farm and…read moreFlower Market provides access to fields full of blooming lavender, providing picturesque opportunities with Mt Rainier in the background. The farm also throws a pumpkin festival with corn maze during pumpkin season (Sept through All Saints Day). My daughter and her husband hosted my wife, her mom, and me over the long Fourth of July weekend, and we all went to the lavender farm on a Saturday afternoon. Parking is free on sides of a private gravel road, with a clearly marked entrance. Admission is $9 per adult, being purchasable at the gate, using a credit card. Leashed dogs are welcomed, and there is a grassy area in center where one can find shaded places to sit or play games under a tent, or play cornhole nearby. There is also a nearby field with wildflowers in various times of bloom. It was a clear day, allowing us to see impressive Mt Rainier in the background. There is a small gift shop on the premises, where a nice lady explained much about the farm. We ended up buying both lavender infused essential oils and roll-ons. External info: There seems to be five different types of lavender: English (aka Common or True), French (aka Fringed), Portuguese (aka Spike), Spanish (aka Butterfly), and Lavandin (hybrid of English and Portuguese). Within each type, there are cultivars (specific variation bred for specific traits like color and scent). We saw areas of both the Royal Velvet and Melissa, both cultivars of English lavender. We also saw Grosso, a specific cultivar of Lavandin lavender, which is the most popular for commercial use, reading its the most common lavender at the farm.

Fun and family friendly activity! I love going during strawberry picking season/check their website…read morefor what produce are in season. Paying by the lb, they provide boxes and cartons.

We visited Bailey Family Farm on the very first day of strawberry picking for the year (Jun 1)…read moreright after lunch. They had their fields filled with their earliest variety, Sweet Sunrise, with tons and tons of gigantic berries ready for harvest. When I say tons, I mean it - each plant was flush with berries, and it barely took us 30 minutes to basically fill up our entire flat. They also had a limited number of Shuksan and Rainier strawberries, and some barely ripe Totems available for U Pick. We ended up picking an entire box with Sweet Sunrise and two smaller pints of Shuksan and Rainier. Sweet Sunrise - These are a deep crimson red both inside and out. They are large (averaging around 33g each), but large doesn't necessarily mean better. In this case, the taste is kind of diluted down by the amount of water inside. The most ripe and soft ones are sweet and fragrant, but the vast majority are somewhat diluted in flavor. Even the sourness is dilute. The berries are mostly soft and tender. These are still really great strawberries, but are more muted in flavor compared to some of the smaller varieties. Shuksan - This is the 2nd time I've eaten Shuksans and the 2nd time I've been a little disappointed. These are medium size berries, coming in at around 15.5g each. They are extremely sour, making me pucker with every bite. They are also quite a bit firmer than the other two strawberries, even the darker crimson ones. Quite possibly it's too early in the season for these. I'll have to come back later to try more. These have the most lumps and mutant individuals with tons of multiple fused berries. Rainier - This is probably my 2nd favorite variety of strawberry after Hoods (last year, I ate half a flat every week when these were available). It's really early in the season, so there weren't too many available for us to pick. The ones that we were able to locate fill the mouth with a delightful, strong and potent strawberry fragrance. Unfortunately most are quite a bit on the sour side - the ones in the coming weeks will probably be more sweet. Size is by far the smallest, coming in at around 12g per. The berries are really soft and teeth slice through them like warm butter. They are more acidic and are the only strawberry variety to cause me some stomach issues. We visited again the following Monday and the plants were noticeably skimpier. The leftover Sweet Sunrise were only a third the size of previous, and mostly not as ripe. There were more ripe Shuksans, Totems, Rainiers, and even some Tillamooks, Puget Crimsons, and Mary's Peaks ready. Just some quick notes for these: Tillamook - 24.4g avg, 6.2 brix, varying shape, awful variety, even the super red ones are ridiculously sour. Even beyond the sour, they taste awful. The juice is sour, bitter, nasty, the worst. Puget Crimson - 35.8g avg, 8.2 brix, caps really easily, didn't pick a single strawberry where the cap stayed on. Very conical in shape. Really dark red color. Stronger flavor than tillamook and more sweet, but still quite sour. Expected more flavor for being so dark red. Juice is dark in color, no particular distinguishing characteristics. Mary's Peak - 18.8g avg, 8.4 brix, leaves stay attached, some even have stems. Mostly conical in shape but some wider. Really noticeable seeds, can feel them protruding out of the skin. Very pronounced sweeter but mild flavor, some grassy notes. Juice has some candy element like pixie sticks but more sour. Really love the juice. Sweet Sunrise - 17.2g avg, 7.3 brix, half the size of the ones picked the previous week and not nearly as good. Not as ripe I guess so they don't cap nearly as easily. Deep red color, but more sour than sweet. Shuksan - 17.6g avg, 8 brix, Lumpy strawberries, lots of them fused together into big half moon shapes. Great flavor complexity, nasal, strong strawberry flavor, a little perfumey. More stem quality in the flavor, vegetal not bitter, probably because the pith/stem area stays attached more. Juice normal and bright. I liked these way more than the previous week. Rainier - 12.2g avg, 9.5 brix, most of the ripe ones have holes in them from birds and slugs. Aromatic, sweet but sour. Super perfumey elements. Best in flavor. Juice astringent surprisingly not as sweet as the brix would imply, more acidic instead. I like eating the whole berry more than juiced. Thanks to Bailey Farm having so many varieties, this kind of turned into a little science experiment. What else can I say other than that I will definitely be back next year for more strawberries. As a side note: I really wish farms grew Hood strawberries around here. Maybe we just don't have the right climate and soil for that variety? Those are my favorite by far, with the most sweetness (one batch I measured this year when down in Portland was 16 brix!) and best flavor complexity.

Mountainview Blueberry Farm is located not too far outside of the city and opens up for blueberry…read morepicking in July, though the dates can shift a little year to year. At about $3.50 / lb, it's literally cheaper than picking up blueberries from the store. They have a small grass / gravel parking lot with ropes outlining the rows and plenty of buckets in different sizes, which were surprisingly very clean (rare for a U Pick tbh). We pulled up around 10:45 AM on opening weekend and were in the first batch of folks in, but it was pretty crowded by the time we left around 11:30. Their blueberries were honestly incredible, super plump and not bland at all, which is my biggest complaint about store bought bluebs. When you check out, they've got some extra goodies like blueberry syrup with no added sugar (super good, have been using them on my pancakes ever since) and the service is super sweet. They also have a little food stand selling blueberry snacks (lemonade, ice cream, muffins, etc.) and some shaded picnic tables. The lemonade was a skip, definitely just made from the mix and wayyyy too sweet, but the blueberry ice cream which I want to say is a collab with one of the local ice cream wholesalers is DELICIOUS. Part of me wants to keep this place a secret so it doesn't get more crowded, but it's a great little weekend activity. Will definitely be back next year.

We always look forward to when blueberries are in season and you can get fresh local ones but for…read moresome reason have never gone out to you pick them ourselves. My wife got a tip from her aesthetician that Mountainview you pick had great blueberries and at a great price $3.45 / pound. So we went out there in mid-August. They have a number of varieties of blueberries and what's available to pick changes throughout the season. They post on their website daily what's available that day. On the day we went it was the Concord blueberry. We'd never heard of them but they had a deep blueberry flavor for a small berry. At the entrance they have three sizes of buckets to use to pick your berries. We liked the smallest size buckets. If you pick berries there is $5 minimum you have to pay (per group as best we could tell) That works out to picking at least 1 1/2 pounds which is totally easy to do. It was easy and fun to pick them off the bushes and the staff was good at giving advice if it's your first time. The Concord blueberries turned out to be so good! We at them fresh, my wife made blueberry muffins and we made blueberry freezer jam! The flavor of the jam was incredibly deep and intense. It turned out so good that we went back the next week to pick more blueberries. We'll be back next year for sure!

Love love love Skylight Farms! You can find them on Thursdays May to October at the Bellevue…read moreFarmers Market OR just down the road from Bob's Corn. For 2021 they have a CSA and you can pick it up every Saturday at the farm from 10-1 (this is also when the farmstand is open for veggie starts and produce). I chose the Market CSA with eggs (the BEST!) and can select my items each week...so much fun! This week I walked home with pak choi, spearmint (cocktail anyone?!), asparagus, cauliflower, spinach and misome. I was excited about all of it but the misome really intrigued me (asian citrus-y green). My favorite part of 2020 with Skylight Farms was trying produce that was new to me but also finding a new appreciation for old favorites! I found a recipe that really showcased the misome and used mushrooms, onion, and garlic and I was a big fan! I'm very excited for what this season has in store and equally excited to continue to support this amazing family-owned farm! What a huge asset to our community!

I came here during one of their "date night" experiences last summer and had a PERFECT night! For…read morethe date nights, they provide charcuterie, a fire, blankets, and picking materials, plus the option to BYOB. It was so magical watching the deer walk through the fields, picking blueberries at sunset, and enjoying time with friends around the fire at sunset. The perfect summer date! The owners are so kind and caring and have a true passion for what they do. We were so impressed with the map of all the different types of berries, their DIY tea bar, and all of the other beautiful offerings. They also were able to make my snack box gluten free, which was so kind. I can't wait to come back this summer for more blueberry magic!

What a cool farm experience just minutes from civilization in Woodinville. Tyler generously offered…read moreto give a farm tour, and I brought a few friends. He was such a welcoming host! He walked us through the hundreds of varieties of produce on the farm, and we tasted everything! Even flowers! I had no idea flowers had their own, unique and delicious taste. And at the end, he sent all of us off with bags of fresh produce that he said would go to waste otherwise. My friends and I ate fresh for at least a week. The farm is small, but very smartly planned. Tyler and his partner obviously care a lot about the land and what it produces. They make their own compost, and start some of the plants in their home. It's 100% organic. Eating from here feels like eating something you grew yourself in your back yard. That's how much care they put into it. I highly recommend checking them out at one of the local farmer's markets in the summer!

Such a fun and wholesome time! Ester and Sydney are super fun and friendly. My family had a…read morewonderful time feeding and petting all the beautiful animals. Highly recommend for families and pretty much anyone who wants to feed some farm animals for an hour or two! They also have a great little gift shop.

I learned that this farm has been open for roughly 5 years and they just got some new baby goats!…read more Came here for the picnic alpaca visit ($44/person for 2 hours) and had a great time with the tour and animal feeding with Esther! She was really kind and explained all the to-do's and what not-to-do's when interacting with the animals. She was also very knowledgeable about the farm animals and the different types of alpacas. She was a fantastic host! The alpacas are all pretty well mannered and calm - there were some children in our group and they all did great with all the animals. I'd highly recommend checking out this farm if you want a fun engaging experience for a few hours - for both kids and adults! They have a small gift shop as well.