Somewhere around the second week of August, the south end of Utah Valley starts smelling like peaches.
The orchard belt around Santaquin and Payson is a genuine agricultural district — cherries in June, apricots and berries through midsummer, peaches from August, apples into October — and it sits twenty-five minutes south of Provo. For a valley that talks constantly about growth and technology, it is easy to forget that the county still grows fruit at commercial scale.
Before anything else, a correction that will save some readers a two-hour round trip.
The Fruit Way is not here
Search for Utah fruit picking and you will repeatedly encounter the Fruit Way, described as a stretch of orchards and roadside stands along US-89.
That district is in Box Elder County, in the north of the state around Brigham City, Perry and Willard — roughly ninety miles from Provo. It is the state's signature fruit corridor, it is genuinely spectacular in season, and it has nothing to do with Utah County.
The confusion is understandable, because US-89 runs through the Santaquin and Payson area too, and because Utah County's south end is also fruit country. Two orchard districts, one highway number, one widely used nickname that belongs to the northern one.
So: Utah County has real orchards and real u-pick, and this guide is about those. If you specifically want the Fruit Way experience — miles of stands, the Brigham City peach festival over Labor Day weekend — that is a day trip north, not a drive to Santaquin.
Why fruit grows here at all
The south end of Utah Valley is not orchard country by accident.
The benches around Santaquin and Payson sit at an elevation and on soils that suit tree fruit, and the area was developed agriculturally with an irrigation system — canals, reservoirs and earthen dams — built specifically to make that possible in a dry climate. That infrastructure is the reason the orchards exist, and it is still visible everywhere in the landscape south of Spanish Fork.
The result is a growing environment well suited to peaches in particular, and also to apricots, plums, cherries, apples, pears, melons and berries. Utah ranks second in the nation for tart cherry production, which is a genuinely surprising statistic for a state better known for mountains than for orchards.
Santaquin's own city celebration, Orchard Days, takes its name from this history.
The season, month by month
Every date below is approximate and shifts with the year. A late spring frost, a hot July or a cool August moves everything. Treat this as the shape of the season rather than a calendar.
Mid-June: sweet cherries. The season opens here. The window is short and it can close fast.
Late June into July: tart cherries and apricots. Tart cherries are the commercially significant crop in this state.
Late July into August: blackberries and raspberries. Several farms close for a stretch in July between the cherries and the berries, which is a common source of wasted trips.
August into September: peaches. The main event. Early August is when it gets going, and because varieties ripen in succession, the peach window runs much longer than a single peak. Late varieties can carry into October.
September into October: apples. The autumn crop, and the one that pairs with the farm-store and cider side of these operations.
October: pumpkins, at the farms that run a fall operation.
Some farms also offer plums, pluots, nectarines, tomatoes, sunflowers and cut flowers depending on the year.
Right now, in the middle of August, you are in peach and raspberry season — which is one of the best weeks of the year to go.
The farms
These are operations that have run u-pick in the Santaquin and Payson area. What each has available depends entirely on what is ripe that week, so treat this as a list of places to check rather than a list of places that are open today.
Rocky Top Fruit Farm, west of Payson. A 32-acre orchard whose own site describes a u-pick season running June through October — sweet cherries to open, a closure through much of July until the berries come in, raspberries and peaches in August, apples following in September and October. It also sells jams, honey and preserves from a fruit barn on site.
Cherry Hill Farms, Santaquin. Apples, peaches and cut flowers including sunflowers, lilies and zinnias. It has run a Saturday-only u-pick model across a late-August-to-early-September window with a second opening in October, which is exactly the kind of arrangement that requires checking before you drive.
Rowley's Red Barn, Santaquin. The best-known destination of the group, combining orchard, farm store and family attraction, with apples in autumn and peaches ahead of them.
MJ Millers Farm and Orchard, Payson. A broader mixed operation running vegetables alongside fruit — melons, tomatoes, peppers, squash, raspberries, peaches and pumpkins across summer and fall.
Santaquin Canyon Orchard Company, Santaquin. Cherries, both u-pick and already picked.
Further north in the county, Burgess Orchards in Alpine is a long-standing apple operation for anyone at that end of the valley.
A standing caution on details. Addresses, hours, opening days, payment methods and which crops are available all change, and several of these are small family operations that adjust week to week. We have deliberately not printed hours or prices. Every one of these farms communicates through its own website or social media, and that is where the current information lives.
How to actually plan a trip
The single most useful habit is checking the day before rather than the week before.
Follow the farm, not the calendar. These operations post when picking opens, what is ripe and when they sell out. That feed is the schedule.
Expect to be told no sometimes. A farm can close mid-week because the crop is picked out. This is normal and is not a sign of disorganization.
Go early in the day. Cooler, less crowded, and the fruit has not been picked over.
Weekdays beat Saturdays if you have the flexibility. Saturday is when everyone in Utah Valley has the same idea.
Call about groups. If you are bringing a large family gathering or a school group, arrange it rather than arriving with fifteen people.
What to bring
Containers. Many farms expect you to bring your own bags or buckets. Bring more capacity than you think you need — this is the most reliable prediction in this guide.
Cash, and a card. Some smaller operations are cash or Venmo only.
Water and sun protection. An orchard in August at midday is hot and largely unshaded once you are between rows.
Closed shoes, because orchard ground is uneven and irrigated.
A wagon, if you have small children and full buckets.
Realistic expectations about restrooms. Several smaller orchards have portable facilities or none. Check before you commit a toddler to the outing.
Why u-pick exists at all, from the farm's side
Understanding the business explains most of the rules that visitors find puzzling.
An orchard's fruit has to be picked in a narrow window, and hand-picking tree fruit is labor-intensive and expensive. U-pick shifts that labor to the customer, who pays for the privilege because picking is enjoyable and the fruit is better than anything in a supermarket. Both sides genuinely win.
But it only works within limits. A farm cannot open u-pick to unlimited numbers, because a crop picked over by amateurs is a crop that cannot then be sold commercially. It cannot open when the fruit is not ready, and it cannot easily predict ready more than a few days out. And it has to protect the trees, because a branch broken by an enthusiastic picker does not produce next year either.
That is why the hours are irregular, why farms close between crops, why some run Saturday-only, and why the answer to "can we come next weekend" is often a genuine "we do not know yet."
It also explains the pricing structure. Most operations charge by weight or by container, and a container price means the container defines your limit rather than your ambition.
Orchard etiquette
A short list, most of which is not obvious to a first-timer.
Pick only where you are directed. Rows are opened and closed deliberately, and a row that looks loaded may be reserved for commercial harvest.
Do not pull. Most tree fruit comes off with a gentle twist and lift. Yanking damages the spur that produces next season's fruit.
Leave the unripe fruit alone. Picking a hard peach helps nobody — it will not ripen properly and it is gone from the tree.
Do not climb. Use the ladders provided, if any are.
Sampling is not a right. Some farms are relaxed about a taste, some are not. Ask.
Weigh everything. Including what the children ate, if the farm's policy says so.
Watch children around equipment and irrigation. Working farms have ditches, machinery and uneven ground.
Take your rubbish and park where directed. These are businesses on family land, not public parks.
Going with children
Orchards are excellent with young children and there are a few things that make the difference between a good outing and a short one.
Berries beat tree fruit for the very young, because raspberries and blackberries are at child height and require no reaching. Peaches and apples involve stretching, ladders and a certain amount of adult intervention.
Go early. The combination of heat, sun and a long drive home turns a happy toddler quickly, and orchards are exposed once you are between rows.
Expect the picking to last less time than the drive. That is fine, and it is why pairing the orchard with something else in the south county makes the trip worthwhile.
Set the container expectation at the start. A child given a small basket picks with purpose; a child given an open-ended instruction picks three berries and finds a puddle.
And bring a change of clothes if berries are involved. Blackberry stains are permanent and universal.
The frost problem, and why some years are thin
If you go one year and find a farm closed or a crop absent, this is usually why.
Tree fruit blossoms in early spring, and a hard frost after the blossom has opened destroys that year's crop for the affected varieties. Utah's spring weather is volatile enough that this happens with some regularity, and it can wipe out apricots or cherries across a whole district while leaving later-blooming fruit untouched.
The practical consequences for a visitor are worth knowing. Some years there are no apricots. Some years cherry u-pick does not open to the public at all because the reduced crop is needed for commercial sale. And a farm that ran a full season last year may run a short one this year for reasons entirely outside its control.
This is also why the orchards themselves are cautious about announcing anything in advance, and why the guidance throughout this page is to check with the farm rather than to plan around a date.
Fruit stands, for people who do not want to pick
Not everyone wants to spend an hour in an orchard, and the south county serves them too.
Several of the farms named above run stands or barns selling already-picked fruit alongside their u-pick operations, and there are roadside stands through the Santaquin and Payson area during the season. The fruit is the same fruit, picked that morning by people who are better at it than you are, and it costs more per pound for exactly that reason.
This is the right option if you want peaches for canning in volume, if you have small children whose orchard tolerance is short, if the weather is brutal, or if the u-pick happens to be closed the week you are free.
The farm stores attached to these operations are worth a stop in their own right. Jams, honey, preserves, cider in season, and in some cases baked goods and ice cream. Rowley's in particular has built a substantial destination around this side of the business.
One practical note: stands sell out. Late afternoon on a summer Saturday is the worst time to arrive expecting a full selection.
What to do with forty pounds of peaches
The predictable consequence of a good u-pick trip is far more fruit than a household can eat, ripening simultaneously.
Freeze it. Peaches freeze well sliced. Berries freeze well spread on a tray first and bagged after.
Can it. Utah has a deep home-canning culture and the equipment is easy to find locally. Utah State University Extension publishes tested canning guidance, and using a tested procedure rather than a family method matters for safety.
Dry it. Apples and apricots dry well.
Give it away. The traditional and correct answer.
One planning note: fruit ripens on a schedule that ignores yours. If you pick a bushel of peaches on Saturday, some of them need dealing with by Tuesday. Decide what you are doing with the fruit before you pick it rather than after.
Making a day of it
The south county rewards a longer trip than the orchard alone.
Payson and Santaquin sit at the foot of the Nebo Loop, one of the most scenic drives in the state, which is at its best in autumn — the same season as apple picking. Spanish Fork and Springville are on the way back north and have their own attractions and food. Payson Lakes sits up in the canyon.
The natural pairing is a morning at an orchard and an afternoon on the loop, which in late September gives you apples and fall color in a single trip. In August, the equivalent is peaches in the morning and a canyon somewhere cooler in the afternoon.
The short version
Utah County's orchard belt is around Santaquin and Payson, twenty-five minutes south of Provo, and it is not the Fruit Way — that district is in Box Elder County, ninety miles north, and the two get confused because both sit on US-89. Locally the season runs sweet cherries from mid-June, berries from late July, peaches through August and September, and apples into October. Check the specific farm's own updates before driving, bring your own containers and more capacity than you planned, go early on a weekday, and know what you intend to do with the fruit before you fill the buckets.
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- Hiking Mount Nebo
- Golden Onion Days
- Provo Farmers Market
- The Lavender Farm in Mona
- Orem Farmers Market
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Fruit Way in Utah County?
Where can you pick your own fruit in Utah County?
When is peach season in Utah Valley?
When can you pick cherries near Provo?
What can you pick in Utah County month by month?
Do you need to book u-pick in advance?
What should you bring to a u-pick orchard?
Is Santaquin's orchard history why it holds Orchard Days?
