Maggiore Ranches

Simply the sweetest, biggest cherries! We go every year!
They have many kinds of cherries but I always go for the black ones in the older trees.

I went out on 5÷11÷16 to pick and while did use the ladders a few more times than I like, it was worth it!!! I picked 11 pounds of cherries. It didn’t look like that many but they were nice and meaty. I had purchased some brooks and corals from a nearby farm that were pre-​picked, they were not as good as Maggiore. I enjoyed big firm yet juicy cherries here. Going during the week is better than the weekend. There are less people and less chaos. I see people complaining about the rules. The rules are to protect the public and protect the trees. It is not a public park for people to picnic. People should respect that these are ranches and farms which are places of business. Maintaining the orchards should not be misinterpreted to mean the farmers are there to clean up the trash left behind by people picknicking in the orchard. I find it rude when signs are listed everywhere. yes, it is a pet peeve of mine. People don’t seem to appreciate the fact that we can go have a fun time with a delicious reward for our efforts. I appreciate our local farms and will continue to pick fresh fruit and respect the rules that exist. If you want to picnic there are many nice parks enroute to the orchards. I just thought of a potential new rule, locals from contra costa county should be allowed to pick first in the season and for the first hour on weekends lol. In my dreams!!!

This is a huge place, with rows and rows of cherry trees, each bursting with pounds of cherries. The parking lot can look full, but there is an abundance of shiny red cherries.
The fruit is at all levels. Even toddlers can reach fruit and put it in the bucket. Big people can also climb ladders to get to the dark sweet ones.
We’ve had good luck at this place the past few years. The downside is that it is extremely popular, so there are lots of like-​minded families crowding into the parking lot and queuing up for buckets. It would also be nice if they allowed picnics.
If you are looking to spend a morning wandering through an orchard, filling up a bucket of cherries, and getting in some photo ops, this fits the bill.

This place is abysmal. Rules are everywhere about what you can’t do. They pick all the good cherries for themselves. Then they give you some vague directions to the cherry labyrinth about where the ripe cherries are located. It was picked pretty clean before we got there today on the 11^th. The joy was sucked out of our experience. I will never go back. I think they are the descendants of Benito Mussolini.

Delicious, huge juicy cherries.
My friend told me about this place. So glad we went. Worth the drive, in my opinion.
Lots of parking. Can get a little crowded, but there is nothing like California’s stone fruit– especially when it is tree ripened.
Bring cash. No CC for cherry payment.

What a Funtime for the family! We found a spot where the crowd wasn’t and picked away on a few trees. Even our almost 2 year old daughter was able to pick the low hanging fruit and have fun. We’ll be back next year for sure.

Cherry picking season is usually right before Memorial Day weekend and by the time it is Memorial Day weekend, the trees are picked dry!
So my sister and I decided to squeeze in cherry picking right before the holiday this past weekend and boy the trees are already naked! You have to go in the back to find the untouched trees. Pick the dark ones for a sweeter taste.
It’s $ 3.50 per pound right now. Must sign a waiver before you pick!
DO: bring a picnic blanket and basket of goodies to relax after your harvest! AND allergy meds!

We tried to go there Sunday, May 17. What a mess. Maggiore was closed, had been picked out or something. That was understandable. What was unacceptable was the parking guy waving the flag. He stood there at the entrance and waved his orange flag at people in this mean way, not explaining anything. He created a HUGE traffic jam with his antics. Each car would get to the driveway, try to pull into the parking lot, and this guy would wave his orange flag, and occasionally yell «NO!» or «CLOSED!» though it was clear that there were plenty of pickers in the parking lot, and empty spaces to park.
We parked on the other side of the road like lots of other people, figuring the parking lot was full. Then I stood by my car trying to figure out what was going on. As family after family would cross the road to walk in, he would wave his flag in their face, yell «Closed!» at them. It was only when somebody asked him a question that he yelled «We are CLOSED! We might open again in 2 hours» that it finally made sense. If he had told cars that as they drove up, or had a SIGN that said that, it would have prevented or reduced the huge traffic jam he was creating. And he acted racist. Any Asian family was shouted at «CLOSED!» without any other explanation. He seemed to assume that Asian=“can’t speak english”. He was yelling at them, standing in front of them, and waving that stupid orange flag as if it explained everything.
We drove on, got to Nunn Better. They were also closed but at least those women were super polite and helpful and suggested other places that still had cherries. We ended up at Lopez Ranch after way too much time stuck in traffic. My suggestion is to go Saturday, not Sunday, and go EARLY. And avoid the angry traffic guy at Maggiore.

We’ve been coming here 2 years running. There are signs for the other u-​picks but I know where to head-​RIGHT here. Bountiful to pick (but I went on the second day of the season, a Saturday). Prices are good (considering you spend some time sampling too). We were done in one hour and 23 lbs of cherries… Still eating (this is 1.5 weeks in) and they are just as delicious and fresh now!
At the facilities, they have portable bathrooms and portable hand wash stations. Decent parking on the dirt road, so you shouldn’ keep your windows partially ajar unless you like dust in your car.

Address is wrong both here and in the comments. One takes you to a different farm. The other takes you to a ranch not open for upick. Where is it? I just went to chavez cherries, and it was great

Ok, so being a SoCal girl from Ventura County, it was all about the beautiful delicious strawberries that were grown locally. I don’t recall eating many cherries and the ones I did were just meh. Fast forward to living in the Bay Area, a good friend took me cherry picking for the first time at Maggiore Ranch a few years back. What were these gems of pure heaven and where have they been all my life? In that moment, a new annual love affair took hold of my life…
The ranch itself is the smaller of the two Maggiore farms. We prefer this one as it is away from all of the other farms in Brentwood… it can get really busy over there. It is very peaceful and I love going deep into the orchard and getting in my cherry picking zone. It’s a nice way to escape and clear your mind for awhile… very therapeutic. I have also tried the other farms in Brentwood but they just don’t compare. The two varieties that they have are Brooks and Corals… hands down the best cherries ever! Large, firm, juicy and sweet… just perfect. Now the tricky part is that you only have a 2 – 3 week window for these suckers. You need to call the recorded line starting at the end of April to find out when the opening day will be. If this is yet undetermined, keep calling each week. We usually go opening weekend then proceed to go into a panic as we feel that we didn’t get enough cherries… Lol. This leads us to do a follow up visit the next weekend in the hopes that there are still some left. Yes, we’re a little cherry crazy over here!
Tips:
–The past couple seasons have been light so get there on opening day.
–Arrive early to avoid the traffic and the heat.
–This year’s price was $ 3.50/lb. It went up from previous years but still worth it.

Put the right address. Goodness!!!
2251 Camino Diablo
Brentwood, CA 94 513
United States

Perfect Saturday morning for cherry picking. I’m a Brentwood local and have visited other farms for cherries. I decided to try this farm for the first time since I was on my way to Vasco. I was greeted by the worst parking attendant ever. Assuming I should park next to some cars on my way in, but wasn’t sure, I asked the parking attendant where I should park. The attendant told me to keep going and muttered under his breath words I can’t repeat on Unilocal.I was with my two-​year old. Businesses should really screen for help that don’t disrespect and degrade a potential customer for no reason at all. I left without buying anything and will never return. My business will go to the other 30+ cherry farms in Brentwood.

My first time to this ranch, decided to come out early this year to avoid the larger crowds on Memorial weekend. My normal spots (such as Pomeroy) has yet to open.
Directions: it’s very close to the intersect of Balfour and walnut, but on walnut, you can’t miss it because there will be a huge «Maggiore» U-​Pick Cherries sign, with attendants on the road side waving flags direction traffic
Parking: it’s adequate for a non-​Holiday weekend, I got there around 2:30pm and the dirt lot was only half full with around 30 – 40 cars.
Fruits: there were brooks and corals, as usual the trees in the center near the entrance are fairy barren and well picked, but once you go deeper into the farm, there are plenty of trees with good amounts of cherries. They were crisp, clean and sweet, god I missed fresh picked cherries.
Facility: there are abundant number of tall ladders lying around for those who are more adventurous, outside the entrance there are hand washing stations and portables. These I generally avoid, I often took care of my business at the McDonalds on 2351 Balfour road or at 7455 brentwood Blvd.
Price: $ 3.5 /​lb, reasonable and comparable to other places
Staff: generally friendly and somewhat helpful.
Would return again.

For starters, this ranch is not at the intersection of Walnut and Balfour. Since we had to ask the locals (and some still didn’t know), I thought I would save people the trouble of wasting time driving around. The ranch is on Walnut Blvd away from the Balfour/​Walnut intersection shopping center and residential homes.
We went there on the second day they opened and many of the trees were already picked over. We went all the way to the back and must have tried cherries from at least 10 trees. More than half of these trees produced cherries that were not as crunchy and sweet as from last year but I assume it must be from the drought.
But the trees that a produced the good ones, I can only say, «Yummy!» They were crunchy and sweet… Even over a week, the cherries have still maintained their texture
(make sure you know how to store them correctly in the fridge).
All in all, I would say this place does have good cherries. Just make sure to try cherries from each tree, even if they look the same. For $ 3.50/lb, it was worth every penny!

Delicious cherries. Plump and dark. They aren’t as sweet as I would have liked but they are sweet and tart and that’s good (sometimes) too. I don’t know what other reviewers said regarding mushy cherries, but as it’s a u-​pick location, you get to decide what kind of cherries you take home/​pick from the tree. Will be back for more cherries when i finish these delicious suckers i got this week! Must try!

Because of severe drought, this 2014 cherry picking season costs $ 3.50 per pound at this location. Kind of pricey, but if you go early enough (we went at 10am), you beat the crowd to get to the best cherries and beat the afternoon heat! Some types of cherries aren’t fully ready to harvest yet so make sure to ask the people who work there for details.
Surprisingly, they rounded down the weight of the cherries.
I don’t have any complaints about this place. The fruit growth isn’t under their control and the service was great!

Honestly, this is the only place I come to go cherry picking. I’ve been to other places before, but nothing beats the hometown feel and the friendly customer service.
In my opinion, they’ve got the best selection of cherries in Brentwood, but you’ve got to come here right when the season starts. I’ve come a bit too late in the season and pickings were slim, but still a lot more then most other places.
Prices here are very reasonable. In my opinion, best prices for quality cherries you’re going to find.
I’ve left here before with 10lbs of cherries and a summer filled with happiness. Nothing beats fresh picked cherries.

My growing family has gone cherry-​picking in Brentwood each year since 2009, and we often change up which farm we visit. I’m told that this year cherry season hit early, and was a diminished crop. Last night I double-​checked the farm I had planned for us to visit this morning and all seemed well.
We got there and I noticed «cherries» missing from the sign listing available fruit for u-​pick. I asked the people working there and they said they were completely cleaned out yesterday!!! They suggested I just keep driving down the road (Walnut) and look for places that had u-​pick cherry signs posted.
Kids were a touch grumbly, but we got back in the car and within a couple of minutes found Maggiore. The friendly guy directing us to park said they just opened a new section and had plenty of great cherries. And they DID. My three young kids had a fantastic time «finding» cherries (yeah, they were everywhere) and we didn’t need to use ladders at all. (It did concern me a little to see so many ladders out — I don’t recall that from many other farms we’ve visited — but fortunately we told the kids not to climb them and they miraculously listened to us.)
They had trees marked with red or blue so you know which kind of cherries were growing on them (but um, I was wrangling kids while they told my husband the names) – I believe it was coral and brooks, but I could be wrong on the second one. My husband said something about a third variety but I don’t think we saw it. The vast majority of cherries we found were plump and dark and perfect.
Everyone had a blast and I only wish it took longer than 30 minutes to collect 15 lbs, because the kids definitely wanted to stay longer and pick more!
All the staff were friendly and helpful and I have no complaints. Oh — and still $ 2.50 per pound; I’ve noticed some other farms have gone up to $ 2.95/lb.

It was a freaking MADHOUSE when we came during Memorial Day weekend. But the 3 kids with us (one was mine and two were loaners) had an absolute blast.
Hint: find an out-​of-​the-​way corner of the orchard if you want the best cherries with minimal crowding.