Swanton Berry Farm

Fun u-​pick experience. Really convenient: just off the highway, and not a long trek to pickable strawberries. Reasonable prices for fresh organic fruit. Can’t wait for other berries to be in season.

Best strawberries ever !! Their jams are excellent and their desserts are one phenomenal !!

Love this place!
We stop here about 2 – 3 times a month.
I miss the Slow Coast airstream. The grass area just looks a bit empty without it ;(
Strawberry shortcake and the pumpkin pie = favorites
Last week we were sitting on the benches and saw two bunnies hopping around… magical.

Cute place right on the coast passed Davenport. The music they play it country and the shop itself is laid back. Add some honey to their strawberry apple cider and it’ll warm you right up from the chill of the air outside.

This is the cutest little strawberry farm ever! You can pick your own strawberries or just purchase them inside; they also have a variety of berry jams/​desserts. My boyfriend and I got a lb of strawberries and a strawberry shortcake. Everything was delicious and fresh, I just don’t have words for how simple yet amazing their products are. The owners are really nice and you pay by making your own change and using the honor till which was kind of cool.
The entire farm is super adorable too, the inside is decorated and they have little journals you can write in!

Once we heard that it was strawberry picking season we made it a point to find the closest strawberry u-​pick. We’ve been to Gizdich Farm in the past which is pretty great too, but that was more of a hike now since we moved up the peninsula.
Upon getting here this is a small shack where you can pick up some shallow cardboard bins to collect strawberries. Follow the signs or drive to the strawberry patch and PLEASE read the rules! Then pick strawberries to your hearts delight (and hell have a few too) and make your way on back to the shack to weigh and pay. It’s the honor system — it’s great!
They also have some amazing pies, cobblers, juice, jams and cheesecake, along with tables inside and outside, although I recommend packing a lunch if you want to eat something more substantial. Also, like the strawberries, paying for the baked goods is based on the honor system too.
If you look at some of the posters alongside the walls there’s also some cool history about the farm, which is one of the first strawberry farms to let their workers unionize (sí se puede!) And if you have little kids with you, they have plenty of toys and games to keep them busy.
Lastly, if you’re a cyclist, you get 10% off of the food there!
Overall, this place is fantastic — cannot wait to go back again!

These folk don‘t need another 5-​star review!
they have enough already…
baked goods are truly excellent
staff are friendly
old-​style country music playing…
the only issue I have is with other customers who stand around the place like cows in a field

Worth to be noted for fresh bakeries, coffee, soup, jams n ofcourse strawberries
Also add the old style picnic table, small lawn for kids to run, good spot near water beach and you get a nice afternoon at your hands
Berry season is going strong. Organic strawberries for U-​pick. Honor system for purchases. This is a place to definitely stop at hghwy 1.

Delicious organic fruit here! We purchased two chocolate covered strawberries, and they were absolutely delicious! This place is sooooo cool. They operate business there on the honor system. Everything is done on a strictly cash or check basis. They do not take credit or debit cards. Their wooden till is sitting open on the table, and you put your cash in the till, and make your own change. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough cash to buy all the fruit and jams that we wanted, and we even drove back to Davenport to look for an ATM, but that venture was unsuccessful too. However, based up the delicious strawberries we sampled, if you are ever passing through this area, I would recommend that you bring plenty of cash (jars of jam are $ 12 each), and pick up all the fresh yumminess that they have to offer.

Tayberry cheesecake in an ethereal coastal setting. No picture or post card will do justice. This place is gorgeous.
We traveled all along the coast from SF down to Pfeiffer beach and over to Yosemite. Swanton Berry Farm is still one of out top cherished memories from that trip.
Rugged coastal views, fresh air, strawberries, and a rustic honor system based fruit picking system… what’s not to love? We picked up a lot of tayberry cheese cake for the trip out only to find ourselves circling back for more!

Drive Big and reward yourself with stunning views and a surprise visit to this little gem.
It is pay by honor system while the bakers are busy making pies and cobblers.
Do NOT miss the berry shortcake. Biscuit is beyond perfect and cream just sweet enough with an abundance of mashed local seasonal berries.
We wanted a large pie but only small were left so we bought one and ate both desserts immediately as we continued out drive on the coastal route. Pure heaven on all fronts. Would go back to California just for those desserts.

Should you find yourself on Highway 1 between SF and Santa Cruz, keep an eye out for Swanton Berry Farm. In addition to a pick-​yourself berry and vegetable farm, you’ll find a delightful shop full of berry pies, shortcakes, rhubarb betty and more.
Thick gobs of freshly whipped cream atop some of the most delicious berry concoctions you’ll find on the coast. A charming honor pay system. Fog. It’s all here!

Initially I wasn’t interested in strawberry picking, but this visit turned out to be quite fun. The competition was on for who could get the biggest and ripest ones. The further you go away from the dirt road, the better the picking. You pay by the pound which at the time was $ 4/​lb. There are cardboard trays available for use or you can bring your own paper bag.
When you are done, head back over to the shop where you weight and pay through their honor system. If you need to make change, there’s a wooden box full of money. That’s right… no cashier in sight. There’s even a calculator available if you’re mathematically challenged. This is the first time I have seen this system in place.
Note: Best time for a visit is during the picking season which runs from April to June.

Located on the 1 with a great“ocean view”
This is a working, unionized, organic farm with the most delightful «farm stand «I have ever encountered. They do offer the usual farm fresh produce, whatever is in season .But this farm store also offers, daily – Soup (curry usually), coffee, and cold fresh-​squeezed strawberry lemonade, also indoor and outdoor «picnic“seating, it is a great place to stop.
Offering daily jam tasting. And of course organic strawberries. (with a you pick your own option) You can buy wonderful baked goods here made from the farms berries. Also for purchase are Pies, muffins ‚&cakes, also chocolates and jams .
If you biked in you can take 10%off when you pay at their «honer system“till — or just leave your info and they will hit you up for credit card payment later !!! While I have seen many «honer pay» farm stands in Iowa or Minnesota — I never thought I’d see one in Cali ! This place is amazing, PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BUSINESS!

Sure the produce is great, jams packed with flavor, juices ripe and sweet, and berry scent fills the farm and store… but I’d like to take a moment and appreciate the cool honor-​pay system the Swanton Farms have in place.
So picture this. You’re in a store, stuffing your face in samples and grabbing a couple of jars to take back home, but there are no store clerks in sight. Instead, you approach a fully self-​serve register box with bills frolicking in the open. Pay what you think you owe (there’s a calculator to help) and stuff your cash in the splintery box. Best of all, if you’re short on paper bills, you can simply write down your email address on a card and they will PayPal you later. Woah!
I’m sorry, but as a city boy who is used to plastic Square registers and cold barista faces judging my 15% tip for literally pouring liquid onto a paper cup, this is a breath of fresh air.
The farm/​farmhouse is in Davenport, CA, which we would have never stumbled onto unless we were wandering around Highway 1 looking for apple orchards, which they also own!
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Distinguishing factor: probably the coolest paying system I’ve ever seen. Oh and the produce is great too ;)

I want to thank my friend for showing me this place. This is a great place for a family field trip or a nice spot to hang out with friends. This area is very unique in that it offers berry picking for a generally cheap price and sells other goods than their strawberries. You can pick your own organic strawberries for $ 4/​lb. In my opinion $ 4 is not as cheap as I thought for a pound of strawberries and you can definitely get more for your buck at the general grocery store. I guess you can think of this as paying for the berry picking experience as well.
Parking here is a breeze with plenty of room on their dirt field. People can also park right along side of the berry fields. How the berry picking works is simple! First, you go into the store to pick up a cardboard tray so you have something to collect to berries in. Next, you can walk over to the berry field and begin picking! Beware that some berries do get rotten or eaten by pest or birds etc. After you’ve collected your berries, you can go back to the store to pay. This is where the interesting part comes up! The whole store is based on the HONOR SYSTEM. You can pay for whatever you feel is right. There is no cashier to monitor people paying although people always actually pay more than the store goods are priced. This is is awesome and I would love to take my friends and family back here again.
P.S the Strawberries were perfect and sweet.

I know this is the fun, farmstand location, but for berry-​picking, definitely go to Coastways. We ended up going out to the small field two weeks ago, and many of the plants were picked over, in addition to the stems being kinda dry and brown. I was like, uhh, berry-​picking is overrated.
It’s really nice — next to the beach and the farm stand has some nice nibbles and a great tribute to Cesar Chavez. The workers are unionized (Bravo! Viva la union!!) which is awesome.
Strawberries are $ 4/​pound and you pay scouts honor — you weigh your pickings and then use the change box to pay. I really like this model. :)
But definitely go to Coastways Ranch where the strawberries are ripe, plump, and abundant.

If you’re visiting Santa Cruz, I’d highly recommend Swanton Berry Farms if you have the time. The farm has a cute shop where they offer strawberry cheesecake, strawberry cider, strawberry jam, chocolate covered strawberries, etc. My friends and I tried the cheesecake, cider, and jam. They were all amazing due to the taste of the strawberries. They also have other jam flavors, such as blackberry and ollieberry (not sure about the spelling). I admire their honor system of paying!
They also have a U-​Pick section where you can pick your own strawberries. I think April is not strawberry season because we had trouble finding many big, fully ripe strawberries (that didn’t have a bite out of them already). It was loads of fun even though we didn’t find many. I would recommend it to families. The strawberries were very sweet! Thanks for the good time and good food Swanton!

Do it! Do it! Pull over and do iiiiitt!!!
When cruising down PCH why would you not want to sample some of California’s finest fruits!?! I mean really, when in the land of sun and plenty this is the perfect location to bring your family for an amusing outdoor gathering. «Who can pick the biggest berry?» «Who can pick the most?» Priced by weight you’re guaranteed to leave with an abundance of fruit than you would even get in the market. Take your fruit then head across the road and enjoy them while watching the waves crash along the coast.
Plenty of parking, there’s even a portable restroom for those in need. Don’t worry, the overpowering fragrance of ripe strawberries will outshine any funny smells.
Definitely worth a few minutes when driving on the coast.

The Swantons have some balls on them. Here’s four items that I present to you as evidence:
1. They are making up their own berries. Olallieberries? That’s not a real thing, guys. (But damn if that olallieberry jam isn’t tasty.)
2. You pay by the honor system. Not only do they expect us to just leave money lying about for the delicious jam, pies and spiced cider… but there is also an honor till filled with money where you can just grab the change you need. Of COURSE I robbed them blind.*
3. They offer unlimited jam samples. WITH ANIMAL CRACKERS. This is far more dangerous than the honor till. There is nothing to stop me from eating all the jam, and all the animal crackers? You people don’t know what you’ve done.
4. They expect me to use a porta-​potty to relieve myself. This is the only item on this list that I don’t love the Swantons for. In protest, I just relieved myself on some kid sitting at one of the picnic tables, as the Pacific Coast breeze ruffled my hair.
Spread jam it’s the Swanton way.
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*OK, I didn’t. But I should’ve.