The Inland Empire AP yahoo group did a field trip to this orchard last week, but I wasnt able ot make it since my kids decided to be complete brats that day, so driving 45 minutes anywhere was out of the question. I managed to convince my husband that getting up bright and early Saturday to go as a family would be a nice family outing. At 7:30 am in the morning on saturday theres no traffic so it was a nice drive. It turned out great, the day ended hitting 108 degrees but we got there at 8 am when they opened and in about an hour of leisurly picking and eating we picked 12 pounds of bing cherries to take home.
Its a nice little place to go, you pay $1 per adult to get in and then they had lowered the price per pound from $4 to $2. It was very relaxing, it was a nice cool morning and quiet with the few other early pickers that were there. I loved being able to taste a cherry from the cluster before picking, I plan on making jam and its awesome to know all fruit was hand picked and tasted for quality. :)
If you're near Beaumont/Riverside you really should visit this place before the heat claims the rest of the crop.
For more info and picking conditions visit their website at http://www.pickcherry.com/
