Orchards line the highway in the Hood River area. It’s fascinating to see thousands of containers lined up in the grass, ready to transport the fruit commercially, but there’s also a 35-mile “Fruit Loop” dotted with U-Pick farms.
Map via hoodriverfruitloop.com
Peaches were in season, and we picked 13 pounds of them at Draper Girls Country Farm.
The peach trees provided plenty of shade, and it was fun to reach out and grab the golden, fuzzy delicious fruit in reach.
Who can resist these sweet peach cheeks? 
Picking so many peaches the day before we planned to fly home was a bit silly, but they baked down into a delicious peach cobbler we had the whole family over to sample.
The farm even had a little goat pen, so I got my baby animal fix.
They also had a big swing that framed Mt. Hood – a fun family photo op. Emmett will be so smiley and expressive and then the minute we try a posed picture, he goes into cranky crunch.
We stopped at a lavender farm not far down the road on the way back to town. It. Smelled. Amazing. The aroma of lavender was almost hypnotic, like some place in a storybook that lures little girls to sleep for a thousand years.
They had u-pick bunches for $5, but I didn’t think I had enough room to pack and bring it home. They also have a little gift shop with plenty of other items made from their acres of lavender, too.
If you’re staying in Hood River, see what’s in season! I can’t believe it’s almost time for apple-picking here in Iowa. We love going to Center Grove Orchard. I’ve never been to The Berry Patch, but would love to visit next summer.
That seemed like such a great trip! So original to go fruit picking! Would never think of doing that!
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I loved living vicariously through your Hood River adventure Brianne! Ryan and I spent a few days there this July visiting his sister and her family who live there. It’s paradise! While there we enjoyed U-pick blueberries, which we promptly made into pancakes and cheesecake as well as the lavender farm. I had the best smelling carry-on on our airplane for sure. So cool that you got to enjoy this wonderful part of Oregon that is close to my heart!
I was totally living vicariously through your Pacific Northwest Instagrams and counting down the days until out trip!