The Mornington Peninsula is a little over an hour's drive south of the Melbourne CBD, curling around the bay through Red Hill, Main Ridge and Moorooduc. It's better known as a wine and produce region, and the picking farms reflect that: Ripe 'N' Ready Cherry Farm at Red Hill runs an all-you-can-eat-in-the-orchard cherry season from mid-November into January, plus a run of blackberries, raspberries and blueberries as summer wears on. Down the hill at Main Ridge, Rocky Creek Strawberry Farm picks strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries from November right through to April. Add apples in autumn at Atlanta Orchards and a short summer sunflower bloom at Torello Farm, and there's a reasonable spread of picking across the warmer half of the year. As with most bloom and berry crops, timing shifts with the season's weather, so check a farm's current opening days before you drive down.
About an hour south of Melbourne
4 farms
Moorooduc · Mornington Peninsula
Red Hill · Mornington Peninsula
Main Ridge · Mornington Peninsula
Dromana · Mornington Peninsula
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Rocky Creek Strawberry Farm at Main Ridge picks strawberries from November through to April, alongside blueberries, raspberries and blackberries on the same property. It's the peninsula's main all-in-one berry stop, so it's worth calling ahead to check which fruit is ripe on the day you plan to visit.
Ripe 'N' Ready Cherry Farm at Red Hill runs an all-you-can-eat-in-the-orchard cherry season from around mid-November to mid-January, plus blackberries, raspberries and blueberries later in summer. It's the peninsula's dedicated cherry orchard, so booking or calling ahead during peak weeks is a good idea.
Summer is the main season, with cherries peaking from late November and berries carrying on into autumn at Rocky Creek. Autumn brings apples at Atlanta Orchards, while sunflowers at Torello Farm bloom for a shorter summer window. Timing shifts with weather, so check a farm's current status before you go.
Ripe 'N' Ready Cherry Farm charges around $25 for adults and $10 for children for all-you-can-eat orchard entry, with picked cherries to take home priced at $15-22 a kilogram. Atlanta Orchards sells apples from about $4 a kilogram. Rocky Creek's berry pricing isn't published, so ask when you book.
None of the peninsula's farms currently list booking as compulsory, but Ripe 'N' Ready gets busy on weekends through cherry season, and Torello Farm's sunflower bloom window is short and weather-dependent. Calling ahead to confirm opening hours and picking conditions is the safest bet before driving down.