U-Pick Carlsbad Strawberry Company

My Kids Love it. The experience was awesome for my 5 year old. He ask me MOM AM I A FARMER?. After picking his strawberry’s LOL

My husband and I decided to go to a pumpkin patch for my son. It was challenging to make a decision on where to go, as there are so many. Especially, if you google «pumpkin patches in San Diego». I was excited that we were making a day of it, as we were coming from North Park.
Boy, was I disappointed. It was not that busy on a Sunday afternoon… and now I know why. The parking was easy and well formatted. But the cost… oh my the cost. $ 5 for adult hay rides, $ 3 for kids under 12 years old. $ 2 for the corn maze regardless of age. The pumpkins ranged from $ 10 all the way to $ 50 (that’s the most expensive I had seen but there could have been more pricey ones). The $ 10 pumpkins were the same size you see at Sprouts for $ 3.99. Seriously. We did not get one.
Now, while I already made the choice to spend $ 6 for the whole family to go through the corn maze. I would not have thought that the corn maze would be so destroyed… and it was. I could see every person going through it. Ummm…“Corn mazes are giant puzzles that you walk through. Farms take cornfields and cut paths into them. But to add more of a challenge there are loops and dead ends to get you lost. And since the corn is usually taller than you are, it is easy to get lost.” Nope.
The «hay ride», had no hay. Just benches. The driver’s were okay. But, they looked tired and it looked like they did not want to be there.
All in all I would not recommend this location. There are so many within the San Diego area, that I am sure you will find one that will meet your expectations. This one was so disappointing.

Bland, bland strawberries. I chuckle at some of these other reviews – perhaps these might seem good compared to the berries available in supermarkets, but even if you spend a lot of time picking the good ones, and know how to look for them, these were flat & flavorless, even when slightly overripe. And the pickins were very slim all three times we went.
You’ll have better luck at some of the local gourmet markets when strawberries are actually in season.

I went there two months ago. It was a very fun unique experience being able to pick our own fresh strawberries. We paid $ 20 for the large bucket, a bit pricey but you’re able to overfill it a bit. Cool experience for kids.

The ripest, most delicious strawberries i have ever had.
You get what you pay for. Supermarket strawberries are never ripe. Plus they put the pretty ones on top and the ones underneath are inedible. Solve that by picking your own!
These are big, juicy, and worth every penny.
Go early, as it can get crowded and sometimes be warm out in the Sun. Head out into the middle of the rows or go for the far corner. Lots of people don’t walk very far and the close rows are picked over.
The berries are easy to pick, as they are planted well above the ground.
Pack your strawberries carefully in the carton and you can fit In a lot of berries.
Highly recommend!

Neat experience and generally fun activity to do if you’re in Carlsbad! It’s a little pricey so I probably wouldn’t do this again but worth coming out here. If you can wear shoes you don’t care about since they will be covered in mud eventually.
The fields are off the freeway and there’s plenty of parking. You pay $ 10 for a small bucket per person (includes entrance fee) or $ 20 for a large bucket for 2. The best part for me was getting to eat an unlimited amount when you’re out on the fields! You can also opt to pay $ 5 to just go out onto the fields of you don’t want to take any home.
Honestly a large bucket is way too much for 2 people so we forced strawberries onto our friends for days.

For 2 adults and 2 toddlers (they are 3 yrs old) we got one $ 20 bucket. In some reviews people said that they think that’s kinda pricey but we disagree !
We had so much fun, especially the kids. We did it for a while and ate a lot of it as we walk around picking them. The counter person was nice, too.
Also, portable bathroom was nice. (which I normally never use) But my sister and her daughter used it first and they told me it was ok, so my daughter and I went and she was right it was OK. There was also little hand wash thingy right outside of bathroom, too.
Easy access from and to free way, we will go back again.
Delicious sweet strawberries :)

I’ve come up here many times for the strawberries because I live pretty close. It’s a beautiful sight driving by on the freeway and it’s nice to get out in the fresh air and pick fresh food.
It’s hard to miss this place because it’s right up against the freeway, but if you are seeing it from the freeway, you’ve already gone past the exit. There’s plenty of other shopping nearby whether it’s for a brand new car or some new running shoes. There is parking right in front of the strawberry lot but it’s a dirt lot so you might get a little dirty. You’re definitely going to get a little dirty out in the fields picking strawberries.
As many of the other reviews pointed out, it’s a bit pricey so I decided to just buy some strawberries already picked and boxed. They are so beautiful, perfectly placed in nice arrangements in the boxes. Just from appearance alone it’s very tempting to buy several baskets or boxes (flats) of the strawberries. They smell so fresh and the bright red color is truly representative of a strawberry.
Then you get home and you realize you’ve been had! Yes, all the gorgeous, plump, full, brightly red strawberries on top are the only ones. Once you’ve removed the top layer of strawberries you’ll find nothing but tiny strawberries and most of which don’t have that beautiful red color the top layer has let alone the size or taste.
It’s truly unfortunate that they resort to deceptive selling tactics such as this not to mention the price. I can get the exact same strawberries at the local Farmers Market and actually cheaper! I’m sure this place is fun for the kids to go out and experience what it’s like to actually pick fresh fruit, but for those of us who want to get some quality fresh fruit, it’s more of a disappointment. I’ve lived in this area for more than 30 years and have been coming up to the strawberry fields for quite sometime just to get fresh berries but it seems instead of maintaining a certain quality they are just in it for the $$$ and don’t mind deceptive practices.
Stick to buying from the Farmer’s Markets. Same strawberries but at least it’s cheaper.

My family and I drove by and saw the big «U PICK STRAWBERRIES» sign and decided to drop in. I love strawberries and can’t imagine who wouldn’t. The field smelled amazing! $ 5 for walking thru, $ 10 for a small bucket, and $ 20 for a large. Its a little pricey compare to wait you can buy at the store but the experience is what makes it so worth the money. We had a blast and picked $ 30 worth. Now I’m going to have to find some recipes for all the berries! I recommend this for family with children’s for a fun day of outdoor activities.

This was our first time coming here didn’t know what to expect, first you buy the bucket size you need and per person coming in around $(20) a person, This place is really fun. Picking strawberries is really exciting when you see that perfect one that calls out your name and you get really happy when you see that is picture perfect… LOTS of fun will diffidently go next season best time to go «so I heard » (April — May) Hope this helps! PS: Make sure you don’t take fancy shoes because you will dirty them with mud and dirt ;)

This was a great Saturday morning activity for the whole family! We took our kids ages 1, 3, 5 and got the $ 20 bucket for all five of us (since kids 5 and under are free). The bucket was a perfect size even with all of us contributing (we did snack a lot… even the one year old was eating off the vine… he was in heaven!).
We combed down a couple rows at a time all the way down, had the buckets filled in probably a 30 – 45 minutes, and had the rest of the morning to enjoy with ourselves and our fresh berries!
I grew up in Carlsbad but have never done this. Hope to come back next time we are in town.

I’m giving them 3-​stars, but I think they could be a 4-​star on a different day. On Easter Sunday I came to U-​Pick Carlsbad Strawberry Company as part of a day trip to The Flower Fields too.
As everyone has previously stated, it is quite costly to pick strawberries here, but it’s all about the experience. You can presently buy a pound of strawberries at grocery stores for 99¢. Here, it’s $ 10 for a (very) small bucket, which probably holds about a pound, and includes one admission ticket to the fields. It’s $ 20 for a large® bucket, which includes two admission tickets to the fields. Every person entering the fields must have an admission ticket (unless you’re 5 years and under). It’s $ 5 for just admission. I wouldn’t get that unless you are a group of three and really want to share a large bucket, but even then I would get a small and large bucket instead. It would end up being $ 5 more, but then you have more strawberries. They ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS.
The large bucket is way better than the small, because the walls are straight rather than tapered. For double the price, you can put more than double the strawberries in the large bucket.
BRING SOME WATER BOTTLES WITH YOU into the fields, so you can rinse strawberries (as much as you want) to eat while you’re picking.
I wore flip flops, because I didn’t want to get other shoes dirty, but it’s really better to wear closed-​toe shoes. This is especially true if you want to cross over the rows.
The reason I gave them the lower 3-​stars is, because the selection of strawberries was pretty pitiful the day we picked. I’m going to attribute this to the day we went. I would assume (hopefully) that the selection was much better a couple weeks ago, before spring breaks started and all the families got in there. It was even probably better at the start of the weekend.
When we arrived, it seemed like all the berries were either not ripened or were dried out. I don’t mind paying for the experience, but there should at least be good strawberries to pick. In the end, they were better than the ones from the grocery store (probably because they were picked fresh and ripened on the bush), but not $ 40 better. My mom had a good time, especially remembering when she had taken me as a child. However, we all agreed that we wouldn’t be doing it again.

We love coming the U-​Pick fields every spring! One of our favorite activities. You are paying for the experience, not to get a deal on strawberries.
Last year (and the year before that, and before that…) I would have rated them 5 stars, but they changed their pricing this year and I just don’t like it as much. They used to just charge you for the size of the bucket you wanted to fill. $ 10 for a small, $ 20 for a large, and you and your group could go and pick. This year, they changed and now charge for admission, as well as filling a bucket. $ 10 for a small and that includes one admission, $ 20 for a large and that includes 2 admissions, $ 5 for admission but not filling a bucket, kids under 5 are free.
That aside, it is still a fun outing and we will go each year, it will just be a little more expensive than in years ‘past ($ 5 – 10 depending on if we add more buckets; I have 3 little kids).
My kids love to walk through the rows of strawberries and pick the best red ones they can find. It keeps them engaged and entertained for a hour+ easily.
And the strawberries are GOOD! Like so juicy and fresh and taste like sunshine! We love them. I love to make a big batch of jam with them and enjoy the summer strawberries all year.

I came to the strawberry fields for a fun time with my friends from out of town, and it was a little disappointing. Not only did I feel extremely ripped off from the tiny $ 10 bucket (because I didn’t want the even more expensive $ 20 bucket), but there were only a select few nice and ripe strawberries left, and it is only the beginning of April! Also the lady selling the berries had a horrible attitude and was very unfriendly.
Don’t get me wrong the scenery is beautiful and great for pictures, and the overall activity of picking your own strawberries is super fun! But it is more expensive than it should be, the amount of edible strawberries left was limited, and the lady that owns the stand was extremely rude.

The FOUR * * * * STARS is for the experience, not the pricing.
If you want fresh strawberries, you can buy ‘em cheaper elsewhere and without much work.
However, with the U-​PICK farm, it’s truly an experience and labor of love.
It costs $ 10 per person w/​a small bucket or $ 20 for 2 to share a larger bucket, and that includes admission into the Strawberry Fields. Why anyone would simply pay the $ 5 to enter the fields without picking would be odd to me.
A large bucket can garner about 100 strawberries, so for $ 20, that’s about $ 0.20 per strawberry, which might be considered sort of high.
I think… as it’s no explicitly stated you can’t… or you could /​should… also «sample» strawberries off the vine as you pick. If you’re a germaphobe, of couse then don’t. But if you’re one with nature and don’t mind, it’s delicious and fun. They seem very friendly and casual so long as you don’t abuse the system or try to circumvent it and steal.
This is good for about an hour or so, as you pick your favorite looking strawberries across rows and rows of plants bearing the ripe red and sometimes green or off white unripened fruits.
Like any DIY Fruit Picking business, it’s less about getting fresh fruit or a bargain and more about the experience, something to share with a date or kids that’s different and fun.
Your shoes will get dirty, so don’t wear white or nice shoes. The rows are narrow too, so be sure you have good balance.
There’s a few outhouses as bathrooms too.
Parking is easy and there’s a parking lot, it’s located conveniently near the Highway 5 freeway on/​off ramp too.

Fun experience picking your own fresh strawberries. Pick the bucket size and head out to pick the strawberries
2 can pick for $ 20.00 I didn’t mind paying for fresh picked strawberries and a fun family experience. We all enjoyed it.

I am a sucker for strawberries so when we came down to visit the flower field, we decided we’ll also stop by get some fresh strawberries.
I can’t decide whether the price is expensive or not. A bucket for 2 people is $ 20. In SoCal, with grocery store specials, you can get almost 16 cartons with that money! The bucket does allow you to fill quite a lot of strawberries though!
Once you pay for a bucket at the strawberry stand, you’re pretty much free to pick the strawberries in the pick-​your-​own area. They had a guy standing at the gate area to make sure you purchased a bucket and on the way out he gave us a bag to put our bucketful of strawberries in. There wasn’t much guidance/​instructions. You’re pretty much on your own. I don’t believe they enforce any sorts of time limits, so I was taking my sweet time to pick my berries.
Once you’re done, you can enjoy it right away! They have two huge jugs of water by the stand for you to wash the berries. We got there a bit late, so the jugs are pretty much empty. My boyfriend and I still managed to each wash one and enjoy it right then. The berries were juicy, fragrant, and sweet! I guess that’s where the expensive price tag comes in.
I was torn between giving it 3 star or 4 because $ 20 is rather pricy, but I did enjoy the experience and the fresh strawberries!
I got by ok with wearing sandals, but there were definitely muddy spots, so remember to wear closed toe shoes!
A little side note, I think I developed some sort of allergic reaction to strawberry plants. I don’t know if its the plants themselves or the pesticides, but when I got home, my inner left fore-​arm and hand were covered in rashes (It’s been over a week and they’re still there). I also got an itchy throat… I would recommend wearing a long sleeve shirt to help protect your skin.

Such an exciting experience! I definitely recommend this place if you’ve never fruit picked before. The prices are pretty expensive but it’s worth it for a first timer. It’s $ 20 for a decent sized bucket for 2 people. The field is really big so you get to walk around to see the best strawberries to pick. It’s also a very photo worthy place! The strawberries are pretty big and it tastes fresh! They usually don’t let you overfill your bucket but I do anyways… gotta make your money’s worth! It’s best to wear closed toe shoes because of the dirt and bugs that may be lingering around the field.
Service is mediocre. They’re more concerned about people overfilling their buckets than helping them out with questions.

I can’t wait to come back and actually pick my own strawberries. They told us the U-​pick wouldn’t really be available until April so we just looked around the little stand.
The strawberries looked amazing. The lady there explained to us that the ones they have right now are more for things like chocolate dipped strawberries or desserts. My boyfriend also wanted to ask about planting them since they sell potted plants. The lady didn’t really know how to answer some of our questions but quickly asked someone else that could. I ended up buying 3 baskets for $ 12.
Strawberries for days!

Made a pit stop here after a weekend visit to Lego Land. This outing was perfect for Babygirl because she LOVE strawberries! First you go up to the stand and decide the size bucket you want. Large is $ 20, medium is $ 10 and I can’t remember what the smallest size price was (sorry…) We were then instructed on where and where not to pick, how to pick and not to hop over the crops.
Where we decided to pick, there were several puddles of water at the openings, but beautiful berries waiting to be picked. So I got mud on my shoes to get them berries! Most of the fruit was big and ripe. We quickly filled our $ 20 bucket.
We then went to a barrel filled with clean water to wash off a few berries to sample. YUM YUM YUM!!! Well worth the mud on my shoes.
There were also trays of strawberries to buy and plants. Thought about buying a plant, but I don’t have a «green thumb».
My daughter and little cousin had fun. I have a big bowl of berries to eat and bake with. And being in that beautiful field and fresh air was well worth it!