Pick-Your-Own Cherry Orchards Just a Short Summer Drive From El Paso

With people raring to hit the road this summer, outdoors-focused trips are at the top of many lists this year.

Feel the need to get out of town and enjoy a fun day trip with the family? Consider a road trip to Southern New Mexico for a fruitful day of cherry-picking.

June is cherry picking season and there are two family-run U-Pick orchards in the Land of Enchantment a few hours driving distance from El Paso.

Cadwallader Mountain Farms, located between Alamogordo and Cloudcroft, and Nichols Ranch and Orchards in La Luz offer you the opportunity to enjoy the mountain views and make some memories while picking some sweet cherries.

The orchard at Nichols Ranch is set to open Saturday, June 4, 2022, while Cadwallader U-Pick Cherries season gets underway on Thursday, June 9. If this sounds like something you’d like to do then you should plan accordingly, and go sooner rather than later.

Nichols Ranch and Orchards

Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 4 - June 16, closed June 17 to prepare for that weekend's 2022 Nichols Ranch Cherry Festival, and June 20 to clean up post-Cherry Festival. U-pick will be available at the festival.

Cherries are $5 per pound for you-pick and pre-picked. Post-festival hours will be 9 to 5 daily.

Cash, check, or card payments accepted. Well-behaved dogs are allowed provided they remain on leash and you pick up after them

How to Get There

236 Cottonwood Canyon Road, approximately 7 miles East of La Luz, NM. Click HERE for driving directions.

Facebook: facebook.com/nicholsranch1882
Website: nicholsranchandorchards.com

Cadwallader Mountain Farms

Open daily beginning June 14 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. $5.00 per pound U-Pick Bing Cherries to start with. Rainer and Sour (pie) Cherries will ripen later in the season.

Buckets, ladders and bags available there. No credit cards, cash or check only. Pets are not allowed in the orchard.

Facebook: facebook.com/cadwalladermountainfarms
Website: cadwalladermountainfarms.com

How to Get There

13 Mountain Park Road, Mountain Park, New Mexico