Agritourism & Farm Experiences near Rochester, MN

Rochester

Chester Berry Farm grows eight acres of strawberries on the southeast edge of Rochester, with pick-your-own rows and pre-picked berries harvested fresh daily. The season generally runs June into August, weather permitting, and the farm also sells other fruits and vegetables as they come in. It takes cash and checks. Ripening varies year to year, so call ahead before picking.

Rochester

Tonya and Dean took over the former Sterling Fruit Farm in 2010 and grow strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and concord grapes on the northeast side of Rochester. They skip chemical sprays entirely, using cover crops, rotation, and compost to keep the soil healthy. June brings one heavy strawberry crop over two to three weeks. The farm also sells honey, jam, and naturally dyed yarn, with fruit now sold pre-picked rather than U-pick.

Eyota

Ron Dickie has grown strawberries here for about 45 years, working roughly 10 acres of June-bearing plants that ripen around mid-June. The farm also raises non-GMO asparagus and raspberries and skips pesticides. It now operates under the name Bear Creek Farm. Pick-your-own runs a short early-summer window in southeast Minnesota's Olmsted County, just outside Rochester. Call ahead for patch conditions before driving out.

Byron

Now closed. Tweite's Family Farm operated for about 31 years off U.S. Highway 14 in Byron before shutting down after its 2019 fall season. It grew from a pumpkin patch into a large seasonal fun park, with a 12-acre corn maze, a 22-acre play area, and a big pumpkin field. The site drew families across southeast Minnesota each autumn. It no longer operates.

Hammond

Surin Farms grows sweet corn, melons, squash, and a range of Asian and other specialty fruits and vegetables in the countryside between Hammond and Zumbro Falls, southeast of Rochester. The farm also cuts and sells firewood. Its listings point to specialty Asian produce grown alongside Midwest staples like sweet corn. Contact the farm to check what's ready and where it sells through the season.

Byron

Tweite's Pumpkin Patch grows pumpkins and mums outside Byron, west of Rochester, and cuts a 12-acre corn maze each fall. Straw bales, corn shocks, and a lineup of family activities round out the season. One directory lists it as closed, so confirm the current year's hours before visiting.

Mazeppa

Apple Ridge Orchard & Vineyard operated north of Rochester near Mazeppa for 42 years, offering u-pick apples, grapes, and pumpkins. The owners announced their retirement and closed the business, according to the farm's Facebook page. This is a closed operation, not an active orchard — confirm before making the drive.

Chatfield

Berry and Bloom Farm bills itself as southeast Minnesota's only u-pick blueberry and flower farm, growing both on the same ground outside Chatfield. Beyond berry picking, the farm sells bouquets, runs seasonal workshops, plants a sunflower field, and hosts an annual festival. It's a farm built around two crops that don't usually share an acre.

Hayfield

An education and petting farm 17 miles southwest of Rochester, open since 2013 with chickens, goats, sheep, turkeys, donkeys, llamas, alpacas, and miniature ponies. Kids climb the silo, jump on straw bales, drive pedal tractors, and pick pumpkins in the fall. The farm runs public hours, group tours, birthday parties, and four-day summer camps for ages 4 to 12, and rents out a mobile petting zoo. Find it on State Highway 30.

Spring Valley

Whispering Winds holds an agritourism listing on West Park Street in Spring Valley, in the bluff country of Fillmore County in southeastern Minnesota. The surrounding area is known for Amish farms, rolling cropland, and nearby Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park. No website or specific details could be confirmed, so verify what's offered before visiting.

Lake City

Roper Pumpkin Patch grew pumpkins, melons, and squash on Orchard Lane in Lake City, including an 18-acre planting in 2009. A pumpkin-patch directory notes the operation stopped growing pumpkins and closed permanently around 2018. Confirm current status before planning a visit.

West Concord

Broody Hen Farm sells fertile hatching eggs and heritage chicken breeds from West Concord in southern Minnesota. The focus is small-flock poultry: rare and heritage birds bred for hatching rather than commercial egg volume. The farm also hosts farm-to-table gatherings and hands-on visits through the season.

Lanesboro

Big Springs Farm runs a ten-acre corn maze with multiple trail routes on an active farm outside Lanesboro, alongside a u-pick pumpkin patch and more than 20 other activities — a goat pen, sunflower field, jump pad, and corn pit among them. One admission covers everything on-site. The farm opens weekends and MEA breaks from mid-September through Halloween.

Utica