13 Alabama strawberry farms and festivals to visit this season

Published On: 03.17.24 |

By: Eric Velasco

13 Alabama strawberry farms and festivals to visit this season

It's almost strawberry-picking time at Alabama farms such as Sugar Hill Farms in Verbena. (Sugar Hill Farms)

When looking for the first signs of spring, some folks point to early flowers — blooming peach and cherry trees, daffodils, hyacinths and the lot. For me? The first fresh-picked, perfectly ripe Alabama strawberries mark the transition from dreary winter to the bounty of spring and summer.

From south to north, strawberry plants are now in full flower, some producing their first fruits of the season. Starting in late March, U-pick farms will open to the public. Some seasonal farmers markets also crank up because it’s strawberry season. Desserts featuring crimson berries from Cullman County farmer Trent Boyd and others will start appearing on restaurant menus by April.

Strawberry-themed fairs and festivals pick up when the season is at its peak, starting with the Baldwin County Strawberry Festival in Loxley on Saturday, April 13. At markets, Alabama strawberries should be available into June.

The Alabama Strawberry Festival in Cullman. (contributed)

Cullman County is, historically speaking, the state’s strawberry capital. Since the late 1800s, it has been one of the county’s primary cash crops. Even the water tower in the county seat, Cullman, was built to resemble a strawberry.

Cullman’s first fest honoring the fruit, then called the Strawberry Jubilee and Spring Carnival, dates to 1905. The city’s Strawberry Day has been celebrated since 1939 and was officially ratified by Gov. Kay Ivey in 2023 as the Alabama Strawberry Festival.

But the Conecuh County town of Castleberry also lays claim, politically speaking, as the Strawberry Capital of Alabama. The title was officially granted in 1987 by then-Gov. Guy Hunt (who, oddly enough, was from Cullman County).

Kathy Bowman picks strawberries in Clanton. (contributed)

Here are some U-pick farms to check out, and projected opening dates as the plants mature from south to north. A list of strawberry festivals follows.