Agritourism in Western North Carolina

In America, agritourism is wide-spread and includes any farm open to the public at least part of the year. Tourists can pick fruits and vegetables, ride horses, taste honey, learn about wine, shop in farm gift shops and farm stands for local and regional produce or hand-crafted gifts. Such "U-pick" farms were at their most popular in the 1970s. Other terms associated with agritourism are "farm direct marketing", "sustainable agriculture" and "agritainment".

In Western North Carolina they are using agritourism to develop their local economy, craft trades, and educate their visitors to current agriculture practices. On the web site, Home Made in America, they look at agritourism this way, "…this niche market not only assists communities with solutions to help diversify their economic base, but it also helps our regional urban centers and increasingly suburban populations to understand the important role that farming and rural life plays in our history, by highlighting the need for it in our contemporary society. Agri-tourism projects reinforce the need to support local growers and sources and allow the visitor to experience what it is to be part of the land…"

This past weekend, our family ventured to Queen's Berry Farm on the Davidson River in Pisgah Forest, where we picked blackberries and blueberries. It was a wonderful learning experience for our two little boys and we would recommend it to anyone visiting or living in WNC!

Queens is a twelve-acre farm offering U-pick black raspberries, red raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. They have many vegetables, fruits, flowers, eggs and honey in season. The season starts in April with asparagus and rhubarb. It ends in the fall with potatoes. Eggs are available all year. You can visit their website at http://www.queensberryfarm.com/

For more information visit http://www.ncfarmfresh.com/. North Carolina Farm Fresh is a directory of pick-your-own farms, roadside farm markets, and farmers markets throughout North Carolina. It is designed to help the consumer, find the freshest locally grown fruits, vegetables, Christmas trees, ornamental plants, flowers, and herbs.