Green Bluff - Fresh Fruit, Family Fun, Wine Tasting and More!
Jump to Fall, Wine Tasting
Spring and Summer
Spend
a day in Green Bluff picking delicious tree ripened fruit, wine tasting or browsing for some unique
gifts. You can even take a ride in a hay wagon into the orchard to pick your own. It's a great time
for the whole family.
Green Bluff is located northeast of Spokane and is an easy 30 minute drive from downtown Spokane.
The Greenbluff Growers association has been around since 1902 and is now made up of 31 farms. The unique thing is that the farms are concentrated in a 12 square mile area that makes up green bluff.
The summer growing season runs from May until November and is always a fun place to spend a day. There are farms that grow strawberries, cherries, apples, peaches and a host of other fruits and veggies and now there are a couple wineries that are also located in the area. That could be a nice diversion for Mom and Dad after spending a long day in the car with the kids or the in-laws.
We go to Greenbluff to pick peaches, apples, cherries and black berries that my wife cans or freezes to use for pies and other desserts. The farms that we frequent have been a reliable source for these fruit over the years and going to visit them has been a fun family diversion in the summer and fall. Please keep in mind that the growers that I mention are our favorites but there are many others that are equally as good.
One of our favorites is Hidden Acres which is located on Day Road on the east loop of the bluff. Since they are one of the larger growers we can usually find all of the fruit we are looking for in one place. They have a small country store where you can buy take home pies, jams and other goodies as well as fruit that is already picked and ready to take home. In the fall when the apples are are in season they have fun activities for the kids like hay rides, a corn maze and other fun activities.
Another of the larger growers is Harvest House located at the "T" of Day-Mt Spokane and Green Bluff Road. They have U-Pick as well as already picked fruit available in the country store.
They have made a lot of improvements to their operation over the years which has resulted in a very nice country store where you can buy your fruit already in a box or maybe pick up a fresh pie to take home.
There is also a nice covered patio where you can enjoy an ice cream or a full lunch from the Country Kitchen. One thing that I didn't know is that they have a wine area in the store where they offer wine tasting and also have a wine patio where you can enjoy that bottle of wine that you purchased while taking in the view of Mt Spokane and the orchards.
Fall in Green Bluff
In the fall things really pick up as the harvest is in full swing. Several of
the bigger farms have a full slate of entertainment especially during the month
of October. As
Halloween gets closer it's a great time to bring the kids up to Green Bluff to
pick out that special pumpkin.
We really enjoy going up early in the morning to buy freshly made pumpkin donuts at Harvest House. We once went up in the late afternoon and the line to buy donuts was so long that it was almost to the parking lot so I recommend going up early.
Harvest House stays open all the way until the end of December just before Christmas but give them a call to make sure they are still open.
The corn maze at Siemers Farm
Siemers Farm has a ton of activities for the whole family. There is a huge corn maze to navigate as well as two train rides that are fun for the whole family. The Little Toot is fun for the younger set and then there is the Big Toot for the bigger folks.
The Little Toot at Siemers Farm
They also have more than 50 arts a craft venders selling all kinds of unique gifts. They also have food venders selling everything from pizza to noodle bowls and of course fresh fruit and vegetables.
Walters farm has it's own rides as well as a corn cannon which launches corn cobs into orbit. The kids love the wiggle worm ride which consists of a segmented worm made out of 50 gallon drums towed by a tractor.
The Corn Cannon at Walters
There is also live entertainment going on as you buy that caramel apple or that box of apples to take home. There is more than enough fun for the whole family during the fall as each farm puts it's own spin on the harvest season.
Plan on visiting more than one farm because each one is unique in the way they celebrate the harvest. This is definitely a must-see day trip if you are in Spokane during the fall.
Live music at Walters
Wine Tasting in Green Bluff
Trezzi Farm
One grower that we recently discovered through a friend is Trezzi Farm (Green Bluff Grower #33). Davide & Stephanie Trezzi specialize in Northern Italian food and wine. They offer catering and also produce a selection of frozen Italian food that you can purchase at the barn to take home.
When you walk into their barn you a immediately hit with the wonderful smell of Italian food cooking. They have a list of different Italian sauces to choose from so we had to buy some to take home a try for ourselves.
It's tough job but somebody has to do it! It might as well be us.
We ended up buying some of the delicious meat balls in Marinara sauce, Polenta Marinara w/Cheese, and some Pesto sauce. So far all the items we have tried is top notch. We'll be returning for more.
They also have an Italian wine vineyard on the farm where they are producing
a Barbera wine that will be ready toward the end of October 2009.
Update: It looks like the tasting room won't be open until some time in November of 2009.
On the day we visited, Davide was working on the tasting room. I will definitely be back to see how it turns out.
If you visit them, tell them that Randy from Essential Spokane Guide sent you!
Visit their web site for more information and hours of operation.
Townshend Cellar
Townshend winery is located on a hill off of Greenbluff road and is great place to stop as you leave the bluff. The tasting room is open Fri, Sat and Sun from Noon until 6:00 pm. They have a nice tasting room where they offer a full selection of their wines to sample as well as a really nice selection of wine accessories and gifts. It seems like I always meet some nice people when I go wine tasting. Pictured below is a couple that I met from Seattle that were visiting for the weekend. All in all it was nice way to spend the afternoon. Nice company, great wine, what more could you ask for!
16112 N. Greenbluff Rd
Colbert WA, 99005
(509) 238 - 1400
Visit the Townshend Cellar web site for info.
