An Afternoon at Green Bluff

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Visiting Green Bluff is a Spokane tradition. Whether you grew up here and visited as a kid,  or visited as an adult at the suggestion of friends/family/coworkers, going to Green Bluff at least once is a must. However, there are so many farms and places to visit at Green Bluff – at least 30! What if you only have a few hours to spend one afternoon at Green Bluff?

Green Bluff Growers website has an excellent list of all of the Green Bluff farms, wineries, things to do, etc. but it’s not always clear which places are open and when. Generally, almost every farm on Green Bluff will be open in the summer and fall, but there are some exceptions. 

This list isn’t necessarily “the top” places to visit in Green Bluff – but they’re great, delicious and typically open during the week and weekends. If you only have a few hours to spend at Green Bluff and don’t want to search for individual farms’ availability, this list will steer you in the right direction to finding something fun and open.

Visiting Green Bluff in the fall? It’s a totally different experience! Read our review on fall in Spokane to learn what to expect, or check out our video on Green Bluff in the fall: Your Guide to Green Bluff in the Fall

 

First, the History of Green Bluff

Green Bluff has been around for over 100 years, and is now known as Green Bluff Growers. Green Bluff Growers is made up of small family farms and food stands. Green Bluff hosts events almost all year round, from Blooms on the Bluff in the spring to Holiday Memories in the later part of the year.

If you don’t really know what Green Bluff is or why you should be excited about it, let me tell you. If you’ve never picked your own fresh apple, peach, or strawberry, or if you’ve always lived in the city but wanted to enjoy nature and farms – you have to visit Green Bluff. You don’t have to pick fruit if you don’t want to – plenty of farms sell their fresh-picked produce at the stand. However, if you want to get your hands dirty for an afternoon, that’s an option too!

Not sure when your favorite fruit is in season? Green Bluff provides this handy sheet for you (below):

Green Bluff is comprised of around 30 farms, all within a 12 square mile area. Almost all year round you can find another fruit or vegetable to pick, from strawberries in June, cherries in July, apricots in August and apples in September. There are pumpkins, Christmas trees – and did I mention wine and cider? You can find a full list of growers here.

Map of an Afternoon at Green Bluff

You can find the full map for Green Bluff (as of 2019) here and take a look at our top recommendations for an afternoon at Green Bluff below.

 

High Country Orchard

If there is one place you should bring guests to, it’s High Country Orchard at Green Bluff. High Country Orchard has fruits, vegetables, apple butter, jams, honey, candles and so much more. Did I also mention High Country Orchard is in this really cute barn and has lunch options? It’s basically the perfect place to bring out-of-town guests – and get your fruit and veggies fix!

High Country Orchard at Green Bluff is open daily March 31 – December 23. Their hours do change depending on the season, and in the fall they are open from:

• 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday
• 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday
• 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

My tips for visiting High Country? Take your parents there, especially if they love getting unique gifts for friends. High Country has one of the best, cutest gift shops around! Also, visit during lunch. High Country has gourmet paninis and sandwiches – for around $8-9 per sandwich, you’ll get a hot sandwich with french fries and a piece of fruit!

What about special events at High Country? From August through October, High Country has hay rides, a pumpkin patch, a hay maze, rides and live music – plus, on the weekends High Country sets up a little farmer’s market with vendors!

Beck’s Harvest House

Do you love everything pumpkin, especially during the fall? Do you love donuts? Then you have to visit Beck’s Harvest House! Harvest House is impossible to miss on your way through Green Bluff, as it is next to the Green Bluff General Store and is at the end of the Day Mount Spokane Rd. – if you’re driving up on N. Day Mount Spokane Rd., you literally cannot miss Beck’s Harvest House!

What should you do at Harvest House? There is so much to see and do, but a few things I highly recommend:

• If you get there early enough on Friday through Sunday (9 a.m. until noon), get the World Famous Pumpkin Donuts!
• Take a frozen pie home to take and bake! We’ve tried the Huckleberry-Apple (delicious), Raspberry-Apple (very good) and the Cherry (amazing!) so far. You really can’t go wrong with any of the pie options, and the instructions to bake them are clear and easy to follow.
• Get some wine or cider to take home! If Twilight Cider Works is closed, you can always pick some up at Beck’s Harvest House (just take a left and head to the back once you get inside).

The Harvest House is open daily for the following:

Breakfast Hours: 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Lunch Hours: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Store Hours: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

What about special events at Harvest House? Oh boy, get ready for this! The Fall Harvest Festival begins September 22 and ends October 28. This Harvest Festival will have:

• a giant corn maze
• a smaller hay maze
• cow train ride
• pedal cars
• BBQ
• giant jump pillow
• old tractor

Plus food, music, and so much more! Adult and kids tickets are $10 and children under 2 are free. If you purchase your tickets online, you’ll get $1 off.

This year a percentage of tickets sold goes to Camp Stix, an organization that helps children with Type 1 Diabetes build relationships within their T1D community through camps.

You might want to get to the Fall Festival early though! Harvest House has a ton of parking, but the fall festival was already heating up when we went to visit – and the festival hadn’t even begun yet!

Sunset Orchard on Green Bluff

Sunset Orchard is near High Country Orchard, making it the perfect place to stop by before or after lunch. Sunset Orchard has a farm stand (which means you can buy the produce they picked) and a U-Pick area where you can pick your own produce.

Sunset Orchard is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday and after hours upon appointment. To find out what they have in season right now, follow Sunset Orchard on Facebook or visit their website.

In addition, Sunset Orchard also has wreathes and Christmas trees (plus pumpkins for Halloween or baking), so if you’re looking for a place to get your tree, definitely visit Sunset Orchard!

Can’t make it to Sunset Orchard? You can also find them at Farmer’s Markets in the following locations:

• Liberty Lake
• Emerson-Garfield
• Perry Street
• Millwood
• Fairwood
• Hillyard

Walter’s Fruit Ranch

Walter’s Fruit Ranch is a little out of the way compared to the three places listed above, but don’t let that deter you! Walter’s Fruit Ranch has fruit (how could you tell?) as well as produce, a cafe, a play area for kids, and more.

Walter’s Fruit Ranch is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – and their cafe is open during the same hours. My suggestion? Visit Walter’s in the morning and try their huckleberry pancakes! You can always visit Beck’s Harvest House after and take those pumpkin donuts home for later.

Townshend Cellar

Visiting Green Bluff on a weekend? Then you can’t miss visiting Townshend Cellar! It’s the perfect way to end a busy day on the Bluff. Try a flight or even just a glass, then sit down outside and enjoy the view – or enjoy it from the warm indoors!

For the Townshend location and full list of wine varieties, visit their website here.

Go Visit Green Bluff

Green Bluff is amazing, particularly in the fall. If you love apples, pumpkins, fresh fruit and veggies before the cold, cold winter – visit Green Bluff! The locations listed above are just several of the many delightful and delicious places to visit on Green Bluff.

If you only have a few hours, I highly recommend checking out one or all of the places listed above. You’re almost guaranteed to find them open (even during the week) and you can reliably get delicious produce. That said, there are a ton of other places to visit at Green Bluff, too! Take the whole day (Saturdays or Sundays are the best days), drive slow, and stop in at any open place that looks appealing.

You won’t go wrong taking parents and/or out-of-town guests to Green Bluff. It’s fun, unique, delicious and a very Spokane-thing to do. Is there a Green Bluff location I missed? Remember to reach out on Facebook and let me know!