The Eugene farmers market scene is one of those things locals take for granted until they move away and realize nowhere else has a Saturday like this. Downtown fills up with produce, crafts, buskers, and people who've clearly planned their whole week around it. If you're staying in town for a weekend, build a Saturday morning around it. Here's how, plus the u-pick farms worth the short drive.
Saturday Market and Lane County Farmers Market
These are two markets sharing one downtown block, and even locals mix them up. The Lane County Farmers Market is the food half: produce, cheese, eggs, bread, flowers, meat. The Eugene Saturday Market, running since 1970, is the craft and food-cart half, with a stage and the kind of tie-dye you can't get anywhere else. Both run Saturdays from April through mid-November, roughly 10am to 4pm for the crafts and 9am to 3pm for the farmers. Park in the garage on Broadway or bike in; the surface lots fill by 10.
The Farmers Market also runs a Tuesday market in summer, and a smaller winter market in the Lane Events Center, so you can find local produce almost year-round. Bring cash for the small stands, though most take cards now.
What's in season, roughly
- April to May: asparagus, rhubarb, greens, the first strawberries near the end of May
- June: strawberries, cherries, snap peas, early blueberries
- July: blueberries, raspberries, marionberries (Oregon's own blackberry), apricots
- August: peaches, tomatoes, corn, melons, the good stuff
- September to October: apples, pears, grapes, winter squash, hazelnuts
- November onward: storage crops, greens, and chanterelles if it's been raining
U-pick farms worth the drive
The Willamette Valley grows more berries than anywhere in the country, and a lot of the farms let you pick your own. Most are 15 to 30 minutes from town. Check each farm's Facebook or phone line the morning you go; u-pick hours shift with the ripening and sometimes close early when a field gets picked out.
Detering Orchards in Harrisburg, about 25 minutes north, is the big one. Peaches in August, apples and a full pumpkin patch in fall, with a farm store and cider. Weekends in October get busy. Go on a weekday if you can.
Thistledown Farm off River Road on the north edge of Eugene is the closest, with strawberries and blueberries in summer and a huge pumpkin patch in October. Easy with kids and dogs on leash.
Adkins Blueberry Farm and the cluster of blueberry farms around Junction City and Coburg open in July. Bring your own containers and a hat; blueberry rows have no shade.
Lone Pine Farms in Junction City is the fall destination: corn maze, hayrides, pumpkins, and a market with pies. Their strawberry u-pick in June is good too.
Wine country is farm country
The South Willamette wineries around Lorane and Cottage Grove sit in the same rolling hills as the orchards, so an afternoon of u-pick pairs naturally with a tasting or two. King Estate, Sweet Cheeks, and Silvan Ridge all have patios with views and most welcome dogs outside. Peaches in the trunk, pinot in hand. That's a proper Lane County Saturday.
Where to cook it all
The whole point of a market haul is a kitchen to bring it home to. The Eugene House has a full kitchen, a fenced backyard for the dog, and it's a short drive from downtown, so you can be back with your berries before they get warm. It sleeps six across four bedrooms, which is the right size for a group that argues about who gets the last peach.
For the rest of what's happening in town, from Spencer Butte to Ducks games, browse our Eugene things-to-do page. We keep it current.
One warning from experience: do not buy the marionberries "for later." There is no later. They'll be gone in the car.