The Western View: Fruit Trail

Taylor Hillman Features, Western View


It’s time for the Fresno County Fruit Trail. This is a self-guided tour through the fruit-growing region of southeast Fresno County. Like you I’m sure, I have my favorite fruit and vegetable stands, but when I saw their website I thought it might be a good thing for when company comes and wants to look around. Then I saw just how much the tour has to offer, and it’s definitely worth the time. There’s a lot to this Fruit Trail.

Western View
There are over 40 stops, including fruit stands on family farms, some 15 strawberry stands, several farmer’s markets, vegetable stands, places with selections of all the nuts we grow here, some unique local wineries, several unique stores – places like the Mennonite Quilt Center, Garry’s country store, Circle K Ranch, and more. It’s a cornucopia of all the wonderful things we grow here and ship around the world.

The Fresno County Fruit Trail was created by a partnership between elected officials and civic leaders as well as farmers in Eastern Fresno County. The organizers include Fresno County and the Cities and Chambers of Commerce of Clovis, Fowler, Kingsburg, Orange Cove, Reedley, Sanger, and Selma. The idea was to not only create an attraction for the out-of-towners on their way to Kings Canyon or Yosemite – it was also to create a list of places the folks from Fresno could go to get the very freshest fruits and vegetables. And it works. You’ll find local folks mingling with the occasional busload of tourists that hit the bigger stands on the main roads.

The Fruit Trail celebrates the beauty, flavor and culture of this region. It’s amazing to see what we grow here – even those of us that work in agriculture are impressed. So the next time you need a break from the routine, get on your computer and go to www.gofruittrail.com and print out the map. Then come enjoy what your neighbors are growing – the orchards full of ripe fruit literally bursting with flavor. It’s Nature’s best, California Grown, from one of the biggest agricultural counties in the world.

I’m Len WIlcox and that’s the Western View from AgNet West.