Start the scenic Union County Farm Loop at Avella Orchard, 2807 N. Fir Street, La Grande. Begun in the 1950s, the 2-acre orchard within the city limits boasts over 250 unusual, rare and local pioneer fruit and nut trees. Tours by arrangement. www.avellaorchard.blogspot.com

Next stop is Evergreen Family Farm, 62402 Evergreen Road, La Grande, where the whole family uses organic practices to grow vegetables, fruit and cut flowers. You can also find them at the La Grande Farmers Market, Saturday mornings in downtown La Grande.

Head north of La Grande on Hunter Road to find Mount Emily Farmstead, where Hanoverion horses compete for your attention with eggs, goat milk, sauerkraut, native plants and flowers, dried herbs, garlic and garden produce. Call 541.786.6015 before visiting to ensure the farmers are available.

Cross the broad and fertile Grande Ronde Valley and wind along the base of the mountains to pass the location of the annual Pick‘N Patch. Open all of October, under bright blue skies, Frisch Farms’ invites you to explore the corn maze and choose from a huge selection of pumpkins and fall décor to take home and enjoy. The corn maze can be seen from the road in various stages throughout summer. www.facebook.com/PickNPatchfarm

Union County Farm Loop map 2020 digital

You’ve found your way to Cove, a sleepy little town that stretches its arms up the steep sides of Mt. Fanny and is best known for sweet cherries. There are six farm stands to visit here, with products ranging from garlic ristras to honey, garden greens to local fruits, vegetables, eggs, raw goat milk, flowers and fruit preserves. Bring a cooler so you can stock up! Nella Mae’s Farm Stand is open 24/7 and self-serve. Almosta Farm welcomes visitors and lodgers to their guest rental year-round – just contact them in advance. Contact the other farms for their hours and days or to arrange a visit.

Owners of Apple Spring Micro Farm in Cove say they love having children visit. “Our alpacas are friendly, our gardens are beautiful, our spring fed stream is clean water…all neat things for kids to explore!” says Dana Dobbs. Visitors also find delicious freshly baked treats, fruits and veggies picked that morning, and a special take away item for the kids!

If you call in advance, you can arrange a tour of the Grande Ronde Goat Dairy, between the towns of Cove and Union. This dairy milks around 800 does, using a rotary milking system, and sends its milk to California to be made into gourmet cheese you can find in your supermarket or specialty food store. There are often adorable goat kids to cuddle during tours. This is a working dairy, so please call or text before you visit: 541.805.9622.

In Union, stop by Platz Family Farm stand and fill the rest of the cooler with fruit, eggs and vegetables from the large, well organized garden and greenhouse. You will also find locally made crafts, jams and jellies and frozen beef from just down the road. Open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., late May through October. www.platzfamilyfarm.com 

Just across the highway is Cat’s Paw Mercantile, an easy to spot little white building with pink trim, flowers and a big metal horse in the parking lot. It’s filled with colorful and fragrant goat milk soaps, lotions and pet potions, small-batch sauces and salsas and much more. Most of the products are made from ingredients produced at the on-site farm. Take time to giggle at the gaggle of domestic geese and watch the goats at play. www.catspawfarm.com

Still want more time down on the farm? Prearrange a visit with “Babydoll Southdown” sheep and learn about felting wool at Ladd View Ranch, www.laddviewbabydollsheep.com or tour a beef cattle operation at Boothman Ranch (call or text 541.962.9287 to tour), both on Hot Lake Lane.

Back in downtown La Grande, stop at Community Merchants to stock the freezer with local beef, pork, lamb and chicken, or pick up a souvenir from a local artist or craft maker. Treat yourself with gelato ice cream, made on-site. www.facebook.com/CommunityMerchants 

Click to view and download the Union County Farm Loop map 2020 digital.

La Grande Farmers’ Market:  This lively market has grown in recent years and offers a wonderful way to spend Saturday mornings. In addition to lots of fresh produce, enjoy live music and shop for crafts and baked goods. The market runs through October 20, from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturdays, and Tuesdays, from 3:30 to 6 p.m., in Max Square, at the corner of Fourth and Adams in downtown La Grande. September 22 is Kids Day at the market, where kids can have a free booth space from which to sell their products and creations. Kids can also shop for free that day.

With the Cove-Union Farm Loop brochure as your guide, enjoy the countryside while checking out what is fresh at these favorite stops:

 Platz Family Farm stand has a wide variety of vegetables, including squash, beets, peppers, sweet corn, lots of tomatoes, carrots, flowers, frozen berries, raspberry syrup and jam, local crafts and much more. Find  homemade bread and scones on Fridays. Located at the north end of Union, where their beautiful garden is visible from Highway 203 but accessed via North First Street, the farm stand will be open mostly on Fridays 10-6:30 through the fall season. They will probably close in mid to late October. They are open on Mondays for just a couple more weeks and can usually be found at the La Grande Farmers’ Market.

If you haven’t yet discovered Cats Paw Farm Mercantile in Union, now is a great time to stop by the charming little shop on the north edge of Union. Owner R’Chel is a very busy entrepreneur, using products grown in her own garden and pasture next door to create a myriad of beauty and food products. She recently provided the following news:

• Herb tea blends and spice herbs are constantly being crafted and restocked as she continues to harvest and air dry their spray-free herb crops.
• This summer’s Peach Mustard is available and R’Chel debut a Jalapeño Mustard soon. Shoppers will find around a dozen mustard flavors that the shop crafts and stocks year round.
• The shop has added three new Shrub Syrup Concentrate flavors this summer, bringing the selection to 9 flavors. Added to your bottled or domestic drinking water, shrubs are a great way to get your daily water intake with the added benefit of electrolytes and a vitamin boost in an all-natural, product, crafted from spray-free local fruit.
• An End of Summer Soap Sale is underway to make room for all the fall and holiday soaps currently curing. Get 40% off on selected bars. They are converting to eco-sustainable packaging-all plastic packaged skin care, hair care, lotions and liquid soaps are marked down to 30% and below.

Cats Paw Farm Mercantile is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Entering Union from LG, take a right into the parking lot just after crossing the Little Creek bridge. From North Powder, go through Union towards La Grande and turn into the last driveway on the left before the Little Creek Bridge.

Cove has lots to offer people who are following the Cove-Union Farm Loop, including Nella Mae’s Farm Stand on Antles Lane, which is self-serve, open every day from April through October, and offers fresh produce, fruit and eggs, from the nearby farm and other local producers. Be sure to pick up a suggested recipe for serving what’s fresh!

The Plantworks has brought back their plant stand on Lantz Lane in Cove, offering native plants and also a few fire resistant non-native plants. The greenhouse grows plants for environmental rehab and watershed projects. Pick up a few hardy plants for your landscaping. The stand is self-serve and prices are listed.

The Pick‘N Patch, 62816 Lower Cove Rd. near Cove, opens to the public Friday, October 5. They will be open Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays from 10 to 4 through the month of October. Also open by appointment only and for school trips, Monday thru Thursday. Contact Dian Frisch, 541-786-2421. It is a U-pick pumpkin patch with lots of sizes to choose from. There are also straw bales, corn stalks and wheat bundles for fall decorating needs.

If you are following the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway to Wallowa County, pick up a copy of the Wallowa Barn Tour and see the beautiful and historic structures in all corners of the county.

One of the highlights, Liza Jane’s Farm Stand at 6 Ranch, is always a great place to stop, located at a Century Farm at 87161 Hwy 82, on the north side of the highway nearing Enterprise. It’s open 24/7 and self-serve; with fresh produce, honey, eggs, and herb garden, local grass fed meats (beef, lamb, pork, chicken & goat), fresh bread and handmade soaps.

The Wallowa County Farmers’ Market is held Saturdays from 9-2, in Joseph, Memorial Day through half of October. There’s live music, crafts and produce booths, in one of the most scenic towns in the West.  The WCFM is hosting a Harvest Dinner fundraiser on Saturday, September 22. The fall schedule also includes an apple cider press, October 6. See the website and flyer for more information.

Also, Slow Food Wallowas is putting on an event called Pig-nic: A Hog Harvest Festival, October 6, from 1-4 p.m. at Barking Mad Farm Bed & Breakfast on Alder Slope. More info on Facebook.

This time of year, Ruby Peak Naturals, a store in Enterprise carries a good amount of local food.

In Baker City, Val’s Veggies is a large farm stand located in a small red barn on Campbell Street, across the street from the Baker Heritage Museum. There is always a wonderful selection of produce and fruit from Val’s Medical Springs farm, as well as from other regional producers. The Val’s Veggies Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch opens October 1, at the farm, 44889 Houghton Creek Road, Baker City, Oregon. It’s worth the drive!

The Baker Farmer’s Market is held every Wednesday from June 6 through September 26, from 3 to 6:30 p.m., and October 3 through 24, from 2 to 5 p.m., in the courtyard at the Baker County Fairgrounds Event Center, 2600 East Street, Baker City, Oregon.  ​

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The tour includes suggested stops to view the agriculture exhibits at the Union County Museum, experience a livestock auction and pick up some garden or farm supplies while rubbing elbows with cowboys and farmers. Purveyors offer fresh cut flowers, fruit and produce, and you can find out how to fill your freezer with pasture-fed poultry, pork, eggs and beef. Heck, you can make a day of it, exploring the beautiful valley and picking up everything you need for dinner along the way. Or, get to know the growers (They’re very friendly!) and make a beeline straight to your favorite local source instead of the supermarket!

Some farm stands are self-serve on the honor system while the hours and days of others vary and some stops are seasonal. But you can call ahead to see if certain stops are open when you plan to visit.

See the Cove-Union Farm Loop map on at www.VisitEasternOregon.com or pick up a copy at the Historic Union Hotel or Union County Museum in Union, at the Union County Chamber of Commerce, 207 Depot Street, La Grande, or Tuesday evening or Saturday morning at the La Grande Farmer’s Market (an exceptional market and local best-kept secret!). Contact us for a digital version of the Farm Loop map.