Arnhem occupies a privileged position between two completely different landscapes: the forested hills of the Veluwe to the north and the fertile river clay soils of the Betuwe directly south of the Rhine. The Betuwe is the largest fruit-growing region in the Netherlands, with endless rows of apple and pear orchards that turn white and pink with blossom in spring. Along the banks of the Rhine and the Waal you’ll find farms that have been growing fruit for generations and are increasingly open to pickers. Arnhem thus offers the unique combination of nature on the Veluwe and fresh fruit harvesting in the Betuwe, just twenty minutes’ drive from the city centre.
U-Pick Farms around Arnhem
Around Arnhem, Elst, Huissen, Bemmel and Rheden you’ll find a variety of pick-your-own farms and fruit orchards where you are very welcome. You can pick apples, pears, cherries and strawberries in a beautiful river landscape at the foot of the Veluwe. You can also browse u-pick farms across all of Gelders .
The best u-pick farms near Arnhem: our picks
Arnhem has the Veluwezoom at one side and the Betuwe at the other — a geographical luxury meaning you can cycle towards forest and towards orchards without really leaving the city behind. The picking gardens benefit from both: forests provide shelter, the river clay provides fertility.
One and a half kilometres from the centre, in an urban setting that surprises, Pluktuin ‘Uit de tuin van de buren’ offers organic flowers and perennials from May to October. You know the other pickers, you know the garden — and your bouquet feels different for it.
Six kilometres from the centre, Plukbos Paardenspeelwei is a communal food forest with an unusually broad range — apples, apricots, kiwi, hazelnuts, berries, raspberries. From May to February there is almost always something to harvest in the layered structure of this productive plot.
In Wageningen, fourteen kilometres towards the Betuwe, Stadsakker Wageningen functions as a full self-harvest garden: accessible around the clock, with strawberries, garlic, fennel, courgette and dozens of others. The Wageningen soil — beside the research centre that has shaped Dutch agriculture — feels almost symbolic.
Pluktuin de Bosrand in Wageningen combines flowers, vegetables, fruit and tea herbs on a single plot, from April to November. Quieter than the city allotment, with the forest edge as a substantial backdrop.
In Ressen, de Woerdt has opened its Betuwe orchard: apples and pears from low-impact growing, with a farm shop carrying cherries and plums in season.
Tip: visit Plukbos Paardenspeelwei early in the season — the apricots ripen in June and are extremely rare to pick anywhere in the Netherlands.