Go Citrus Picking in Florida

Growing up in Canada, I always loved apple picking in Autumn. It was interesting to see where my food came from and get involved in the process of bringing it to my table – not to mention all of the fun activities the orchards usually had, including corn mazes, petting zoos, and wagon ride. When I had an upcoming vacation to Florida, I knew that I wanted to check out an orange grove to go citrus picking – something I could never do back home.

Showcase of Citrus

We spent our first day in Florida in the Orlando area, and decided to visit Showcase of Citrus in Clermont (about 40 minutes from the Orlando airport). They have a U-Pick citrus farm, where you can pick your own citrus, including oranges, grapefruit, lemon, and lime (depending on the season).

When we arrived, we were greeted by friendly staff that instructed us how their U-Pick Citrus Farm worked. We bought a small bag for around $10, which we were allowed fill with different types of citrus. They gave us a map that detailed where to find each type of citrus, but there was plenty of signage to keep us on the right track. We decided to walk over to the section of Valencia oranges because they were in season during our visit. When we were walking over, we passed by their petting zoo and took a few minutes to look at the pigs and the alpacas.

It was quite tricky to find good oranges to pick. Many of them were green and not ripe enough to pick, or were overripe and mushy. After about 20 minutes of walking around (& taking pictures for Instagram), we were only able to find 2 oranges the passed our tests. Luckily, Showcase of Citrus also has pre-picked oranges that you can add to your bag if you don’t have the time to search for the perfect fruit (or are overheating from the Florida sun!). Definitely plan to be there for a few hours if you want to pick all of your own citrus.

Other Activities

The Showcase of Citrus also has some other fun activities, such as a monster truck rides and gem mines. We also took the time to try some freshly squeezed frozen orange juice – which really hit the spot after spending some time in the sweltering heat in the groves. They offered a variety of orange flavoured snacks and beverages – the orange blossom honey seemed particularly intriguing.

I’d recommend checking out an orange grove if you’re looking for something different to do in Florida. There are so many theme parks and big developed tourist attractions, so it was nice to have sometime to explore the outdoors and the fauna that’s unique to the area.