Why Queensland strawberries peak in winter — and where to pick them on the Sunshine Coast
While Victoria and South Australia are still weeks from their first strawberry, the hinterland behind the Sunshine Coast is already picking theirs. Southern Queensland's strawberry belt runs on a different clock to the rest of the country — winter, not summer, is the season — and the paddocks scattered between Glass House Mountains, Landers Shoot and Caboolture are the reason. Here's which farms are actually open, what they charge, and how to build a day trip out of it from Brisbane.
Why Queensland strawberries ripen in winter, not summer
Ask anyone in Victoria or South Australia when strawberry season starts and they'll say spring, building to a peak around Christmas. The Sunshine Coast hinterland runs the opposite calendar. Strawberry runners go into the ground around March and April as a winter annual crop, and the fruit ripens through the dry, mild months from roughly June to October or November. The subtropical heat and humidity of a Queensland summer are hard on strawberry plants — they favour rot and fungal disease over fruit — so growers here treat winter as the growing window rather than the off-season. It's why the district shows up on lists of what's ripening in July and August, long before the southern states get started, and why the Sunshine Coast hinterland is the answer if you're searching for strawberry picking in the middle of a Brisbane winter. (The elevated Granite Belt around Stanthorpe, cool enough to run on the southern calendar instead, is the exception that proves the rule.)
Sunshine Coast strawberry farms at a glance
Four real, currently operating pick-your-own strawberry farms anchor a trip out of Brisbane: two in the Sunshine Coast hinterland around Glass House Mountains, and two more in Brisbane and South-East Queensland worth folding into the same drive. Details below are what each farm has published or told us directly.
| Farm | Location | Season window | Price | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glass House Tropical Fruits | Glass House Mountains | Roughly May/Jun–Nov, peak Aug–Sep | $15 per 500g at season start, expected to ease later in the season | Not stated — call ahead |
| A & C Berry Farm | Landers Shoot | Roughly Jun–early Oct | $15 per kg | Not required; open Tue, Wed, Sat, Sun only |
| Chambers Flat Strawberry Farm | Chambers Flat (Logan) | Farm open Jun–Nov; pick-your-own typically Aug–Oct | ~$15 adult (500g incl.), ~$7.50 child, ~$24/kg extra fruit | Recommended, via Rezdy/Ticketebo |
| Oasis Berries | Caboolture | Pick-your-own Sep–Oct, tied to annual Strawberry Festival | Not published | Recommended |
Glass House Mountains: the heart of the season
The Glass House Mountains hinterland, roughly an hour north of Brisbane on the Sunshine Coast's southern edge, is where the winter strawberry season is most concentrated, with the region's volcanic peaks as a backdrop to most of the picking rows.
Glass House Tropical Fruits
Glass House Tropical Fruits opened on a 65-acre property in June 2026 and is described as the Sunshine Coast's only season-long pick-your-own strawberry farm, rather than a short weekend patch. Picking runs roughly May or June through to November, peaking August-September, with strawberries priced at $15 per 500g at the start of the season — farm representatives have said the rate is expected to ease toward normal market pricing as production ramps up through winter. Alongside the strawberry rows, the farm has planted a young lychee orchard (not yet fruiting) and grows sunflowers and vegetables, so a picking day here can turn into a flower stop too, depending on what's blooming. It's rated kid-friendly. Exact daily hours aren't published, so it's worth checking their socials before you drive out.
A & C Berry Farm
A little further into the hinterland at Landers Shoot, roughly twenty minutes past Glass House Mountains, A & C Berry Farm picks strawberries for a flat $15 a kilogram across a season that typically runs from June into early October — a 2023 farm social media post flagged that year's season wrapping up in early October, which lines up with the broader regional pattern. The farm keeps a tighter opening pattern than most: Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday only, 8:30am to 5pm, and it closes entirely outside strawberry season since it doesn't run other crops. That makes it a plan-ahead visit rather than a spontaneous one — check which days it's open before building it into a hinterland trip.
Two more worth the detour: Caboolture and Chambers Flat
If you're driving up from Brisbane rather than basing yourself in the hinterland, two more real strawberry farms sit closer to the city and are easy to fold into the same day, or treat as a shorter outing on their own.
Oasis Berries, Caboolture
Oasis Berries at Caboolture, about 45 minutes north of Brisbane and roughly halfway to the Glass House Mountains on the Bruce Highway, runs its pick-your-own patch around its annual Strawberry Festival, typically through September and October. It's rated kid-friendly and booking is recommended, with picking days and festival dates announced through the farm's Facebook and Instagram rather than a fixed calendar, so it's worth following @oasis_berries_pyo before planning a visit around it.
Chambers Flat Strawberry Farm
South of Brisbane at Chambers Flat, in Logan, Chambers Flat Strawberry Farm keeps the farm open June through November, with pick-your-own sessions typically running August to October. Entry is around $15 for adults (including a 500g punnet) and $7.50 for children aged three to twelve (including a 250g punnet), with infants free and extra fruit priced at roughly $24 a kilogram. Sessions are booked online through Rezdy or Ticketebo, and it's worth reserving ahead — the farm runs on timed slots rather than an open gate, seven days a week during season.
The drive from Brisbane
Glass House Mountains sits roughly an hour north of the Brisbane CBD via the Bruce Highway and Steve Irwin Way, with Landers Shoot a further twenty minutes or so into the hinterland, putting both farms within a comfortable day-trip radius. Caboolture is closer again, about 45 minutes north, which makes Oasis Berries an easy stop on the way through if you're continuing on to the Glass House Mountains afterwards. Chambers Flat runs the other direction, roughly 40 minutes south of the CBD toward Logan, so it suits a Brisbane-side trip rather than a Sunshine Coast one. None of these are far enough to need an overnight stay, but winter mornings in the hinterland can be cool and foggy, so aim to arrive after the frost has burned off rather than right at opening time.
What else to do while you're up there
The Glass House Mountains themselves are worth building the day around, not just driving past — the volcanic plugs that give the district its name are visible from most of the strawberry farms and make for the kind of photo you don't get on a flat coastal paddock. Short walking tracks and lookouts at Ngungun and Tibrogargan sit a fifteen to twenty minute drive from Landers Shoot, and from there it's a short run further into the hinterland to Maleny and Montville for lunch, or back down through the Sunshine Coast proper if you want to make a full day of it. If you'd rather stay Brisbane-side, Caboolture and Chambers Flat both sit close enough to Brisbane to combine with other errands rather than needing a dedicated day.
What to bring and how to book
Winter strawberry picking in Queensland is a far milder outing than the same trip in a southern summer — expect cool mornings rather than heat — but a few basics still make the difference between a good visit and a wasted drive.
- Check opening days before you leave — A & C Berry Farm only opens four days a week, and Oasis Berries' dates move with its festival calendar.
- Book ahead where it's offered — Chambers Flat runs booked sessions rather than a walk-up gate, and weekend slots fill first.
- A wide-brimmed hat and sun protection, even in winter — the hinterland sun is still strong at midday.
- A light jacket for the morning — Glass House Mountains hinterland mornings can sit in single digits before warming up.
- Cash as a backup — smaller seasonal patches like A & C Berry Farm are less likely to have reliable card facilities than the bigger operators.
- A cooler box for the drive home, especially if you're continuing on to the Sunshine Coast rather than heading straight back to Brisbane.
For the general packing list, see our what to bring fruit picking guide, and if you're taking young kids, our fruit picking with kids guide has age-by-age advice. For the full national picture of how strawberry timing shifts state by state, our strawberry picking guide covers the detail, and our best fruit picking near Brisbane guide rounds up other crops and directions worth exploring around the city beyond this hinterland run. Confirm before you drive. Season windows above are typical-year estimates built from what each farm has published — always check current opening days and patch status directly with the farm, especially after wet weather.