When are Rainier Cherries in Season? Month by Month Guide

Rainier cherries are some of the sweetest cherries of the season but they don't stick around for long. You can find them in stores from late May through early August. Learn below what you need to know about the season.

📋 What's New In This Post (4/16/26) - Added tips on how to pick the best Rainier cherries.

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Jump to:

• Don't Miss Rainier Cherry Season!
• 📅 Month by Month Guide
• 🏄‍♀️ When Do Rainier Cherries Come Into Season?
• ⛰️ When are Rainier Cherries in Season in Washington?
• ❓ Do Other States Grow Rainiers?
• 💲 Why are Rainier Cherries So Expensive?
• 👌 How to Pick the Best Rainier Cherries?
• 🛒 What Stores Have Rainier Cherries?
• 📋 Resources

📅 Month by Month Guide

This table will share with you a month by month guide to the Rainier cherry season. Afterwards I will go into more detail.

Month	Info
May	California starts picking and shipping Rainier cherries.
June	California wraps up, and the Washington season begins
July	The peak month for Rainier cherries for both quality and price
August	The last of the Rainier cherries in the stores.

🏄‍♀️ When Do Rainier Cherries Come Into Season?

The first Rainier cherries of the season ripen in May and start making it to stores from California in late May to early June.

There isn't a huge supply of them and often the price is super high. They are only available briefly, then you may not see them in stores for a couple weeks.

⛰️ When are Rainier Cherries in Season in Washington?

The state of Washington is definitely the Rainier state. When you think Rainier geographically, your mind should go straight to that Pacific state. This is where the cherry originated in 1952 as a cross between the popular Bing cherry and the Van cherry.

Late June is when the shipping of these cherries begins. The season lasts about until the beginning of August. In a good year you get about 6-7 weeks to enjoy these delicate, sweet cherries.

❓ Do Other States Grow Rainiers?

On a large commercial scale, you don't find Rainier cherries grown much beyond the West Coast. Michigan is third in cherry production, but you have to go small orchards to find Rainier cherries. Same thing in Utah, which also grows a lot of cherries.

💲 Why are Rainier Cherries So Expensive?

One downside of Rainier cherries is that they are more expensive than other cherries. Why? Here are the reasons I have discovered:

• One issue with the Rainier is that they bruise easily or the bruising shows up easier because of their lighter color.
• They are also more likely to be damaged by wind and rain.
• The supply of Rainier is nowhere near as large as more traditional dark red cherries.
• You also have to consider that people already pay more for them, so they probably will continue to pay more for them.

When are Rainier cherries cheapest? Typically around the Fourth of July I can find them on sale and pay as little as $2.99/pound, which is a great deal. It all depends on how plentiful this year's crop is. One of my favorite memories is picking up bags that were cheaper at Meijer in Michigan on my way to work and nearly eating the whole bag on the drive - a cup in your cup holder is the best place to put pits, by the way!

👌 How to Pick the Best Rainier Cherries?

Cherries don't ripen any further once they have been picked, so they can only go downhill once they are off the tree. So keep that in mind as you look over my list of what to look for when buying Rainier cherries.

• The stems of the cherries look more green than black. This indicates freshness of the fruit.
• The cherries that have more and darker red blush on them tend to be sweeter. These cherries matured on the tree well and got a lot of sunlight that helps to sweeten them up.
• Also look at the yellow color. Is it more yellow or golden? The deeper the color the more flavor the cherry will be.
• The cherry should look firm without any wrinkles.

• There are also cherries in the store that are similar to Rainier cherries but have more flavor and a firmer texture. Those include Skylar Rae and Orondo Ruby.

🛒 What Stores Have Rainier Cherries?

They have become so popular that pretty much any store that carries any fresh cherries will also offer Rainier cherries at some point in the season. Stores I have seen them in the past include Kroger, Meijer, Safeway, Costco, Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme to name some.

Where do you like to buy Rainier cherries? Leave a comment below.

📋 Resources

Here is a handy infographic that will help guide you through the season.

Do you need a cherry pitter to enjoy cherries? Not necessarily. Part of the fun is spitting the pits right. However if you are going to cook with cherries or freeze a lot of cherries, that is when I think it would make your life easier to get one.

• If you are going to buy a cherry pitter, I recommend getting one that will pit more than one cherry at a time with the ability to pit olives as well such as this 7-in-1 pitter.