Trail Cooking With Wild Berries

“When the wild berries are ripe, the hiking is sweet.” Nancy Prichard.

Wild berries is a healthy, full-flavored hiking snack and a great addition to your backcountry diet. They are a rich source of vitamins (C and K), minerals (potassium, magnesium) and antioxidants; promote good heart health and fight diabetes. Just a handful of wild berries can help you meet your daily fiber requirement.

There are lots of different types of edible berries you can pick from the side of the trail. The most common and easy to identify are:

Blueberry
Where To Find: woods
Harvest season: May to August, depending on elevation and climate

Blackberry
Where To Find: light woods, woodland edges, shrubby thickets, coast of the rivers, along roads and fences
Harvest season: August-September

Wild Raspberry
Where To Find: roadside ditches, woodland edges, old gravel pits, open fields
Harvest season: July-August

Lingonberry
Where To Find: the mixed and coniferous forests, peat bogs, bushes, tundra
Harvest season: August-September

Cranberry
Where To Find: acid bogs
Harvest season: September – early November

Trail cooking with wild berries

Wild berries can be eaten out of hand directly from the bush or can be used in a variety of dishes. From crumbles to savoury dishes, make the most of these little treasures with our selection of wild berry recipes:

Very Berry No Bake Crumble