For those who enjoy adding sweet wild berries to palette-enticing desserts such as raspberry ice cream or raspberry cookies, here is one more reason to get out and enjoy the beauty of monsoon season in the Southwest in Arizona! Wild growing native raspberry bushes are restricted to the higher elevation mountain regions of the state. One of the best spots for raspberry collecting in Arizona is right here in the White Mountains! 

Raspberry bushes are so called “kings of colonization.” They are considered a primary succession species which means they are one of the first things to recolonize an area after a major landscape disturbance. In our neck of the woods, think wildfire. Being over eight years in the shadow of the massive Wallow Fire, we are now amidst an abundance of berry bushes. With the amount of land disturbed by the Wallow Fire and the ease of locating such land, there has never been a better time to look for raspberries in the White Mountains. 

Finding Raspberries

Where else to find raspberries other than previously disturbed areas? Look for water, of course. In the desert Southwest, water is a precious commodity. Berries are the gluttons of the desert when it comes to using water -- compared to other high desert adapted species. In our area, the best places to look for raspberries are in canyons with flowing water or on north/east facing slopes that are less subject to extreme sun drying. 

When going out looking for raspberries, I generally seek out canyon bottoms or north-facing hillsides next to water sources. I generally look for areas within the Wallow Fire burn scar that still have patches of live trees here or there to verify the fire didn’t burn exceptionally hot in that area. I often also will find raspberry bushes growing out from all around a dead tree lying on its side, as it likely provided protection for young berry shoots. Raspberries generally grow in clumpy patches. They arise from the ground as short, thorn covered stalks and are covered in compound pointed leaves with small serrations along the edges. Usually when you find one raspberry bush, you will find many more nearby. If the berries are really in bloom -- which is usually right around mid-late August -- the bright red berries make finding and identifying berry patches while hiking or driving much easier. 

If you are still at a loss for where to collect raspberries, find a nice hike you have been wanting to do along a creek and you will likely find some berries. Bring a hard-sided bottle or container to put your berries in as you pick in berry patches along the hike. Some of my suggestions might be: West Fork Black River, Deer Creek, Black River or the creeks around the area known as Three Forks. There are also a few berry patches on the south side of the 249 Road from Big Lake to Alpine between Three Forks and Big Lake for paved access.  

Using Raspberries

You may find that these wild raspberries appear rather more diminutive than the ones you may be used to buying. The wild ancestors of the commonly cultivated raspberries are on average much smaller, though nonetheless flavorful. These small sized berries -- along with their fragile nature -- can make collecting large quantities difficult. As such, with these valuable berries, try to cater to recipes that call for additions of raspberries rather than ones which use raspberries solely (such as jams).

Freshly picked raspberries are best served, well ...fresh. Be sure to collect them in a hard-sided container; keep them as cool as you can and try to use them within a few days of collecting. 

For fresh eating off the berry bush, you will soon learn to identify a truly ripe raspberry after subjecting your taste buds to few tart ones. The sweetest are the ones that are deep red and nearly fall from the bush when you reach for them. If you are planning on using raspberries in a cooking recipe, you don’t need to worry about only selecting the very ripest berries.

If you don’t already have a use for your raspberries in mind, here is a wonderful and easy to make recipe for some delicious cookies that doesn’t call for an extraordinary amount of berries. Recipe by Ellen Mering.