Drive Interstate 8 west of Gila Bend and the desert seems endless. Then a wall of green palms rises from the sand. That is your cue to pull over, because somewhere under those fronds is a cold, thick, caramel-sweet date shake with your name on it.
Southwestern Arizona is quietly one of the great Medjool date regions on the planet, and the farms around Yuma and the Bard Valley ship the fruit around the world. The best way to taste it is still the old-fashioned way: blended with ice cream, sipped in the shade, a few steps from the trees it grew on. Here are five stops worth the trip.
How Medjools found their way to Yuma
Every Medjool palm in this corner of the country has a family tree that leads back to Morocco. In 1927, with a palm disease called bayoud ravaging the groves there, U.S. agricultural explorer Walter Swingle brought 11 Medjool offshoots to America. They sat in quarantine in Nevada for years, and nine survived to be planted in Southern California. According to Farm Progress, cuttings reached Bard, just across the Colorado River from Yuma, in 1944.
From there the groves spread. Isabel Nuñez came to the Bard Valley in 1958 as a farm laborer, bought his own 10 acres in 1972, and went on to help found the Bard Valley Date Growers, the cooperative behind the Natural Delights brand, according to the company. National Geographic reports that the valley’s palms all descend from six original trees. Today the big packing house sits in Yuma, and each winter the city throws a downtown festival, once called the Medjool Date Festival and now Yuma AGFest.
1. Martha’s Gardens Date Farm (Yuma)
Come for: The classic Yuma date shake, poured on a working family farm with thousands of Medjool palms all around you.
Nels and Martha Rogers started with 300 Medjool offshoots on a stretch of raw desert in 1990. Today the farm counts more than 8,000 palms, which the family grows organically, then packs and sells right on the property. It still feels like a family place, with a hacienda-style shop and a shaded patio.
In season, a tram tour rolls between the rows to show how each bunch is hand-pollinated, thinned and picked. It is the best crash course in dates in the state.
Order: The original date shake first. Regulars branch out to peanut butter, caramel, espresso, or the salty-sweet bacon date version. Grab a box of Supreme Medjools and a loaf of date nut bread for the road.
Tip: Tours are seasonal, so call ahead. The farm keeps weekday hours.
Where: 9747 S. Avenue 9 3/4 E., Yuma
Since: 1990
Hours: marthasgardens.com
2. Dateland Travel Center (Dateland)
Come for: The “world famous” roadside shake that generations of Arizona families have treated as a mandatory pit stop.
Dateland started in the early 1920s as a railroad water stop in the middle of nowhere. During World War II, General Patton’s troops trained at nearby Camp Horn and Camp Hyder. When Interstate 8 replaced old Highway 80 in 1965, the whole operation shifted about a block north, and it has been feeding hot, thirsty travelers ever since. The owners say the date shake story may go back to the original Dateland restaurant of the late 1920s.
The shake uses fresh Medjools, not date sugar or crystals, so expect chewy bits of fruit in every sip.
Order: A date shake from the Ice Cream Corner, plus a slice of date pie or a date muffin from the bakery. The gift shop sells Medjool, Halawi, Khadrawy and Thoory dates, along with shake mix to take home.
Tip: It sits at Milepost 67 on I-8, roughly halfway between Gila Bend and Yuma. The fuel side runs around the clock and the bakery and gift shop keep long daily hours.
Where: 1737 S. Avenue 64 E., Dateland
Since: 1920s
Hours: dateland.com
3. The Peanut Patch (Yuma)
Come for: A country store where your date shake comes with a side of fresh peanut brittle and a whole lot of Yuma history.
Gerry and Franny Didier homesteaded on the sandy Yuma Mesa after World War II, discovered that peanuts loved the soil, and opened The Peanut Patch in 1977. The George family has run it since 1997. Along with nuts and fudge, the shelves carry locally grown Medjools, and the counter turns out a classic date shake.
Order: A date shake, a bag of peanut brittle made in small batches, and a jar of house peanut butter.
Tip: In January, February and March the store has offered free guided tours on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Check before you go.
Where: 4322 E. County 13th St., Yuma
Since: 1977
Hours: thepeanutpatch.com
4. Naked Dates Farm and High Tanks Brewing (Wellton)
Come for: An organic Medjool farm at the foot of the Gila Mountains where you can pick between a date shake and a date ale.
Out a dirt stretch of Avenue 25E, the Naked Dates farm grows USDA organic Medjools on about 80 acres, and its farm store has long promoted a signature date shake. In 2022 a family-run brewery, High Tanks Brewing Company, opened right on the farm, named for a desert watering hole on the old Camino del Diablo. Now there are farm tours, weekend live music and even glamping under the palms.
Order: A date shake if the blender is running, or a pint of Double Date Ale, a dark Belgian-style beer with toffee and dried fruit notes. Take home a bag of organic Medjools.
Tip: The farm location is open seasonally, November through April, Thursday to Sunday. Ask about the shake when you arrive, since offerings shift with the season.
Where: 13589 S. Avenue 25 E., Wellton
Since: 2022 (brewery)
Hours: hightanks.com
5. Sphinx Date Co. Palm and Pantry (Scottsdale)
Come for: A date milkshake on the patio, served by a shop that has been selling Arizona dates since 1951.
This one has a great origin story. In the 1920s, Roy Franklin spotted an unfamiliar palm in a Phoenix front yard and realized it was a brand new variety grown from seed. With backing from landowner Ellen Brophy, groves went in on her land in the Arcadia neighborhood, and her son Frank came up with the name Sphinx because of the date’s mysterious beginnings. A shop opened on the ranch in the early 1950s.
Mother and daughter Sharyn and Rebecca Seitz took over in 2012. After 33 years on Scottsdale Road, the shop moved in 2024 to a midcentury plaza on Hayden Road. The shake keeps it simple, ice cream blended with Medjools and milk.
Order: A date shake, then a scoop of the rare Black Sphinx dates if they are in stock, plus local honey or prickly pear goodies for gifts.
Where: 3221 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale
Since: 1951
Hours: sphinxdateranch.com
Tips for a date shake road trip
- Go in the cool months. Farm tours, festivals and seasonal stores around Yuma mostly run from late fall through spring, and the shade feels a lot better then.
- Call before you drive. Small farms change hours with the weather and the crop, and several close on weekends or in summer.
- Plan a January visit. Yuma AGFest, the successor to the Medjool Date Festival, fills downtown with growers and date treats each winter.
- Bring a cooler. Fresh Medjools keep best cold, and you will want more than one box.
A date shake is a small thing, but it carries a big story about Moroccan palms, desert homesteaders and families who turned dry mesas green. For more of our favorite finds, browse the Best Of guides. And if you run a local business with a story worth telling, apply to be featured. It’s always free.
Details in this guide draw on each business’s own website and public reporting from Farm Progress, National Geographic, Monocle, KJZZ, Phoenix New Times and azfamily. Hours and seasons change, so confirm before you go. Photos are illustrative unless noted. Top photo: Marine 69-71, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.