Apple Picking In New York Tri-State Area: Farms To PYO And Enjoy

Late summer and early fall are perfect for apple picking in New York Tri-state and metro area U-Pick farms. According to Lawnstarter.com, New York is #2 in the nation in the number of apple orchards per 100,000 residents.

Introduce the kids to sustainable agriculture, riding a hay bale and getting poked in a corn maze. Pet cows and sheep. Promote healthy snacking and sample donuts and fresh pies. Take a break with some apple cider, you’ll find all your needs covered. And come home with a produce-delivery subscription from one of these farms, many of which have become CSAs.

Check out our complete guide to apple picking PYO orchards and u-pick fruit farms around the most fertile farm regions of the US: FTF Guide to Top U-Pick Farms in the USA.

How to Make Expensive Apple Picking in the New York Tri-State Region Feel like a Bargain

Even in the New York tri-state area including New Jersey and Connecticut, families with infants and preschoolers can enjoy a cheap weekend getaway. If it’s cheap, why has it gotten so expensive? That’s because after the pandemic, several of these family-owned farms tried hard to make up for lost revenue. Some now charge theme park prices ($50 per person and up) to try their new rides, corn mazes, pumpkin cannons, and other attractions. Others charge upwards of $30 for a half peck (about 6 lbs or 16 pieces) of apples. Many require advance timed entry booking before arrival!

When we say cheap, we mean that apple and pumpkin picking can be a fun and tiring full day’s outing. It is often cheap to stay in a rural inn or motel in the suburbs of the city, as you can see from some sample autumn hotel rates on Expedia.

It’s not cheap, however, if you compare the price of the fruit to a supermarket. Yet, our city kids love picking their own fruits and vegetables and we support local farmers. As you read through our picks of past favorite orchards and farms, be sure to check if pricing has changed. One of my (past) personal favorites is charging $89.95 for admission for two with a 20 lb. bag of apples for the 2024 season. Crazy!

Our pick of the crop usually posts what type of fruit is on their trees the week of your visit. Or weather alerts, etc. Be sure to check on conditions and drive times, too, as traffic patterns change all the time.

Style Setting and Apple Picking in New York U-Pick Farms

From the New York metropolitan area, drive either north or south a manageable distance for plenty of choices. Look for apple picking, farm stand browsing and, as of late September, pumpkin patches. For Long Island or eastward, check out this directory of u-pick farms in southeast New York state.

The closest to the city PYO orchard of note is in Dutchess County near Beekman, New York. This is the stylish Barton Orchards boasting 175 acres. The farm opens daily in late July and you-pick season lasts from August to November. Barton is both less crowded and free to enter on weekdays. Dogs on leashes are always welcome in their Bark Park.

Weekends, an admission fee provides access to hay rides, live music, playground, bounce house and petting zoo. Stop in to the hard cider and craft brew taphouse or the cafe. It’s really fun because the BBQ, burger and ice cream food trucks come out to provide outdoors dining. They also have a haunted house, corn maze and extra Halloween activities for a fee. If that’s not enough, try the nearby aerial obstacle course. It has five skill levels, and is open to those 60-275 lbs. and able to reach 72″ tall. There’s an additional fee there too.

Maybe a Shorter Drive from Brooklyn & Still PYO Fun

Like most things in life, the farther you are from the big city, the more reasonable the prices and the crowds. The small and pricier Outhouse Orchards is closer to Manhattan in Westchester County. They stock a big giftshop but also have hayrides, pony rides, and a corn maze for kids. It opens each year in late August for the u-pick orchard then does a Fall Festival event. They say their pear and peach trees will have fruit as long as the apple trees, good to know if you have picky eaters in the family.

Greig Farm has expanded its commitment to sustainable farming and fruit “pickings.” The 80-year-old farm includes an airstream trailer smokehouse, art galleries and crafts showrooms in its old barns, and a Saturday seafood vendor. Visit some pygmy goats, a koi pond, bakery and the large plant nursery. Book the 4-bedroom farmhouse or tiny schoolhouse via Airbnb and volunteer your time to pick the less-than-perfect apples for a local food bank. They use pesticides on their apple trees — but — they provide educational material about it. Produce is also featured at the daily Hudson Valley Farmers Market in Red Hook.

Apple Picking in New York about 90-120 Minutes’ Drive from NYC

Farther north, Ulster County hosts the scenic, 25-mile Hudson Valley Apple Trail whose orchards have their own delicious offerings and activities.

We like the three-family farm at Prospect Hill Orchards. Located in Milton, New York in the Catskills, Prospect Hill consists of the parents’ original Homestead Farm, their daughter’s Hilltop Farm and their son’s Clarke’s Family Farm. Each is scenic, friendly and reasonably priced since they only charge by the pound for the fruit you pick. We visited the Prospect Hill Hilltop Farm recently, picked to our heart’s content, then had hot cider, apple cider donuts and shopped their pies to round out the visit.

Two More Ulster County U-Pick Farms to Enjoy

Dubois Farms in Highland is one of the most picturesque farms. It’s run by first-generation farmers, David and Jolee DuBois. Their nearly 70 acres are devoted to beautiful Hudson Valley vistas, neat rows of apple trees and verdant lawns. Each week of the picking season, the friendly staff hands out red wagons and updated orchard maps to apple varietals of choice. Make time for a fresh pizza, BBQ pork sandwich, hard cider or fruit-flavored sangria on their porch or in the tavern. Weekends feature seasonal festivals, tractor-pulled wagon rides, farm animals and live music.

We enjoy Minards Family Farms, which offers PYO apples and sells pumpkins and berries when in season. The 100-acre farm, just 75 miles from New York City, has expanded greatly. Check out the family facilities: hayrides, bounce house, sand pit, petting zoo, spider web and pony hop. Play barnyard football and baseball, tug of war and pumpkin bowling. Try the peddle carts, corn maze and more with a paid $17 wristband. Minards’ pricing varies according to your preferred activities. For a fee, indulge in gem mining, an apple cannon, busy bee train ride and an ice cream cone! Stay calm: apple picking remains free after you purchase the U-pick bag. Kids will love to search for the lifesize red and green apple-costumed mascots easily seen a mile away.

Columbia County Upick Apple Picking in New York

We’re sad to say that Love Apple Farm, one of the pioneers of sustainable agriculture in the region, has closed. There are, however, many smaller orchards and U-pick vegetable farms nearby. Near to the late Love Apple Farm, the Twin Star Orchard is probably better known for its Brooklyn Cider House brand of tasty hard ciders, served on the premises, than for its apples. 

Prefer to drive quite a bit farther north? Golden Harvest Farms is home to the tastiest apple cider donuts ever sampled by this author. The orchard of semi-dwarf trees in 25 varieties, founded in 1957, is in a richly historic, largely agricultural region. Your family will enjoy seeing how branches nurturing the heavy Honeycrisp apples are kept tied up. In the late season, the Golden Harvest Farms orchard provides poles to help you reach the highest crop. Keep in mind that only nine varities are available in the Maple Lane U Pick orchard so you may want to mix and match.

Need a place to stay over in the tri-state region? Booking.com guarantees the best prices for any type of property and no booking fees!

Pick Your Own (PYO) Farms in New Jersey

Abma’s Poultry and Produce Farm is known as Bergen County, New Jersey’s farmstand for fresh poultry and eggs, local seasonal fruits and vegetables. However, the farm dates to the 1790s. That authenticity — plus toddler art classes, a petting zoo and greenhouses — are enough for families to enjoy a day out. New for this year — your tiny travelers can pick potatoes in summer. In September and October, the u-picking is for pumpkins only. The farm is closed Sundays and holidays.

Demarest Farms (in business since 1886) organizes birthday parties with hayrides all fall, plus apple and pumpkin picking from early September through mid-October. We love the great family films shown at their outdoor drive-in movie theater. On special fall evenings, they show “Spookley the Square Pumpkin” allowing time for pumpkin picking, hayrides, the petting zoo, and more. Look for the Halloween Light Show and Haunted Orchard, plus the new, drive-trhough Christmas Holiday Lights event. Advance reservations including timed entry are required.

The 660-acre Alstede Farms in Chester is a great find for the car-less, because they provide free shuttle service from the nearest NJ Transit Gladstone station. They offer PYO apples as early as August and continue till mid-November with later ripening varieties. Please avoid October weekends and any holidays as they increase their entry prices exponentially!

Apple Picking an Hour Away: Princeton or Califon, New Jersey Locations

The 200-acre Terhune Orchards is a bit farther out in the country. Located in the smart and beautiful town of Princeton, they host the Fall Harvest Festival weekends September to late October. Activities and food abound and separate entry tickets are required. Families enjoy u-pick on dwarf apple trees, live music, corn and hay mazes, pumpkin painting and exploring the nature trail. The 10th generation farmers still host many tasting events featuring their housemade white, red and fruit wines for the over-21s.

Are you and the kids overpicked? Check out the recipes on the Terhune website or join the ‘Read and Pick’ storytime — when children’s books are paired with fruits or vegetables kids can harvest — held Tuesdays from May to October.

Interested in New Jersey’s largest? Melick’s Town Farm runs five farm market locations. Most important, their U-pick orchard in Califon is a 200-acre farm. The whole family will enjoy picking peaches and apples from their dwarf trees because the fruit is easy to reach. We like the modest entry fee ($3.99 weekdays, $5.99 for ages 2+ weekends) because it includes tractor rides, a corn maze, a small farm animal exhibit and a tractor tire playground. Tiny appetites are accommdated because you only pay for the apples you pick!

Favorite, Entertaining U-Pick Farms in Connecticut

Take a ride up to Connecticut during the harvest season for plenty of fruit farms. Our Connecticut friends swear by Averill Farm, a blooming corner of Washington Depot since 1746. It’s a low key place with a terrific farm stand that features their own produce as well as the pick of honey, syrup, jams, etc from local vendors. Check their website for current crop pickings.

Silvermans Farm, which celebrated its first century in 2020, is one of the most show biz places I’ve seen. Go for the live entertainment — think bluegrass and banjo — and all the fixins’ each weekend. There’s fishing in Blueberry Pond, hiking, lots of produce, a buffalo and llama in their petting zoo. Buy a ready-made Victory Garden kit so you can plant your own produce garden at home.

Only a 90-minute ride from New York City is Blue Jay Orchards in Bethel. They open to the public when the Macintosh varietal ripens, usually around Labor Day. This 140-acre farm has nearly 30 varieties of apples. Grab a wheelbarrow and head to the Pumpkin Patch during weekends in October. Note, however, that hayrides will be cancelled this season.

Open 360 days a year, Bishop’s Orchards is a big operation in Guilford. They feature a Farmer’s Market, winery, apple and pumpkin picking. Sweet Tooths know it for delicious fresh-baked pies, fudge and zucchini bread. And we can’t forget their hand-concocted ice creams. Bishop’s 300 acres are also home to llamas, goats and alpacas that live in the renovated Little Red Barn. Check out their expanded Pick Your Own locations to see which fields have the fruit you are looking for. Take advantage of the helpful ‘how-to’ apple picking videos on their site.

Apple Pickers Directory for New York, New Jersey & Connecticut

In closing, here is GPS information for some of my favorite apple and pumpkin picking farms in the tristate region. Before you head out, consider what you’ll do with the apples that you pick.

Different varieties are better suited for eating, such as Gold or Red Delicious, Macintosh, Empire, Idared, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Jonathon and new hybrids like the Jonagold. If sauces or pies are in the plan, try the Cortland, the Golden Delicious, the Russet, and the Mutsu. If you’re set on making your favorite recipe, call ahead to see what’s left on the trees.

Pick Your Own New York State Apples

Apple Dave’s (formerly Applewood) Orchards, 82 Four Corners Rd., Warwick NY 10990 – 845/986-1684

Barton Orchards,63 Apple Tree Lane, Poughquag, NY 12570 – 845/227-2306

Dubois Farms, 209 Perkinsville Road, Highland, NY 12528 – 845-795-4037

Golden Harvest Farms, 3074 US Rt. 9, Valatie, NY 12184 – 518/758-7683

Greig Farm, 223 Pitcher Lane, Red Hook, NY 12571 – 845/758-1234

Love Apple Farm, 1421 State Route 9H, Ghent, NY 12075 – 518/828-5048

Minard Farms, 250 Hurds Road, Clintondale, NY 12515 – 866/632-7753

Outhouse Orchards, 130 Hardscrabble Rd., North Salem, NY 10560 – 914/277-3188

Prospect Hill Orchards, Milton, NY 12547 – 845/795-0001 (Three locations)

Pick Your Own New Jersey Apples

Abma’s Farm Market, 700 Lawlins Rd., Wyckoff, NJ 07481 – 201/891-0278

Alstede Farms, 1 Alstede Farms Lane, Chester, NJ 07930 – 908/258-6245

Demarest Farm, 244 Wierimus Rd., Hillsdale, NJ 07642 – 201/666-0472

Melick’s Town Farm Califon Orchard, 472 County Road, Califon, NJ 07830 – 908/832-2905

Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Rd., Princeton, NJ 08540 – 609/924-2310

Pick Your Own Connecticut Apples

Averill Farm, 250 Calhoun Street, Washington Depot, CT 06794 – 860-868-2777

Bishop Orchard, 1355 Boston Post Rd., Guilford, CT 06437 – 203/453-2338

Blue Jay Orchards, 125 Plumtrees Rd., Bethel, CT 06801 – 203/748-0119

Silvermans Farm, 451 Sport Hill Road, Easton CT – 203/261-3306