Apple U-Pick Orchards in Southeast NY: Columbia County in 2024, by county
Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for apples that we know of in this area. Not all areas of any state, nor even every state, have apples orchards that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!
Remember to always check with the farm's own website or Facebook page before you go - or call or email them if they don't have a website or Facebook page. Conditions at the farms and crops can change literally overnight, so if you want to avoid a wasted trip out there - check with the farm directly before you go! If I cannot reach them, I DON'T GO!
PLEASE report closed farms, broken links and incorrect info using the "Report Corrections" form below.
Columbia County
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- Don Baker Farm
- apples, sweet cherries, sour cherries, pears, .
183 Route 14, Hudson, NY 12534. Phone: 518-828-9542. (Greenport, NY). Email: apples@gtel.net. Open: June and August thru October, daily Every day 9am to 5pm, June through October. Also, Roadside Stand - Seasonally fresh fruits and vegetables. Both sweet cherries and sour cherries (aka, pie cherries). Check our website, Facebook Page, and phone message for further information on upcoming sour cherry crop. Thank you. Click here for a link to our Facebook page. -
Fix Bros Fruit Farm - apples, cherries, peaches, pumpkins,
215 White Birch Road, Hudson, NY 12534. Phone: (518) 828-4401. Alternate Phone: (518) 828-6485. Email: fixfarm@aol.com. Open: hours depend on the crop and season, Cherries and Peaches Monday to Sunday from 8 am to 5 pm until end of season; Apples and pumpkins Monday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm until end of season. Picking updates: Click here for picking updates. Directions: Click here for a map and directions. Approximate picking schedule; Seasons go like this: Sweet Cherries - Usually ready around the end of June; Red Sour Cherries - Usually ready around the end of June, beginning of July; Black Sour Cherries (Known as English Morello) usually ready the middle of July; Peaches - Usually in the beginning of August; Apples/Pears/Pumpkins - Usually begins in the middle of September; Payment: Cash, Check;. Payment: Cash, Check. Click here for our Facebook page. Many people enjoy picnicking while taking in the great views on our Hudson Valley Farm. (UPDATED: June 24, 2018) -
Love Apple Farm - Uses integrated pest
management practices, apples, blackberries, blueberries, cherries,
currants (red), gooseberries, peaches, raspberries (red), strawberries, farm
market, gift shop, restrooms, picnic area, petting zoo, events at your
location (call for info)
1421 State Route 9h, Ghent, NY 12075. Phone: (518) 828-5048. Email: info@loveapplefarm.com. Open: Orchard opens from 8am to 5pm; availability of crops varies; please call for current availability. Directions: Click here for a map and directions. We use integrated pest management practices. Payment: Cash, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx. Click here for our Facebook page. Love Apple Farm's Typical U-Pick Calendar: Actual dates will vary due to weather conditions and other factors. Please call us at (518) 828-5048 to verify the status of the product you are interested in:
(UPDATED: June 27, 2019) (ADDED: November 30, 2016)Fruit Early Most Active Late Apples July 15 Sept. 1-Oct. 25 Oct. 31 Blackberries July 10 July 15-July 30 August 10 Blueberries July 15 August 1-Sept. 10 Oct. 15 Cherries, sour June 10 July 1-31 August 10 Cherries, sweet June 10 July 1-31 August 10 Gooseberries June and July Peaches July 15 July 20-Sept. 1 Sept. 15 Plums July and August Raspberries August 1 June 15-20 July 10 -
Philip Orchards - plums, pears, apples, and
raspberries, currents and gooseberries.
270 Route 9H, Claverack, NY 12513. Phone: (518) 851-6351. Email: contact@philiporchards.com. Open: every day of the week from 9 am to 5:30 pm, August through October. Directions: The Orchards are on Route 9-H one Mile north of the traffic lights in Claverack,NY, two miles south of Route 66. Our GPS location is 270 Route 9H Claverack, NY 12513. The Orchards are in the Hudson Valley, 45 minutes south of Albany, NY, about 2 1/2 hours north of New York City. Our entire 100 acre crop of is for pick-your-own. Picnickers welcome. Philip Orchards Facebook page.
Sept. 1 - Jonamac Apples
Sept. 8 - McIntosh, Cortland, Spartan, Empire, R.I. Greenings Apples
Sept. 15 - Gala, Jonathan, Macoun, Honey Crisp Apples; Bosc and Seckel Pears
Sept. 22 - Idared, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Mutsu, Jonagold Apples
Sept. 29 - Northern Spy, Rome, Lady Apples
We look forward to seeing you here again. - Rider Farm - U Pick Apples
100 Sawmill Road, Germantown, NY 12526. Phone: 518-537-6843. Also Farm Market. -
Samascott Orchards - apples, beans, beets, blackberries,
blueberries, broccoli, carrots, cherries, chestnuts, cucumbers, currants
(red and black), gooseberries, table grapes (with seeds), nectarines,
onions, other berries, pears, peas, peaches, peppers, plums, pumpkins,
raspberries (red), raspberries (Spring, red), raspberries (Autumn, red),
raspberries (yellow), raspberries (Spring, yellow), raspberries (Autumn,
yellow), raspberries (black), raspberries (Spring, black), raspberries
(Autumn, black), rhubarb, summer squash, winter squash, strawberries,
tomatoes, other vegetables, Fresh eggs, Cider mill (fresh apple cider made
on the premises), porta-potties are available, restrooms, picnic area you may bring your own food, jumping pillow, farm animals, school tours
5 Sunset Avenue, Kinderhook, NY 12106. Phone: (518) 758-7224. Email: info@samascott.com. Open: daily 8 am to 6 pm; See website for seasonal opening date: Click here for current open hours, days and dates. Picking updates: Click here for picking updates. Directions: Click here for a map and directions. Corn maze open Saturdays in September and October at Samascott's Garden Market;. Payment: Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx. Click here for our Facebook page. New in 2017 is a children's playground and jumping pillow, plus wagon rides around the Orchard. The entrance to the U-pick closes at 5:45 pm. We require a minimum purchase of $5.00 per person for PYO guests. All vehicles will be manually inspected upon checkout. All PYO produce is priced per pound. Prices may fluctuate throughout the season. You will be charged up to $10/lb for any produce you pick that is not listed as available on the harvest map OR produce that is not brought out of your vehicle to be weighed. No pets. Please see their website for all of their rules and specifications. -
Smith Farms - apples, blackberries, cherries, nectarines,
peaches, raspberries (red), raspberries (Autumn, red), restrooms
200 Whitebirch Rd, Hudson, NY 12534. Phone: 518-828-1228. Alternate Phone: 518-755-6448. Email: gilliansherrington@gmail.com. Open: starting mid-June from 9am to 5 pm; Please refer to our website for updates in availability of fruit as the season progresses. Directions: There is a direct link for our location on our website in the "About Us" page. Click here for a map and directions. We start with sweet cherries in mid-June; We are open daily from 9am to 5 pm. Everbearing raspberries are available steadily, as they ripen. New canes on irrigation. Come early in the day. We are usually picked out by noon! Fred and Gillian Sherrington and our two collie dogs Tony and Sammi welcome you. Payment: Cash, only. PEven though we are a smaller operation, by New York State standards, we do have over 10000 new generation trees and canes that offer their fruit for pick-your-own from June to late Fall. All our fruit is on "drip" irrigation, so except when our pond goes dry, in extreme weather, our produce is plump and juicy. We will begin the season at mid/late June with the cherries, sweet and sour. Then in early August, our white flesh, sweet and juicy Saturn (flat) peaches are ready to pick and they are popular!!!! From the end of August to mid October you will be able to pick from 6 varieties of free stone peaches and nectarines and from 7 varieties of apples such as Gala, Acey Mac, Honey Crisp, Fuji, Royal Cortland, Lady Apple, and Macoun, Jonagold and Golden Delicious. Of course we will keep you posted and will give you more details on what is ready to pick as we progress. Each year is a little different, according to the weather conditions, so visit our website picking calendar regularly and come and enjoy our orchard, as well as the beautiful Catskill area. -
Yonder Fruit Farms - apples, cherries, strawberries, pumpkins, raspberries (Autumn, red),
raspberries (yellow), raspberries (Autumn, black), tomatoes, U-pick and
already picked
1367 U.S. Route 9, Valatie, NY 12184. Phone: 518-758-7011. Fax: 518-828-5014. Open: Starwberries in the Spring, then apples from Labor Day until Columbus Day on weekends and holidays from 9 am to 6 pm . Payment: Cash, check, only. Starting Labor Day Weekend, All varieties of fresh picked apples and pears to mix and match by the pound. Pick Your Own apples, raspberries, tomatoes and pumpkins. Wide selection of locally grown fruits and vegetables. Pumpkins of all sizes, gourds and other fall decor. Apple Cider. Hardy Mums.
Apple Picking Tips, Recipes and Information
Apples ripen from the outside of the tree towards the center, so the apples out the outside of the tree will ripen first. Once they are picked, they stop ripening. Picking apples directly from a tree is easy. Roll the apple upwards off the branch and give a little twist; don't pull straight away from the tree. If two apples are joined together at the top, both will come away at the same time. Don't shake the trees or branches. If the apple you are trying to pick drops, (or others on the tree) go ahead and pick it up. They're perfectly fine! But do wash them before you eat them! More info: How to tell when apples are ripe
- Once picked, don't throw the apples into the baskets, place them in gently, or they will bruise and go bad more quickly.
- Don't wash apples until just before using to prevent spoilage.
- For an explanation of why apple slices turn brown and how to stop it, see this page!
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Keep apples cool after picking to increase shelf life. A cool basement is ideal, but the fruit/vegetable drawer of a refrigerator will work, too. A refrigerator is fine for small
quantities of apples. Boxed apples need to be kept in a cool, dark spot
where they won't freeze. Freezing ruptures all of an apple's cells, turning
it into one large bruise overnight. The usual solution is to store apples in
a root cellar. But root cellars often have potatoes in them: apples and
potatoes should never be stored in the same room because, as they age,
potatoes release an otherwise ethylene gas, which makes apples spoil faster.
If you can keep the gas away from your apples, they will keep just fine.
Just don't store them right next to potatoes.
Prevent contact between apples stored for the winter by wrapping them individually in sheets of newspaper. The easiest way to do this is to unfold a section of newspaper all the way and tear it into quarters. Then stack the wrapped apples . See more here: How to store apples at home - Apples don't improve or "ripen" after being picked - this is an urban myth - see this page for the truth - with references!
Which apple variety is best?
There are tens of thousands of varieties of apples, developed over centuries. They vary in sugar, acoidity, flavors, storing, crispness and many other attributes. See our guides to apple varieties:
- Summary table of many apple varieties and their characteristics
- Detailed descriptions of each apple variety with detailed characteristics
- Apple varieties, sorted by the order in which they typically ripe
- Apple varieties that don't turn brown when they are cut
- Why are some apples brown or spotted inside when you first cut them open?
Canning apples - fully illustrated, with step-by-step instructions
- How to make applesauce
- How to make apple butter
- How to make apple jelly
- How to make apple pie filling (canned)
- How to can apples
- Home canned apple juice
Recipes, illustrated with step by step instructions
- Apple pie recipe and directions and illustrated! I can say, with, ahem, no bias at all, that this is the best apple pie recipe in the world! (Alright, I did have an apple strudel in Vienna once at that place listed in Fodors that was REALLY good, but that wasn't a pie, was it? And since this was the recipe my grandmother used, it must be great!)
- How to make applesauce for a single meal (not canning it) with NO special equipment
- Apple cobbler
- Apple crunch - best of all! Moist, low sugar and using oats!
- Apple crisp - ever-popular, low sugar and using oats!
- Apple, blackberry, cherry, and/or peach cobbler
- Apple-blackberry, crumble - a English favorite (or favourite)
Using fresh apples and miscellaneous
- How to stop cut apples from browning
- Apple festivals - find one near you!
- Apple facts
- Apple seeds and cyanide