Thursday, September 29, 2022 – TIME TO TAKE A RIDE IN THE COUNTRY AND BRING HOME A BUSHEL OF APPLES
FROM THE ARCHIVES
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2022
THE 794th EDITION
THE BEST SPOTS FOR
APPLE & PUMPKIN
PICKING NEAR
NEW YORK CITY
6SQFT
| Photo by Marius Ciocirlan on UnsplashWith autumn in New York City officially here, you can take in the changing leaves and crisp air, and there are few places better to do that than a local farm. Some of the best spots near town offer apple and pumpkin picking, in addition to a slew of other fall-ready activities, making it easy to bring some of the season home with you. Ahead, we’ve rounded up our 10 favorite spots to check out. |
 1. Lawrence Farms Orchards 306 Frozen Ridge Road, Newburgh, NY 845-562-4268 This family-run farm located just over an hour’s drive from Manhattan has been hosting apple-and-pumpkin-picking folks for over three decades now. From June through October, a $7 entry fee during the week and $10 on weekends and holidays gets you access to the farm and orchards (kids under two enter for free). They have a whopping 19 varieties of apples to pick, along with grapes, pears, and many vegetables. Other fun activities include hay bale mazes, and a “Little Village” filled with child-sized farmhouses to play in. |
 Photo by Tim Evanson / Flickr cc 2. Barton Orchards 63 Apple Tree Lane, Poughquag, NY 845-227-2306 This Poughquag farm offers up over 100 acres of apple orchards with produce ripe for the picking (for a fee, of course), in addition to a pumpkin patch, farmer’s market, and taproom with outdoor seating. Admission is free unless it’s a festival weekend, but the fee grants you access to a bevy of fall activities, including hayrides, a corn maze, and live music. The orchards host a number of fall-ready events, including a Jack O’Lantern Jubilee and a weekend-long Harvest Fair. Also within the farm is Tree Top Adventures, an aerial adventure cours |
 3. Dubois Farms 209 Perkinsville Road, Highland, NY 845-795-4037 This first-generation family-owned Highland farm has 54 acres of produce-producing land, which includes a pumpkin patch and an apple orchard, as well as pick-your-own flowers, grapes, peppers, and more. The farm’s also got a bakery, a market and cafe, a corn maze, weekend barbecues, tractor-pulled wagon rides, a child-sized “Tiny Town,” and a tavern serving hard cider, craft beer, and wine. The farm is about a two-hour drive from Manhattan and is open daily from May 31 through November 23. 4. Fishkill Farms 9 Fishkill Farm Road, Hopewell JCT, NY I am personally attached to this farm, located just over an hour’s drive from Manhattan—my grandparents used to live just down the road from it when it was owned by former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, and I spent much of my childhood playing in its hayfields and eating cinnamon doughnuts with apple cider purchased at its farm stand. Today’s iteration is run by Joshua Morgenthau, and it’s much like it was when I was a child, focusing on sustainable farming and offering apple and pumpkin picking to visitors in the fall months. This year, advanced reservations are required for pick-your-own. 5. Apple Ridge Orchards 101 Jessup Road, Warwick, NY 845-987-7717 This Warwick farm, which takes about two hours to get to from Manhattan by car, has a gorgeous pick-your-own pumpkin patch, in addition to a slew of apple trees (they say they’ve got up to 20 varieties of apple) and peach trees in the summer. Admission to the farm is $3, and includes parking and access to the apple orchard, petting zoo, play area, and farm stand. Apples run about $$34 per half-bushel; a pumpkin of any size costs $13. The orchards also have hayrides and a corn maze, farm animals you can feed and pet, honey bee hives, and a farm stand where you can purchase cider and apple-themed desserts. 6. Jenkins-Lueken Orchards 69 Yankee Folly Road, New Paltz, NY 845-255-0999 This New Paltz orchard, located about a two-hour drive from Manhattan, kicks off its apple picking season in early September, granting visitors access to its more than 500 apple trees. You can pick bags by the peck or half-bushel, and pick pumpkins from their patches for 40 cents a pound. There’s also a farm stand where you can purchase produce, cider, and baked goods, among other farm-ready items. 7. VonThun Farms 438 Route 57 West, Washington, NJ 07882 732-986-6816 + 519 Ridge Road, Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852 732-329-8656 VonThun Farms has two locations in New Jersey, both of which offer apple and pumpkin picking during Spooky Season and are open daily. Both farms have corn mazes and other autumnal activities to amplify the seasonal fun. On Fall Festival Weekends, guests get access to 20+ activities, including self-pick access, hayrides, pumpkin bowling, rubber duck races, pedal karts, and more. 8. Wightman Farms 1111 Mt. Kemble Avenue, Morristown, NJ 973-425-9819 This nearly century-old family-owned farm has hayrides, multiple mazes, and a fun picnic play area, in addition to pumpkin and apple-picking. The latter has a $7 fee for picking, which includes orchard admission and a tote bag, plus you pay per pound. If you want a pumpkin, you’ll have to spring for the $16 Farm Sampler, which includes maze and hayride access—you can upgrade to the $25 All Access Pass for both pumpkins and apples, which I highly recommend doing. 9. Wilkins Fruit and Fir Farm 1335 White Hill Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 914-245-5111 This Yorktown Heights farm, located about an hour’s drive from Manhattan and is celebrating its 105th year of harvest. It offers apple, pumpkin, and peach picking, with apple season kicking off in September and pumpkins arriving in October. To enter the apple orchard, which offers 13 varieties, you’ve got to commit to half a peck per person or half a bushel per three to four adults. The farm is open every day except Tuesday from 10 a.m to 4:30 pm. On the weekends, you can also do a wine tasting at the on-.location White Hill Vineyard |
 Photo courtesy of Queens County Farm Museum 10. Queens County Farm Museum 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park, Queens 718-347-3276 The Queens County Farm Museum is New York City’s finest apple-procuring and pumpkin-picking establishment, boasting a long tradition of permitting urbanites to pretend they live somewhere rural for five minutes. The 47-acre farm has a pumpkin patch open daily in October, and though you can’t exactly pick apples on the premises, you can purchase them (and apple pie, and apple cider) at the farmstand. More importantly, you can visit the famed Amazing Maize Maze. |
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