The Delaware Valley’s Top Spots for Apple Picking

0
Photo By Ryan Arnst On Unsplash
Photo by Ryan Arnst on Unsplash

It’s still hot out, but fall will arrive in a few weeks, which means the start of apple-picking season.
Savvy parents looking for something to do have long known that a trip to a local orchard/farm is a great family activity. Not only are you getting the kids outside, but you’re engaging them in some physical activity and, perhaps best of all, getting them interested in eating fruits and vegetables. That’s a lot healthier than letting them play video games or sit on the couch with a bowl of junk food to watch cartoons.

And there’s no shortage of pick-your-own farms in the Philadelphia area that tend to offer a lot more than just apples. Here are 10 possibilities — and this doesn’t even include Lancaster County and Pennsylvania Dutch country, where orchards abound.

Linvilla Orchards
137 W. Knowlton Rd., Media, PA 19063

Generations of Delaware County residents have enjoyed Linvilla Orchards, which offers pick-your-own apples of several varieties through late October. There’s a $7 minimum charge per person, which is applied toward whatever you pick. But there’s more to Linvilla than just apple picking. Not only are other fruits and vegetables available for picking, but there’s a farm market, swim clubs, hayrides, a pumpkinland each fall, fishing, a playground and barnyard animals to see. And if someone’s watching the kids, the over-21 crowd can slip away for limited edition pints from Ship Bottom Brewery Beer Garden for Beers in the Barn.

Indian Orchards Farm
29 Copes Ln., Media, PA 19063

Not far from Linvilla is the lesser-known family-run Indian Orchards, which also offers pick-your-own options that include fall apples. There’s a $2.50 admission fee per person to pick at this 100-year-old-plus farm that touts pesticide-free growing techniques. They offer socially distanced hayrides and tours of the historic orchard, host birthday parties and, if the mood strikes, weddings.

Solebury Orchards
3325 Creamery Rd., New Hope, PA 18938

This Bucks County orchard anticipates apples will be available from approximately Aug. 20 through Nov. 7, with flowers and cherry tomatoes available into September. About 30 apple varieties — including many you’ve never heard of — are available during the course of the season, although most ripen at different times. Reservations are required on weekends from mid-September through October.

Duffield’s Farm & Market
280 Chapel Heights Rd., Sewell, NJ 08080

Not surprising considering its nickname, The Garden State, New Jersey has its share of pick-your-own places. Duffield’s Farm, which dates to 1930, is big on fall apple and pumpkin picking. A fifth generation runs a farm that includes a market, deli and bakery, while offering birthday parties, hayrides and educational field trips.

Hill Creek Farms
1631 State Highway 45, Mullica Hill, NJ 08062

Also in Gloucester County is Hill Creek Farms, which touts three orchards containing 17,000 apple trees. There’s general admission to the farm on Fridays, but Saturdays and Sundays require reservations. Along with other events and activities for the kids, there are some more-adult oriented offerings, including a wine garden. It’s a good time for the whole family or, when you need a break, just the grown-ups.

Johnson’s Corner Farm
133 Church Rd., Medford, NJ 08055

Like many of the farms/orchards included on this list, Johnson’s Corner Farm goes well beyond apple picking, with activities and attractions like a Sunflower Celebration, hayrides and their Discovery Barnyard & Animal Farm. Picking includes a variety of fruits and vegetables. Hayrides take you to your desired picking destination for $6 per person, proving to kids that sometimes getting there is, in fact, half the fun.

Highland Orchards
1000 Marshallton Thorndale Rd., West Chester, PA 19380

Highland Orchard offers a variety of farm-like offerings akin to many of its brethren on the list — a farm market, bakery, plants for sale and a host of events, not to mention a wide variety of pick-your-own options. About 20 varieties will be available through the season. Reservations are required and, if you’re reading this in August or September, apple picking is already in full swing.

Shady Brook Farm
931 Stony Hill Rd., Yardley, PA 19067

Aside from wine, mulch, garden supplies, music and sandwiches, fruit picking — including apples, raspberries and blackberries, as well as sunflowers, which, for our purposes, we’ll designate as an honorary fruit — is on the menu of this Bucks County attraction. Tickets are required and cost $7 online and $8 at the gate and include wagon rides to the pick-your-own sites on the farm.

Styer Orchard
97 Styers Ln., Langhorne, PA 19047

Starting with plums in mid-July, Styer Orchard offers a multitude of herbs, fruits and vegetables — seriously, a multitude — available for picking, including apples, which take center stage in August through early November. The orchard encourages people to call ahead to check on the availability of all crops.

Tabora Farms
1104 Upper Stump Rd., Chalfont, PA 18914

Tabora has been an operating farm since colonial times, transitioning from dairy to fruit to agribusiness, complete with a deli, bakery (they make 160 different items daily), farm market and assorted pick-your-own options, including, you guessed it, fall apples.

This story first appeared in our August 2021 issue

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here