What could be more quintessentially “fall in New England” than apple picking?
While definitely a little cheesy, we’re the first to admit that we’ve gone apple picking every year that we’ve lived in Boston.
It’s a lovely opportunity to get out of the city for a bit, enjoy the fresh air and fall foliage, and perhaps even indulge in some seasonal treats.
We’ve rounded up 3 great options for you below– Nashoba Valley Winery, Honey Pot Hill Orchards, and Carlson Orchards– and included everything you need to know before you go, to ensure you have the best visit.
Apple picking season generally starts in late September and continues through late October, but make sure to check the website of whichever farm you choose before you go. Many area farms update their “PYO” (Pick Your Own) information daily, with weather conditions, what kinds of apples are most prevalent that day, and what their hours are.
Lastly, don’t miss the other treats available! Many of the farms have a variety of other attractions to take part in, like petting zoos, farmstands, and home-made goodies like apple cider, apple cider donuts, and (Tegan’s ultimate weakness) caramel apples.
Location: Bolton, MA
Hours of Operation: 11-7 on weekends
Why You Should Visit Here: Best apple cider donuts, winery/brewery/distillery tours available
Costs: $15 per peck (~10 pounds)
Nashoba Valley Winery is a slam dunk.
Not only can you pick apples to your heart’s content, but there is also a winery, distillery, brewery, AND restaurant on the grounds. You can reserve a time slot for a wine tasting, where you’re able to sample 5 of Nashoba’s wines (your choice) and keep your wineglass. Many of their wines are derived from local berries, and it’s neat to sample the different flavor profiles, like cherry, cranberry, strawberry rhubarb, and more.
Nashoba is also the winner, hands-down, for the best apple cider donuts we’ve ever had. $1 each, they are served piping hot (so hot they’ll burn your fingers) and absolutely melt in your mouth.
2. Honey Pot Hill Orchards
Location: Stow, MA
Hours of Operation: 9-6 daily
Why You Should Visit Here: Best "farm day" experience, biggest apple orchard, + nice nature walks
Costs: $20 per medium-sized bag
Honey Pot Hill is quite the operation. Unlike Nashoba’s more “jack-of-all-trades” approach to fruit, brewing, distilling, etc., Honey Pot has really leaned into the “farm day” side of the game. Here, you can see cute animals, go on nature walks, explore the working farm, and of course pick apples, and the whole experience is very “Instagrammable” and cozy.
Located a bit closer to Boston proper (we took a ride-share there and it wasn’t too pricey), Honey Pot seems to cater a bit more to the urban set seeking a quick little jaunt outside the city (yes, admittedly, describes us)— come out to the farm for the day, pick some apples, go on a hay ride, etc.
We had a lot of fun using the apple pickers and climbing the ladders to pick our apples here. At the other 2 farms, there was a decent amount of great-looking fruit that was out of reach. Not so here! We also visited with peak fall colors, which really enhanced the experience.
At the farm store, there are various stalls selling goodies like caramel apples, cider, etc. that are fun to sample, though we found the farm store here to be a bit pricier than the others.
3. Carlson Orchards
Location: Harvard, MA
Hours of Operation: 9-4 daily
Why You Should Visit Here: Best-quality apples
Costs: $25 per peck
Carlson Orchards is an OG apple-picking destination, founded by the Carlson family in 1936. It wasn’t until the 1960s that they began to specialize in fruit specifically (having been more of a generalized-crop farm before then), but the 120-acre farm is bursting with apples, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, and more depending on the time of year.
We found the apples at Carlson to be far and away the nicest of the 3 orchards. Full disclosure, we did visit in early October, so perhaps this is one reason, but in general the trees were absolutely bursting with gorgeous, shiny apples, and we felt totally spoiled for choice varieties-wise here.
The farm store has all sorts of goodies as well– we sampled apple cider donuts (2nd place to Nashoba); apple cider; hard apple cider (their Honeycrisp hard cider is absolutely delicious); and their fresh mango salsa. Regrettably, no caramel apples for Tegan here.
And now, what to do with all those apples? How about a pie, or maybe some turnovers? (Ours didn’t turn out too shabby, huh?)
Also had to include a pic of this beautiful caramel apple for posterity (courtesy of Honey Pot!)
Have you ever been apple picking? What did you think? What’s your favorite type of apple to munch on? We’re currently loving our stash of Ida Red apples, yum! Let us know in the comments!
Looking for more fun fall activities in the New England region? Check out our guide to October fun in Salem here, or visit our landing page here.
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6 comments
Great pictures! Thanks for this colorful post, loaded with information!
The fall colors are the best!
What a lovely way to spend the day outdoors enjoying nature. I’d love to see New England in the fall – looks magical!
Super magical!
such a lovely post.
cute pics and thank you so much for suggesting this great way to spend time in the outdoors.
Thank you so much!
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