Have you noticed the change in the air? The mornings are crisp, the leaves are starting to drop, and the sun is setting earlier. Around here, that means its apple picking season! Oh sure, you can visit the grocery store and get apples at a fraction of the cost charged for pick your own apples. But, you’d be missing out on the quintessential New England experience of it. Personally, a September without apple picking is like Oreos without milk or peanut butter without jelly. We are very lucky to live within a short driving distance of some great Pick Your Own orchards. I’m going to let you know about my favorites!
Cider Hill Farm
45 Fern Ave.
Amesbury, MA
www.ciderhill.com
Mon-Sun 8 am until 6 pm
Cider Hill Farm is my all around favorite for its location (minutes away in neighboring Amesbury), variety of apples, and great atmosphere. We’ve gone here for the last several years. In addition to their apples, they have a nice selection of pumpkins. Of course, most importantly, there is plenty of entertainment for the kids! A small maze made with hay bales will keep the progeny lost and confused long enough for you to catch your breath from carrying thirty pounds of apples. They also have a small animal area with sheep, goats, and plenty of chickens. In the animal barn, there are rocking horses made from old tires. In the bakery is a Honey Bee display enclosed in glass, so the kids can safely watch the bees do their thing. The apples are priced at $1.75 per pound. Which, is expensive if you are purchasing lots of apples but perfect if you are only planning on picking a few. Most other orchards charge a flat per bag fee, which you must pay before picking.
Russell Orchards
143 Argilla Rd.
Ipswich, Ma
www.russellorchards.com
Mon-Sun 9 am until 6 pm
We visited this Ipswich orchard just the other day. The drive over is gorgeous. They don’t seem as large as Cider Hill but they have plenty of well-marked varieties of apples. The staff was extremely friendly and you can choose to walk up to the apples or take a free hay ride. Their farm animals beat out all the other orchards I’ve visited. There were goats, sheep, ducks, and geese. The pigs were cute and very well fed. They had ponies, a horse, and bunnies. There were more kinds of chickens than I’ve seen anywhere other than the Topsfield Fair. I had trouble dragging the family away. We could have spent a couple of hours with the animals alone (and that part is free). Russell Orchards also has a winery with free wine testing. They specialize in fruit wine and hard cider. We didn’t check out this feature but it is definitely on my sans kids to do list. The apples here cost $15 per bag. A bag is equal to one peck (approximately 10 pounds). Be aware that apple picking here is cash only on the weekends.
Smolak Farms
31 South Bradford St.
North Andover, MA
www.smolakfarms.com
Mon.-Sun. 7am until 5 pm
I used to be a director of a childcare center in Arlington. Every year all the families would drive all the way up and meet together at this orchard. It was worth it, and now I’m much closer. Smolak Farms is a kid’s paradise. They have a decent size playground and a petting zoo with llamas, goats, and chickens. They also have long meandering hay rides and a bouncy house and slide to jump around on. However, all this comes at a cost. The hayrides here are not free and you also have to pay to let your kids use the bouncy house and slide. And, at $20 a peck, they are the most expensive of the orchards I mentioned.
To avoid repeating myself, I did not mention the cider donuts. All the orchards sell them and they are all amazing. Don’t even set foot into the bakeries if you are on a diet. You won’t be able to resist. If you choose to visit any of these farms on a weekend instead of a “Whiny Wednesday”, be prepared for crowds and long lines. However, we try to plan our visit for around 4pm on a Sunday and most of the crowds seem to have cleared out.
Now what am I going to do with all these apples?
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Lisa DeGloria is a freelance writer and somewhat harried mother of 3 boys. She lives in Newburyport and can be reached at lisadegloria@comcast.net
