17 Scenic Orchards To Go Apple Picking Around NYC

Cider doughnuts, fresh apples, and hard cider right this way.

Annie Spratt / Unsplash. Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed

As literally everyone no doubt already knows, it is apple season.

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Your Instagram feed this month likely saw a drastic spike in apples and buttery pies.

Whether it's for the apples, or the cider doughnuts and hard cider, apple picking is a day trip that every urbanite should treat themselves to once every fall.

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If you live in NYC, here's where to go:

Note: This list only in orchards in New York State.

1. Harvest Moon Farm and Orchard (North Salem, NY)

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Every weekend from Labor Day to Halloween, this farm hosts a Fall Festival that offers fresh cider doughnuts, pony rides, live music, Hardscrabble Cider, pumpkin cheesecake, and a bouncy house. Of course, apple picking is on the docket as well, and most guests easily walk away with a full half-bushel bag.

Distance from NYC: 52 miles by car

Cost: $20 per 10-pound bag (only offered on weekdays) and $30 per 25-pound bag

2. Fishkill Farms (East Fishkill, NY)

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This environmentally-friendly farm offers Eco Apple-certified fruit whose varietal options change with the time of season. The lunch and doughnut stands command consistent lines, but the crisp bite of a sustainably grown apple might be all you need.

Distance from NYC: 68 miles by car

Cost: $5 admission fee; $9 per 50-pound bag, $20 per 20-pound bag, and $30 per 25-pound bag

3. Apple Dave's Orchards (Warwick, NY)

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You know what's better than cider? Hard cider. Apple Dave's offers plenty of tart, crisp, and crimson red apples for picking, and alcoholic versions of all those delicious fruits (on tap!) to end the day. And because we all know man can't live on apples alone, pair your drinks with BBQ pulled pork, cheeseburgers, and hot dogs in the food tent next door.

Distance from NYC: 62 miles by car

Cost: $8 per 5-pound bag and $30 per 25-pound bag

4. Masker Orchards (Warwick, NY)

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Masker's is kind of like the generous neighborhood mom of apple-picking orchards. Unlike most other spots, this 200-acre farm lets you sample as many apples as you'd like during your picking extravaganza, no charge. And when you've satisfied your sweet tooth, you can pull up your car to the picnic area and tailgate, or picnic on the soft orchard floor.

Distance from NYC: 52 miles by car

Cost: $28.95 per 25-pound bag

5. Dubois Farms (Highland, NY)

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Honestly, what can you not pick here? Apples are up for grabs in the months of September and October, but everything from pears, tomatoes, grapes, and gourds also wait to be stuffed into your rent-a-car. And to further indulge the farm child in you, the food stand sells old-fashioned candy, cotton candy, snow cones, fresh pressed cider, and ice cream.

Distance from NYC: 78 miles by car

Cost: $2.49 per pound

6. Dr. Davies Farm (Congers, NY)

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This relatively small, family-run orchard offers a lesser crowded apple-picking experience for a steeper price. If you're with a group, you can rent a wagon for $10 and get more ambitious with your apple loading.

Distance from NYC: 35 miles by car

Cost: $37 per 25-pound bag

7. Kelder's Farm (Kerhonkson, NY)

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When you're done 'gramming the giant garden gnome at the entrance of the farm, this centuries-old farm offers plenty of vegetables, fruits, and even flowers to pick. To work off the fiber, test your swing at the homegrown mini golf course.

Distance from NYC: 97 miles by car

Cost: $12 for a 10-pound bag and $22 per 25-pound bag

8. Barton Orchards (Poughquag, NY)

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Come for the apples (of which there are more than a dozen kinds), stay for the haunted house. Named the "Rotten Core Manor," this spooky mansion boasts jumps and pitch-black moments of cheap fun. If you still have an appetite afterwards, their bakery is known for "baking the best pies and cakes in the area."

Distance from NYC: 72 miles by car

Cost: N/A

9. Wilkens Fruit & Fir Farm (Yorktown Heights, NY)

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This farm is celebrating its 100-year anniversary this fall with a 5-acre corn maze designed to fit the centennial theme. If you're picky about your apples, check the harvesting calendar for the ripe variety of the week. For about $20, you'll leave with more than 20 apples (or, enough for 3 apple pies.)

Distance from NYC: 44 miles by car

Cost: $20 per 10-pound bag and $30 per 25-pound bag

10. Greig Farm (Red Hook, NY)

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Greig Farm understands that apple-picking can be an exhausting undertaking -- all of that mental calculation of which apples to pick, the actual reaching, and finally, the repetitive twist-and-pull, can be wearisome on the office-bound body. That's why the on-site farmer's market offers energizing breakfast and lunch options, including eggs, smoked brisket sandwiches, cheese, vegetables, and of course, plenty of fruit.

Distance from NYC: 109 miles by car

Cost: $1.50 per pound or $25 per 25-pound bag

11. Outhouse Orchards (North Salem, NY)

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One of the less-crowded orchards, Outhouse offers classic apple varieties to pick, like Red Delicious and McIntosh, as well as rarer options like Rhode Island Greenings and the bright red winter Baldwin. If you appreciate a challenge, you can even rent a pole picker to snag harder-to-reach gems.

Distance from NYC: 51 miles by car

Cost: $25 per bag

12. Lawrence Farms Orchards (Newburgh, NY)

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Open for picking year-round, this orchard grows everything from apples and plums, to hot peppers and green beans. If you're going for the autumn apple-picking experience, don't leave without trying the sugar-caked apple cider doughnuts and warm apple cider.

Distance from NYC: 70 miles by car

Cost: $3 admission fee; $1.89 per pound or $33 per 20-pound bag

13. Stuart's Fruit Farm (Granite Springs, NY)

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This farm has been perfecting the art of apple-growing for more than two centuries, and it has the varieties to prove it. If you go in October, you'll be treated to more than a dozen options, as well as their doughnuts and Dutch apple pies.

Distance from NYC: 46 miles by car

Cost: $15 per 7-pound bag and $25 per 25-pound bag

14. Apple Ridge Orchards (Warwick, NY)

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Self-declared the "most scenic orchard throughout the Warwick Valley," Apple Ridge boasts spacious orchards with clearly labeled trees and free mesh bags to stuff apples into. If you're so inclined, you can also pick pumpkins and peaches (by reservation), or pluck a few jars of apple butter and preserves off the shelves.

Distance from NYC: 56 miles by car

Cost: $28 per 25-pound bag

15. Hurds Family Farm (Modena, NY)

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You know when you bite into an apple, and find a syrupy, extra sweet patch of apple meat? The fruits here are all like that, and they come to you in multiple varieties and forms, including butters, jams, and doughnuts. This is also one of the more activities-abundant farm, and you can easily plan an entire weekend around hiking trails, a big apple bounce, a rubber duck derby, sand mountain-sliding, and slinging rotten apples off a launcher.

Distance from NYC: 76 miles by car

Cost: $7 per 5-pound bag, $12 per 10-pound bag, and $20 per 25-pound bag

16. The Milk Pail Farm and Orchard (Water Mill, NY)

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At this smaller orchard, guests can pick eight kinds of apples, and, up until October, a whopping 19 kinds of pumpkins. If you're not happy with your bruised picks, you can purchase packs of perfectly glossy mixed varieties at the Milk Pail Fresh Market, a lá Harry & David.

Distance from NYC: 93 miles by car

Cost: $47 per 25-pound bag

17. The Orchards of Concklin (Pomona, NY)

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If the name sounds familiar, that's because this orchard attends numerous farmer's markets through the tri-state area, including many in Manhattan. Aside from the apple-picking experience though, the bakery itself is worth a northern jaunt, as it sells dozens of fresh fruit pies, custard pies, quiches, cookies, doughnuts, and cakes daily.

Distance from NYC: 35 miles by car

Cost: $9 per 6-pound bag, $18 per 10-pound bag, and $36 per 25-pound bag