A family-friendly guide to apple picking in New England
Travel
Get information about activities planned especially for kids in New England apple orchards this season.
There are plenty of apple orchards across New England perfect for an idyllic fall afternoon with the family, and some have extra activities just for kids.
We’ve rounded up 12 farms with kid-friendly activities that range from scavenger hunts to storybook hayrides to petting zoos that are sure to keep the apple of your eye smiling.
Massachusetts
Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, a family farm founded in 1926, has been ranked the best in the U.S. by Travel & Leisure and the top orchard in Massachusetts by Boston.com readers.
The 186-acre farm offers more than 30 apple varieties as well as blueberries, a pumpkin area, hay rides, food, and barn animals. Visitors can choose between three mazes: the Tunnel Maze, Little Hedge Maze, and Big Green Monster Maze. Kids can also visit pigs, goats, mini ponies, and chickens and even feed some of them through a chute. Bonus: The farm’s cider doughnuts were named among the best in New England by Boston.com readers and there’s a hard cider tent with live music for the adults (and non-alcoholic cider for kids).
Honey Pot Hill Orchards, 18 Boon Road, Stow; Open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury has perfected the family day trip, according to MassLive, and was named the top apple-picking spot in America by Yelp. It has more than 60 varieties of apples on its 145 acres. Guests can also pick blueberries, peaches, strawberries, pumpkins, and flowers (in season) and adults can enjoy a hard cider bar and live music.
Kids can play in a giant sandbox and take a spin around Farmer Glenn’s Trike Yard, swing on horse-tire swings, feed chickens and visit with goats, join a family music class, and pick pumpkins. There is a farm store and an on-site restaurant called The Pitchfork. The farm serves homemade Uncrustable-like sandwiches with its own jam which it calls “a playful twist on a childhood favorite.”
Cider Hill Farm, 45 Fern Ave, Amesbury. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
New Hampshire
Applecrest Farm Orchards in Hampton Falls, billed as the oldest continuously-operated apple orchard in the U.S., offers over 40 varieties of apples, as well as peaches, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, pumpkins, and flowers (in season).
The farm’s Harvest Festivals, which take place on September and October weekends, includes live music, a children’s petting zoo, a corn maze, horse-drawn hayrides, tractor rides, a petting zoo, face painting, balloons, make-your-own scarecrow stations, and more. Kids can hop on a Storybook Hayride and themed days this year include the great pumpkin carve on Oct. 19 and a viking theme on Oct. 18 and 19.
Applecrest Farm, 133 Exeter Road, Hampton Falls, N.H. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Appleview Orchard in Pittsfield is a family owned and operated farm that offers more than 20 varities of apples as well as a covered porch and pavilion and wraparound deck. Family-friendly fun includes a playground, hayrides, sandbox, picnic areas, and farm animals (think rabbits, ducklings, pigs, turkeys, and goats).
“Visit our classic, kid-friendly apple orchard just a few minutes off the highway. Stroll through our gorgeous farm and pick some perfect apples. Enjoy a picnic lunch in a breathtaking New Hampshire setting, and top it off with our super-premium ice cream served in a homemade waffle cone!” wrote farm officials on its website.
Appleview Orchard, 1266 Upper City Road, Pittsfield, N.H.; Open 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
Maine
Treworgy Family Orchards, situated on 42 acres in Levant, Maine, offers pick your own apples, berries, squash, peaches, pumpkins, and flowers (in season). There is a petting zoo, playground, cafe, and mini portrait sessions offered for families. The farm was named the best in America for its pumpkin patch and corn maze by USA Today readers. Its corn maze, the longest continually running in the state, covers more than 4 acres and there is also a night maze.
Wrote USA Today: “When visiting Treworgy Family Orchards, you may want to hop aboard the hayride or take a horse-drawn farm tour so you can get a good look at the expansive pumpkin patch. After all, it covers 8 miles of rows! Once you find the pumpkin you want, you can visit the goats or celebrate with ice cream.”
Treworgy Family Orchards; 3876 Union St., Levant; Open 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Closed on Mondays.
McDougal Orchards in Springvale is a seventh generation 346-acre family farm in southern Maine that offers pick your own apples as well as peaches, nectarines, plums, pears, raspberries and sweet and sour cherries (in season).
The farm offers weekend wagon rides, a corn maze “geared toward kids and kids at heart,” a Fairy Village, trails for hiking, and doughnuts at Capt. Jack’s Donut Shack.
McDougal Orchards; 201 Hanson Ridge Road, Springvale, Maine; Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday through Wednesday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday
Vermont
Shelburne Orchards in Shelburne, a 60-acre farm near the shores of Lake Champlain (recently named one of the most “amazing” lakes in the U.S.), grows primarily apples but also peaches, plums, sour cherries, and table grapes. There is a distillery and tasting room where adults can enjoy the farm’s very own apple brandy.
For the littlest visitors, the farm has a lineup of live music and programming for children all season long, including Music and Movement with Miss Emma and Story Time with Lindsey Stoddard. The former is a song and dance session geared toward kids age 5 and under and the latter is a story time with picture books. Kids ride a wagon from the parking lot to the Orchard Main Stage in the pick-your-own section of the orchard for the events. There are also tractor rides and a taco truck.
Shelburne Orchards, 216 Orchard Road, Shelburne, Vermont; Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Closed on Mondays.
Burtt’s Apple Orchard in Cabot offers pick-your-own apples and plenty of fun activities for families.
Kids can play on the farm’s playground, tackle the corn maze, dig in the sandbox, try an apple slingshot, tetherball, and explore a 1.5-mile public loop trail through the cow pastures. There are also two different treasure hunts: a golden apple hunt (the prize: a free cider doughnut) and a wooden apple hunt (the prize: a gift certificate to Jay Peak Resort).
Burtt’s Apple Orchard, 283A Cabot Plains Road, Cabot, Vermont; Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 6 p.m. on Thursdays.
Connecticut
Lyman Orchards in Middlefield has 30,000 apple trees spread over 100 acres and grows 27 varieties of apples.
Kids on the farm enjoy a petting zoo, corn maze, and horse-drawn wagon rides. The farm hosts a free AutumnFest on Nov. 1, celebrating the end of the season that includes a pie run, rides on a roaming railroad trackless train, pumpkin bowling and pumpkin golf, yard games, live music, and more.
Lyman Orchards, 105 South Street, Middlefield, Conn.; Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Silverman’s Farm in Easton offers pick-your-own apples and plenty of animals.
Kids can visit buffalo, llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats, fallow deer, emus, and long-horn cattle and also pet and feed some of them. There is also face painting and food vendors. Families can grab food from the country store and eat it at picnic tables available in the park area. Scenic tractor rides are available during the month of October. What’s more, pumpkins picked from the pumpkin patch are free if families can guess the weight of the pumpkin within 2 ounces.
Silverman’s Farm, 451 Sport Hill Road, Easton, Conn.; Open daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Rhode Island
Young Family Farm in Little Compton offers pick-your-own apples, strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, and flowers (in season).
The farm is gearing up for its Fall Festival on Oct. 11-12, which will include live music, food trucks, pumpkin picking and decorating, hayrides, fall-themed games for kids, and fun contests throughout the day such as a corn shucking contest
Young Family Farm, 260 W Main Road, Little Compton, R.I.; Open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
At Escobar’s Highland Farm in Portsmouth, there may not be apple picking, but there’s a pick-your-own pumpkin patch, hayrides, a Kids Cow Train, and an 8.5-acre maze with more than two miles of walking paths.
This year’s maze is a map of the world and special maze days include a Harry Potter/Mad Scientist day on Sept. 27 featuring a mad scientist show at 1 p.m. (kids who wear Harry Potter costumes get $1 off admission) and a Halloween Costume Party on Oct. 31 (kids in costume get $1 off admission).
Escobar’s Highland Farm, 255 Middle Road, Portsmouth, R.I.; Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and Fridays beginning Sept. 26.
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