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Apple U-Pick Orchards in Colusa, Lake, Napa, Sacramento, Solano, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties in California in 2024, by county

Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for apples that we know of in this area. Not all areas of any state, nor even every state, have apples orchards that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!

Remember to always check with the farm's own website or Facebook page before you go - or call or email them if they don't have a website or Facebook page. Conditions at the farms and crops can change literally overnight, so if you want to avoid a wasted trip out there - check with the farm directly before you go! If I cannot reach them, I DON'T GO!

PLEASE report closed farms, broken links and incorrect info using the "Report Corrections" form below.

Yolo County (Sacramento area)

  • Impossible Acres (also called The Pickin' Patch) - boysenberries, blackberries, raspberries..cherries, peaches, apples..pumpkins, corn, gourds
    26565 Road 97D, Davis, CA . Phone: 530-750-0451. Email: impossibleacres@aol.com. Open: from late May through July each year,from 9 am to 6 pm on Wednesday to Sunday, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays except if a holiday falls on a Monday; always check their website or call before you go . Directions: West of Davis, East of Winters, South of Woodland, North of Dixon. Follow signs from the corner of County Road 98 and County Road 31 (Covell). Call for hours; Petting zoo and school tours. Pick-your-own produce: boysenberries, blackberries, raspberries..cherries, peaches, apples..pumpkins, corn, gourds..goats, ponies, chickens..hayrides, mazes, scarecrows. Most of our produce is marketed as pick-your-own so we have set up the farm to provide easy access to the picking fields. We grow many varieties of each crop to extend the picking season, and we provide containers to pick into and scales to weigh your produce. During the various seasons we have a wonderful variety of fruits for you to pick: Boysenberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, Peaches, Apples, Pumpkins, Cherries, Tomatoes, Apricots. We have small orchards and berry patches set up for people to pick their own produce. You can get tree or vine ripened apricots, plums, pluots, apriums, cherries, blackberries, raspberries, nectarines and peaches. (Other stuff, too!) It is hard to predict when the different . Click here for a map and directions. . . crops will be ripe each year, so you never know what you might be picking when you come. There is no charge to enter the farm and parking is free. You only pay for the produce you pick.(UPDATED: May 07, 2018, JBS)
    Comments from a visitor on May 23, 2010: "Last summer, I went to Impossible Acres in Yolo County (I live in Sacramento). They had a huge selection of you-pick apricots, plums, hybrids thereof, as well as tons of blackberries and some strawberries. They were friendly and easygoing and my friends and I all had a great time - not to mention that we got tasty fresh fruit for free!"

Yuba County

  • Bishop's Pumpkin Farm - Apples, pumpkins, walnuts, Corn maze.
    1415 Pumpkin Lane, Wheatland, CA 95692. Phone: 530-633-2568. Open: Pumpkin patch last week in September thru October 31. Click here for a map and directions. . Sunday to Thursday 9-6; Friday and Saturday 9-7. Company picnics, from April thru August. From the north, drive south on Hwy 65 to Wheatland. Turn right on 4th St and drive one half mile to the farm. From Interstate 80 east of Roseville, take Hwy 65 turnoff. Wheatland is approximately 21 miles north. Turn left on 4th St and drive one half mile to the farm. (UPDATED: May 28, 2018, JBS)

 

Apple Picking Tips, Recipes and Information

Apples ripen from the outside of the tree towards the center, so the apples out the outside of the tree will ripen first.  Once they are picked, they stop ripening. Picking apples directly from a tree is easy. Roll the apple upwards off the branch and give a little twist; don't pull straight away from the tree. If two apples are joined together at the top, both will come away at the same time. Don't shake the trees or branches.  If the apple you are trying to pick drops, (or others on the tree) go ahead and pick it up. They're perfectly fine! But do wash them before you eat them! More info: How to tell when apples are ripe

  • Once picked, don't throw the apples into the baskets, place them in gently, or they will bruise and go bad more quickly.
  • Don't wash apples until just before using to prevent spoilage.
  • For an explanation of why apple slices turn brown and how to stop it, see this page!
  • Keep apples cool after picking to increase shelf life.  A cool basement is ideal, but the fruit/vegetable drawer of a refrigerator will work, too.  A refrigerator is fine for small quantities of apples. Boxed apples need to be kept in a cool, dark spot where they won't freeze. Freezing ruptures all of an apple's cells, turning it into one large bruise overnight. The usual solution is to store apples in a root cellar. But root cellars often have potatoes in them: apples and potatoes should never be stored in the same room because, as they age, potatoes release an otherwise ethylene gas, which makes apples spoil faster. If you can keep the gas away from your apples, they will keep just fine. Just don't store them right next to potatoes.
    Prevent contact between apples stored for the winter by wrapping them individually in sheets of newspaper. The easiest way to do this is to unfold a section of newspaper all the way and tear it into quarters. Then stack the wrapped apples . See more here: How to store apples at home
  • Apples don't improve or "ripen" after being picked - this is an urban myth - see this page for the truth - with references!

Which apple variety is best?

There are tens of thousands of varieties of apples, developed over centuries. They vary in sugar, acoidity, flavors, storing, crispness and many other attributes. See our guides to apple varieties:

Canning apples - fully illustrated, with step-by-step instructions

Recipes, illustrated with step by step instructions

Using fresh apples and miscellaneous

 

Other Local Farm Products (Honey, Horses, Milk, Meat, Eggs, Etc.)
(NOT pick-your-own, unless they are also listed above)