2024 Windsor, Chatham, Southwest Ontario Apple U-Pick Farms and Orchards - PickYourOwn.org

Apple U-Pick Orchards in Windsor, Chatham, Southwest Ontario 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 a province or region 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.

New! As inflation remains high, see this page for reliable (tested) brands of generic canning lids at lower costs, and cost-saving measures for getting fruit and vegetables and home canning.
 If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

New! Road tripping and camping is a great way to have a fun, safe and inexpensive family trip. The national and state parks and monuments are open, and campgrounds usually cost between $10 and $40 per night. September to November is the best camping weather.  See our new website Road Tripping and Camping.com for tips, tricks, guides, checklists and info about parks, monuments and other places to visit.

New! We just went live with our latest website, FunFactoryTours.com - As they name implies, you can find a fun factory tour, including chocolate, automobiles, historical forts and sites, famous buildings, Active Federal facilities even fun geology: like fossils and volcanic areas

Essex (Essex, Kingsville, Lakeshore, Lasalle, Leamington, Windsor)

• Kennette Orchard - apples, Honey from hives on the farm, U-pick and already picked, restrooms
  913 Lakeshore Road 107, Lakeshore, ON N8M2X7. Phone: 519-727-3064. Email: linda_kennette@hotmail.com. Open: 7 days a week from 9 am to 5 pm, September 1 until October 31. Directions: Located 1 road west of the Puce road 1 mile south of Country Road 42 Our road is now called Lakeshore Road 107, formerly called 6th Concession. Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only. Kennette OrchardFax: We also sell pumpkins, squash, tomatoes, gourds and pears. has lots of butternut squash, ornamental gourds and a large selection of pumpkins to go along with our just picked apples.
• Meleg's Lakeview Orchard - apples, blackberries, cherries, peaches, raspberries (red), raspberries (Spring, red), raspberries (Autumn, red), strawberries, Other fruit or veg, Cider mill (fresh apple cider made on the premises), U-pick and already picked, restrooms
  158 Arner Townline, Kingsville, ON N9Y 2E6. Phone: 519 733-4857. Email: tmeleg@xplornet.com. Open: Monday to Sunday from 8 am to 6. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only. Picking updates: Click here for picking updates Other fruits: plums, peaches, pears, nectarine, melons, honeydew, watermelons, pumpkins Vegetables: bean, potatoes, pickles, onions, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet corn Other products: paprika spice, apple cider vinegar, jams, local honey. (UPDATED: June 21, 2019, JBS)
• Thiessen Orchards - apples, pumpkins, U-pick and already picked, concessions or refreshment stand, porta-potties are available, picnic area, face painting, Bounce house, school tours
  400 Talbot Road East, Leamington, ON N8H3V6. Phone: 519-326-5282. Email: andrew@thiessenorchards.com. Open: Sunday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, September 6 to October 29, including Thanksgiving Monday. Directions: From the East \(e.g. TorontoLondon\): Take 401 West to highway 77. Turn left onto highway 77 and follow for approximately 12 miles \(there will be a left turn just before Staples to stay on Highway 77\). Turn left onto County Road 33 and continue straight until you reach a STOP sign. Turn left onto County Road 34 \(Talbot Road East\) towards Wheatley for 1 mile. We are on the right hand side of the road. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, AmEx.
  Thiessen Orchards Facebook page. Fax: 519-326-2089 Picking updates: Click here for picking updatesFrom the East (e.g. Toronto/London): Take 401 West to highway 77. Turn left onto highway 77 and follow for approximately 12 miles (there will be a left turn just before Staples to stay on Highway 77). Turn left onto County Road 33 and continue straight until you reach a STOP sign. Turn left onto County Road 34 (Talbot Road East) towards Wheatley for 1 mile. We are on the right hand side of the road We offer Pick Your Own Apples, hay rides in the orchard, and a pumpkin patch to pick your own pumpkins. All ages can burn some energy in the haymow (an old horse barn filled with straw containing 3 slides) or can challenge the 3 acre corn maze. Dig deep down in the sandbox and fly high on the huge swing sets. Face painting for all ages is provided by Sunshine the clown. The Kountry Kitchen serves up a delicious menu. Sausage on a Bun, Jumbo Hot Dogs, Fresh Apple Cider(warm or cold), homemade apple pie, caramel apples, apple fritters/muffins too name a few. Enjoy all of these wonderful items in our picnic area
• Wagner Orchards and Estate Winery - Uses integrated pest management practices, apples, peaches, Honey from hives on the farm, Fresh eggs, Cider mill (fresh apple cider made on the premises), U-pick and already picked, snacks and refreshment stand, picnic area, farm animals, weddings and wedding parties, school tours
  1222 Lakeshore Road 103, Maidstone, ON N0R1K0. Phone: 519-723-4807. Email: cats6dr@aol.com. Open: Peaches August and September Daily 10 am to 6 pm Apples September and October Daily 10 am to 6pm. Directions: Take County Road #42 2 miles east of Manning Road, turn south on Lakeshore Road 103, continue down Lakeshore 103 4 kms over the 401; we are the first farm on your left - #1222. NOTE GPS address is 1222 Concession 8 W, Lakeshore Ontario. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard. We use integrated pest management practicesWe have an on farm estate winery with grape and fruit wine. In the fall we run tractor drawn hay rides through the orchard. We have an on farm bakery with fresh pies, strudels and other baked goods. We have all natural farm raised beef and Mennonite Summer Sausage. Our farm also features an event room for special events. At, we grow our products and raise our animals in an environmentally-friendly atmosphere. Without the use of hormones, chemicals or antibiotics and a continually reduced use of pesticides, our food is grown in the healthiest way possible

Lambton (Algonac, Petrolia, Plympton-Wyoming, Sarnia, Warwick)

• Meleg's Lakeview Orchard and Cider Mil - apples, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, raspberries, currants, gooseberries, blackberries pears, plums
  166 Arner Townline, Kingsville, ON N9Y 2E6. Phone: 519-733-4857. Email: melegsorchard@yahoo.com. Open: Open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm and Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm, closed on Saturdays, Their season starts with haskaps followed by strawberries, cherries, raspberries, blueberries, currants, gooseberries, blackberries pears, plums & apples. Click here for a map and directions. Both red and black currants! The berry season is short so enjoy whole you can! They also have ready picked homegrown fruits and local veggies! Note: In 2022, Arner bridge is closed so there is 5 min detour. Directions if you are coming from Kingsville. Or from Windsor Costco. (ADDED: July 15, 2022, JBS)
• Twin Pines Orchards and Cider House and Estate Winery - Uses integrated pest management practices, apples, Cider mill fresh apple cider made on the premises, gift shop, porta-potties are available, restrooms, picnic area, picnic area you may bring your own food, birthday parties, school tours, group reservations
  8169 Kennedy Line Rural Route 4, Thedford, ON N0M 1B0. Phone: 519-296-5558. Email: vansteenkiste@xcelco.on.ca. Open: Monday to Friday, from 10 am to 5 pm; Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm; Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm: June 1 to December 31 Saturday, from 9 am to 5 pm; Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm: January1 to June 1. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard.
  Twin Pines Orchards and Cider House and Estate Winery Facebook page. Wine and Cider tastings Saturday 9 am to 5 pm; Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm all weekends throughout the year. We use integrated pest management practicesWe also have fresh picked apples, cider, grapes, pears, peppers, plums, pumpkins, raspberries, squash, strawberries, tomatoes. (ADDED: August 24, 2015)

 

Apple

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:

• Summary table of many apple varieties and their characteristics
• Detailed descriptions of each apple variety with detailed characteristics
• Apple varieties, sorted by the order in which they typically ripe
• Apple varieties that don't turn brown when they are cut
• Why are some apples brown or spotted inside when you first cut them open?

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

• How to make applesauce
• How to make apple butter 
• How to make apple jelly
• How to make apple pie filling (canned)
• How to can apples
• Home canned apple juice

New!As inflation remains high, see this page for reliable (tested) brands of generic canning lids at lower costs, and cost-saving measures for getting fruit and vegetables and home canning.
 If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

Recipes, illustrated with step by step instructions

• Apple pie recipe and directions and illustrated! I can say, with, ahem, no bias at all, that this is the best apple pie recipe in the world! (Alright, I did have an apple strudel in Vienna once at that place listed in Fodors that was REALLY good, but that wasn't a pie, was it? And since this was the recipe my grandmother used, it must be great!)
• How to make applesauce for a single meal (not canning it) with NO special equipment
• Apple cobbler
• Apple crunch - best of all! Moist, low sugar and using oats!
• Apple crisp - ever-popular, low sugar and using oats!
• Apple, blackberry, cherry, and/or peach cobbler
• Apple-blackberry, crumble - a English favorite (or favourite)

Using fresh apples and miscellaneous

• How to stop cut apples from browning
• Apple festivals - find one near you!
• Apple facts
• Apple seeds and cyanide

 

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

• Farm markets and roadside stands
• Local Honey Finder
• Local Meat, Milk and Eggs
• Venues: Farms, Wineries, Orchards for your event, wedding or party
• Easter egg hunts
• Children"s consignment sales
• Fruit and vegetable festivals
• Winery tours and wine tastings
• Horse rides, stables, lessons, trails
• Maple Syrup farms and sugarworks
• Bed & Breakfasts on Farms, Wineries, Ranches and Orchards
• Pumpkin patches
• Corn mazes
• Zombie Paintball venues
• Christmas Tree Farms & lots
• Environmental resources
• Consumer fraud information
• Wholesale food sources
• Resources for Farmers