Apple U-Pick Orchards in Western Maine 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.
- Morrison Hill Orchard - apples
Morrison Hill Road, Farmington, ME . Phone: 207-778-4945. Email: simxxl@tdstelme.net. Open: Tuesday through Sunday, 9 am to 5 pm. Click here for a map and directions. . West Farmington, follow Rte 43 west to a left-hand turn onto Morrison Hill Road. The orchard is about one half mile. Two varieties of MacIntosh available after September 15. Call ahead for availability.
Oxford County
- Apple Acres Farm - apples, Playground, farm market, U-pick and already-picked
363 Durgintown Road, South Hiram, ME 04041. Phone: 207-625-4777. Email: info@appleacresfarm.com. Open: 8 am to 5 pm, daily. Click here for a map and directions. . PYO or Farm shop with pre-picked apples. Many varieties to choose from including Paula Reds, Macs, Cortlands, Macouns, Red Delicious, Spensers, Mutsus, Honey Crisps and Northern Spys. We provide everything you need: apple pickers, baskets, bags and wagons. is available for your ceremony, reception, or both. We are an outdoor, charmingly rustic venue. We do not have a barn, but rather, we nestle your reception tent in amongst our fruit trees, overlooking the deep woods and the valley below. They also have cider, wine, meats, cheeses. (ADDED: October 1, 2018, JBS) - Cayford Orchards - Uses integrated pest management practices, apples, pears, Honey from hives on the farm, Maple Syrup from trees on the farm, Cider mill fresh apple cider made on the premises, gift shop, restrooms, school tours
99 Hilton Hill Road, Skowhegan, ME 04976. Phone: (207) 474-5200. Email: cayfordorchardsfarms@yahoo.com. Open: September 1 to Thanksgiving from 9am to 5pm every day. Directions: 3 miles north on RT 150, from Post Office in Downtown Skowhegan.Take Right onto Hilton Hill Road, follow 1/2 mile.Farm store located on Right. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, WIC Vouchers, SFMNP Vouchers.
Cayford Orchards Facebook page. . All our berries are taking to Skowhegan Farmers' Market July thru September;All products are sold at farme store after September First. We use integrated pest management practices. We are a six generation family farm.we raise 57 varieties of fruit.Peaches, pears, plums, berries and a wide selection of new and heirloom apples.Along with raw local honey, maple & apple syrup. We welcome you to join us.Explore the farm, pick your own and take a weekend hayride.With so many varieties apple tastings are always free. - Grover Hill Orchard - No pesticides are used apples, flowers, U-pick and already picked, concessions \\/ refreshment stand
684 Grover Hill Road, Bethel, ME 04217. Phone: (207) 776-5573. Email: groverhillorchard@gmail.com. Open: UPDATE for 2021, Their website and Facebook pages are gone or outdated - I presume they have closed. Directions: The orchard entrance is on the left after the driveway to a private home. It's about 150' after the mailbox marked 684. The road slightly turns so it's hard to see from the mailbox. Look for large white signs marking entrance and parking. Free old style pressing every Saturday to sample during . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx.
Grover Hill Orchard Facebook page. . Does anyone have current information, are they still offering pick your own or are even open? If so, please write me.September: Thursday to Monday; October: 7 Days a Week. Picking updates: Click here for picking updates. open season;. We do not use pesticides on the crops. We use probiotic orcharding techniques to grow healthier, tastier apples by working with Mother Nature. The orchard doesn't look like your typical PYO spot, with taller grasses filled with bees and butterflies and apples that don't always look like they do in the grocery store (although still make great cider!), we strive to provide an authentic PYO experience with quality apples. Note: Formerly known as "Lyons Ocrhard" prior to 2018) (UPDATED: August 24, 2018) - Lombard's Appleberry Orchard - apples and pears.
234 Dexter Road, Saint Albans, ME . Phone: 207-938-2861. Email: kathie@tdstelme.net. Open: September through October, 10 am to 4 pm. Click here for a map and directions. . Email . Pick your own Dexter Road is also called Rte 23. - North Star Orchards - apples
97 Orchard Road, Madison, ME . Phone: 207-696-5109. Email: northstarorchards@hughes.net. Open: September 1 through December 24, every day from 10 am to 5 pm; then from January to August on weekends only from 10 am to 5 pm. Click here for a map and directions. . Alternate phone: 877-696-5109. . Orchard Road is off Rte 43. Numerous varieties of available from late August through mid-October. Free wagon rides on Saturday and Sunday to pick from dwarf trees. Great family fun. Restroom available.
Comments from a visitor on September 19, 2009: "We really enjoy picking and taking the wagon ride around the orchard with our children" -
Pietree Orchard -
UPDATE for 2023: They are permanently closed apples, beans, blueberries, peas, peaches, pumpkins,
strawberries,
803 Waterford Road, Sweden, ME 04040. Open: UPDATE for 2023: They are permanently closed - Plummer Hill Orchards - - apples
Plummer Hill Road, Waterford, ME . Phone: 207-583-6508. Open: Saturday and Sunday 9 am to 4 pm in September and October. Click here for a map and directions. . Take Rte 37 or 35 to Waterford Road, Village, take Plummer Hill Road north from village for 1.2 miles. Pick your own MacIntosh, Cortland, Red and Golden Delicious while enjoying beautiful views of the Western Maine Mountains. Bus parking. - Sandy River Apples/Fenton's Orchard - - apples
Sandy River Road, Norridgewock, ME . Phone: 207-587-2563. Open: September 15 through October 30; Call for hours and availability. Click here for a map and directions. . Handicapped Accessible. Restroom available. Bus parking. Old varieties of apples. - The Apple Farm at Lakeside Orchards - apples
104 Back Road, Fairfield, ME . Phone: 207-453-7656. Email: applefarm@adelphia.net. Open: September through October 25 from 9 am to 5 pm daily. Directions: Located on the Back Rd. Click here for a map and directions. . Alternate phone: 877-453-7656. Fax 207-453-2717. Email . Pick your own -- Macs, Cortlands, Red and Golden Delicious, Golden Russets, Pearmains, Winter Bananas and others in season. Wagon rides on weekends. Handicapped Accessible. Restroom available. Bus parking. We welcome you to visit our farm and its pituresque barn store, where in addition to all our apple products, you will find home-made jams and jellies of every description, pure natural local honey, maple syrup, scrumptious, home-made pies and breads, local vegetables and loads of country charm. We also invite you to stroll through the orchards, perhaps pick a peck or two of your own in season, or watch cider being pressed. Bring a picnic. It's a great family outing. The Apple Farm is open from August to December and is . (1 mile off Route 104 between Waterville and Skowhegan).
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!
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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
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