Apple Picking in New England, Delicious and Relaxing

 

As new residents of New England a few people have actually told us that we must declare our favorite type of apple! Ask anyone around town and they will more than likely tell you that Honey Crisps are where it’s at. We’ve tried those and thought they were delicious, but then so were the ones we recently picked ourselves. Why… because they weren’t the old stuff too many of us are unfortunately used to buying in the store that have been frozen or stored for many months coated in wax, and have thus long ago had their flavor and juiciness zapped to oblivion. Fresh apples are all delicious because they’re straight from the tree!

Apple picking

 

Dowse Orchard

A few weeks ago we zipped out to Dowse Orchard, we opted for this farm because it is a 30 minute drive from our home of Allston and there was no entry fee, just the price for a bag to pick your own apples, which was $15. It is more expensive than just buying the apples from the farm stand where a bag will run you $10, but buying from the farm stand is no where near as fun as picking your own!

 

Apple picking - Dowse Orchard

 

Cortland and McIntosh Apple Picking

We visited the orchard mid-September. On the day we were there we were able to pick Cortland and McIntosh apples. We enjoyed eating both and spent a wonderfully relaxing hour in the fields eating apples, and just taking in the fresh air on a simply gorgeous fall day.

The Dowse family have been farming for 200 years and we were happy with our choice of orchards for apple picking. If you want to pick apples at Dowse Orchard, you can do so until the end of October, so it is not too late, just yet!

 Different Fees for New England Apple Picking

While there are many places to pick apples in New England pay attention when choosing to entry fees and prices to pick apples. Some of the farms charge an entry fee because they include a hay ride, petting zoo and various actives. As we weren’t that interested in that side of apple picking, even though Bell does enjoying petting farm animals or any animal for that matter that will let her, we opted for the simple pick our apples and go home option.

 

Bell Apple picking

 

Fresh! Apple picking

 

After an hour or so in the fields, we headed to the farm stand and stocked up on farm made preserves, a turkey pot pie, maple syrup and some fresh pressed apple cider. For us, having a chance to purchase food that has considerably fewer preservatives is a real treat!

Pumpkins from the farm

Picking Apples During Autumn Foliage

If you time your apple picking just right, you could also tie in catching the New England foliage around Western Massachussets. The day were were there the leaves were just beginning to change and still a few weeks away from reaching their peak color. Regardless, it was a gorgeous day and we’ll definitely be checking out a new farm next year with different apple varieties, maybe even Honey Crisps!

ApplePick2

 

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Author

  • Alex&Bell

    Alex and Bell originally met while solo traveling after finishing university in 2002, in Brugge, Belgium. Alex grew up in the USA and Bell hails from Australia. During our nearly 20 year marriage we've lived around the world, including spending six years living in the Netherlands and Ireland. We have traveled to nearly 70 countries and enjoy giving readers authentic and quality travel tips. Alex is an award winning travel journalist and travel planner, who also freelances for other outlets. Bell is an award winning PhD scientist who currently works for a non-profit lung cancer advocacy research organization called Lungevity. Happy travels and if you have any questions leave a comment or drop an email!

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4 thoughts on “Apple Picking in New England, Delicious and Relaxing

  1. Enjoyed my time in Boston and the colour of the trees in autumn is spectacular. Thankyou Alex for driving us through New England we had a wonderful time.

    1. It was my pleasure! That was a great day and a great all around visit! Salem, autumn foliage, coastal Maine towns, fresh reasonably priced lobster and great company makes for a very memorable time. Hope you enjoy the lobster mug! 😉

    1. Thanks Dale! Well when you’re just picking a bag for yourself it is very relaxing and just wonderful to eat fresh fruit right from the tree, I think that is the part we loved the most 🙂 If you guys get the chance to pick apples, we highly recommend it!

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