Greater Bedford's Best Places to Go Apple Picking

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Autumn in New England means the return of football season, colorful foliage, fairs, and delicious, crispy, local apples. Whether you crave the sweet crunch of a Honey Crisp apple, the juicy sweet flavor and vivid red color of a local favorite, the Macintosh apple, or love the Cortland apple, ideal for an apple pie or apple crisp, apple picking is a quintessential New England fall favorite activity.

There is something special about packing the family into the car for an afternoon at a local orchard with its sweet, alluring scent, trees filled with ripe red fruit, bags overloaded with the best apples to bring home and a sample or two of the apples direct from the trees! And, let’s face it, there are few things better than biting into a crisp, sweet, perfectly juicy apple!

In honor of autumn and to help you plan your weekend apple picking outing, we have gathered some of the best local orchards in the Greater Boston area.

Drew Farms – Tadmuck Road, Westford MA

If there weren’t enough reasons to love Westford, the family-run Drew Farms is just one more. Located on a hill with spectacular views, this dog-friendly orchard offers free tractor-drawn trailer rides (weekends only), picnic tables, apple cider and apple cider donuts (yum) and yes, acres of delicious, sweet apples! Carol Lee Collins, our Marketing Coordinator, loves to take her Cocker Spaniel to this orchard!

Parlee Farms - 95 Farwell Rd, Tyngsboro, MA

With over fifteen acres of orchards and 20 varieties, including dwarf trees, perfect for the little ones, Parlee Farms is the perfect place to pick your own apples. Families can enjoy a hayride to the orchards, picnic tables, apple cider, apple cider donuts (voted best by viewers of NECN), farm animals, a hay play area and so much more!

Honey Pot Hill Orchards - 144 Sudbury Rd, Stow, MA

Becky Venuti, our Team Director recommends Honey Pot Hill Orchards. Voted Best Apple Orchard 2017, Becky and her three children LOVE the fun family-friendly atmosphere, the farm store, the animals, the hedge maze, and hayrides! She says that the Apple Cider Donuts are the best in the “world”.

Wilson Farm – 10 Pleasant Street, Lexington

While they don’t have apple picking, Andrea, our Transaction Coordinator, enjoys bringing her two sets of twin boys to Wilson Farm in Lexington each fall for their annual visit for fresh pressed apple cider, delicious caramel apples, and apple cider donuts!

Shelburne Farm – 106 Acton Road, Stow, MA

With pick your own apples, pumpkins, hayrides, a tractor playground, and barnyard animals, it is easy to see why Shelburne Farm is one of the area’s most popular local orchards. On a recent trip to Sam Collins, the adorable son of Buyer Agent, Thais Collins, 

Boston Hill Farm – 1370 Turnpike Street, North Andover

Boston Hill Farm celebrates the fall with weekly fall festivals through the end of October. Enjoy apple picking with top varietals like McIntosh, Cortlands, Macouns, Paula Red, and Red Delicious, homemade apple cider donuts, live music, barbecue, a petting zoo and many other family-friendly activities.  It is dog-friendly, so bring Fido along!

Now, that you have picked bags full of delicious apples, what are you going to do with them? Share your favorite applie recipes with us!