Pick Your Own Apples

Apple Picking

There’s nothing like biting into a farm-fresh apple picked right from an orchard tree at the peak of ripeness. Visit Donaldson Farms and pick your own apples! Enjoy healthy and delicious apples that are locally-grown.

Apple Picking Hours (When in Season)

APPLE PICKING HOURS: Offered until one hour before the farm market closes.

* Weather and crop conditions permitting

Pricing

There are no parking fees and no admission fees to enter the apple orchard. Pick-your-own apple prices are by the pound. *Most apple varieties are $2.99 per pound. Honey Crisp Apples are $3.99 per pound and must be bagged separately. Apple Picking Bags are $1.00 + tax each. You must check in at our farm market before walking to the apple orchard. Thank you!

** Honey Crisp Apples, when available, are priced higher than our other varieties and must be bagged separately.

Apple Picking Policies

• You must check in at the farm market before you pick.
• Apples are priced by the pound.
• Apple bags are available for purchase. We ask that you leave your own bags at home.
• Sample, not supper. We take great pride in our farm. Please leave it as you found it. Disrespectful guests will be asked to leave.

Apple Varieties We Grow – Availability differs throughout the season

Autumn Crisp – is a blend of the Golden Delicious and Monroe apple variety and boasts a unique sweet-tart flavor that’s crisp and juicy with a white/yellow flesh. Autumn Crisp apples are great for cooking and eating and are ideal for salads because they are slower to brown than other types of apples. This apple has more vitamin C than any other apple variety!

Blondee – Sweet and crisp with bright white flesh and hints of honey flavor. This apple is slow to brown. Good for eating, baking, and applesauce. Mix with tart apples when cooking.

Cortland – Cortland apples are medium to large in size, and often rather flat in shape. They are bright red and covered with dark red streaks; often they are capped with a green blush. Their crisp, finely-grained white flesh is exceptionally juicy with a sharp, sweet-tart, vinous flavor.

Empire – Empire apples are between Red Delicious and McIntosh.  Empire apples have a sweet-tart taste that is ideal for eating and salads but also great for sauce, baking, pies, and freezing.

EverCrisp – EverCrisp is sweet and juicy – a yummy apple that holds a powerful crunch – combining the best features of Honeycrisp and Fuji. The EverCrisp name says it all. The durable apple arrives late in the season and stores strongly – it maintains sweetness and firmness like no other. That makes EverCrisp the perfect treat for a holiday celebration.

Fuji – Fuji apples are medium to large.  The Fuji’s interior creamy white flesh is dense, juicy, and crisp. Low in acid, the flavor is mild yet very sweet with hints of both honey and citrus. Fuji apples are perfect for eating and taste great on salads

Gala – With a mildly sweet flavor and long availability window, this apple is one of today’s most popular varieties.

Golden Delicious – Golden Delicious apples are pale green to golden yellow in color and speckled with small lenticels (spots). They are small to medium in size and tend to be conical or oblong in shape. Golden Delicious apples are firm, crisp, and white-fleshed. These apples have a balanced sweet-tart aromatic flavor, which has been described as honeyed. The flavor varies depending on where these apples are grown; in a cool climate, the number of acid increases, actually creating a sweeter flavor. When grown in warmer areas, the acid content is lower, creating a milder flavor.

Granny Smith – Granny Smith apples have a bright green skin that is often speckled with faint white lenticels (spots). Medium to large in size and round in shape, they are a firm and juicy apple with thick skin. Their flesh is bright white and crisp in texture with a tart, acidic, yet subtly sweet flavor. Granny Smith apples grown in colder climates will often take on a yellow to pink blush. 

Honeycrisp – Honeycrisp apples have a yellow background covered with a red to pink blush and speckled with small lenticels. Their creamy white flesh is exceptionally crisp and aromatic. A balanced content of sugar and acid gives Honeycrisp apples a pleasant sweet-tart flavor that varies in strength depending upon the maturity of the apple. 

Ida Red –  They are both sweet and tart, juicy yet crisp and firm. The best fruits have a sprightly, aromatic, and refreshing flavor, although some may lack strong flavor.

Jonagold – Large in size its flesh is crisp, juicy, and creamy yellow in color. The Jonagold apple has a balanced blend of both its parents’ flavors offering the sweet-tart taste found in Jonathan and the aromatic honey-like scent of the Golden Delicious.

Jonathan – The fine-textured flesh of the Jonathon apple is creamy yellow in color with a crisp bite and lots of juice. Its flavor is mildly sweet with a tart tang and subtle hints of spice.

Liberty–  The Liberty apple is sweet like a McIntosh, yet tarter and has a flavor profile very much its own including some hints of citrus and melon.

Macoun – Medium size variety and when ripe have a deep red to purple or almost black hue and an often irregular shape. The underlying green skin is sometimes visible at the stem or present beneath the deeply colored marks inherited from its Jersey Black parent apple. Macoun apples have a creamy white, tender-crisp flesh. These apples are extra sweet, and have a rich, mild taste, with hints of berry.

McIntosh – A sweet-tart variety of apples that are good for eating and cooking. They have a soft, fine texture and a juicy pulp that breaks down easily when cooked. McIntosh apples are often used to make apple sauce and apple butter. They are also good for baking, juicing, and eating.

Mutsu – Mutsu apples are smooth bright green to yellow in color. Its firm white flesh is crisp and juicy with a sweet-tart flavor that has subtle hints of spice. An excellent keeper, the Mutsu apple will take on an even sweeter flavor in cold storage.

Pink Lady – The skin is a vivid green covered in a pinkish blush which becomes a deeper shade of red where the apple was exposed to more sun. Pink Lad apples have a crunchy texture and a tart taste with a sweet finish. The white flesh is juicy and crisp and offers a “fizz-like” burst of flavor.

Snow Sweet – The Snow apple, also known as Fameuse (which means famous in French), is a small to medium-sized red apple that often has green or cream-colored spots. It has a snow-white flesh and a strawberry-like aroma. The Snow apple is described as distinctive in flavor with spicy and sweet notes and juicy, tender flesh.

Winesap – Winesap apples are dark red, round, and medium-sized; the skin of this apple is firm, and the flesh is crisp and exceptionally juicy with a creamy yellow hue. Winesap apples are highly aromatic with a balanced sweet-tart taste and get their name due to their distinctive spicy wine-like flavor.

Zestar  (Ready in early September) The Zestar apple has a sprightly sweet-tart taste with a hint of brown sugar. And, unlike other early-season apples that are often soft or mealy, Zestar! is juicy with a light, crisp texture. Just one bite and you will savor the zesty flavor and crunch.

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