What better way to celebrate fall is there than a fall day trip, right?
You know the kind where you pack up a few friends, grab sweaters and maybe a couple nips, and hoard yourselves into a Port Authority bus for greener pastures? Or, we mean, orchards... right, right.
Really, at the climax of fall's seasonal ecstasy, you're lucky to find yourself on a hayride, rolling through stunning, brilliant fall leaves.
You might spend a day filling an apple picking bag to the brim, only to head back into the city and spend the next week munching hard.
Grab your friends around whom you laugh the most, and get out of New York City to visit the orchards below. Sip some hot apple cider, buy some homemade apple pie, and spend a whole day reveling in the natural wonders of fall.
Check out 6 of the most beautiful apple picking orchards located right outside NYC below.
1. Masker Orchards (45 Ball Road - Warwick, New York)
lifeofmamameli Beautiful Day to Go Apple Picking in My Favorite Orchard #MaskerOrchards #ApplePicking #AppleCiderDonuts #Delicious #Fall #Donuts #Apple #NewYork #UpState #Eeeeeats #Yummy #Family #love
Grab a crew to cavort around this charming, 200-acre orchard on a crisp fall afternoon.
This idyllic, 200-acre orchard is a wonderful way to spend a fall day picking and eating all the apples your heart desires. They also have barnyard animals, ponies, and a daily haunted house all season.
At Masker Orchard they also have live music and trivia on weekends from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to this orchard is absolutely free, as are all the apples you can eat while you're plucking down apples from fall trees.
[anad]
You do have to pay $26.95 per full bag upon exiting the orchard, but you'll have fresh, handpicked apples to crunch into, so that's hardly terrible.
They also sell fresh apple cider for $3.95 a jug. To get there from NYC, grab an NJ Transit bus from Port Authority heading toward Warwick Park. Get off the bus at Warwick Park and walk the .7 miles to Masker Orchards.
2. Stone Ridge Orchard (3012 New York 213 - Stone Ridge, NY)
jennybgs #hannahelizabethosborne #applepicking #stoneridgeorchard #chewie #fall #daughter #apples ❤️
Stone Ridge Orchard is a 200-year-old working farm in the heart of Rondout Valley, tucked between the Shawangunk and Catskill Mountains.
It's been a productive farm for nearly two-hundred years, and grows some of the crispest, most delicious pick-your-own apples in the Hudson Valley.
Their variety of trees include McIntosh, Cortland, Golden Delicious, and Stayman, all producing big, sweet, red, and easy-to-harvest apples.
They've also got a pumpkin house in addition to their bountiful, gorgeous, apple bearing trees. They've been praised for eco-friendly practices like using minimal pesticide and using synthetic fertilizers instead of mulch.
At $9 for a five-pound bag, $17 for a 10-pound bag, and $20 for a 27-pound bag, their apples aren't just delicious, but also affordable.
3. Terhune Orchards (330 Cold Soil Road - Princeton, New Jersey)
terhuneorchards Apple Day is almost here! Tomorrow and Sunday our #festival will run from 10am-5pm...we can't wait! We will be picking #Jonathan, #Gala, #Jonamac, and Early #Fuji at our Van Kirk orchard and #Stayman #Winesap, #Empire (pictured), and #Red #Delicious at the main farm. 🍎🎉🎠🎶🍴🌽 #appleday #livemusic #familyfun #ponyrides #facepainting #pumpkin #painting #applepicking #adventure #barn #food #tent #kidsgames #cornmaize #apple #day #terhuneorchards #fall #September
This fruit and vegetable-producing farm stretches for 225 beautiful acres.
They've got both pick-your-own-apples and pick-your-own pumpkins on weekends until October 18th as part as Fall Family Fun Weekends. These weekends also include a cornstalk maze, wagon rides, and a barnyard of farm animals.
[anad2]
Admission to their festival costs $5, but in a flourish of excellent news, access to the pick-your-own-apples section of the festival is free.
They'll also have soup, chili, hot dogs, pies, apple cider, and donuts for sale, and live music between noon and 4 p.m. for your musical delight.
,4. Outhouse Orchards (139 Hardscrabble Road - North Salem, NY)
jadorenewyorkxo So peaceful #outhouseorchard #orchard #freshapples #applepies #upstate #westchester #salem #autumn #applepicking #saturday #weekend #photooftheday #instagood #instadaily #country #countrybumpkins
Perusing the orchards of Outhouse Orchards while its trees leaves melt into the brilliant red, yellow, and orange is a splendid pleasure for a fall day outside NYC.
Located in northern Westchester, they specialize in apples, produce, local honey and maple syrup. They also sell their freshly baked pies and pumpkin cheesecakes.
[anad]
Available for your autumn thrill, Outhouse Orchards also has a corn maze and a pumpkin patch, which will be open until Halloween, and are pleasant to stroll while sipping a cup of freshly made apple cider.
At Outhouse Orchards apple bags cost $25 for an apple bag. They'll have ripe McIntosh, Cortland, and Rhode Island Greenings apples until October 8th, and Rome, Baldwin, and Red Delicious apples until October 31st.
5. Silverman's Farm (451 Sport Hill Road - Easton, Connecticut)
craftreppin There's beauty all around us, all you have to do is stop and look. #CT #Connecticut #CTFarm #SilvermansFarm #Explore
Founded in the early 1920s, Silverman's Farm offers plenty of apple picking charm, plus a hayride that brings you up a hill to begin the apple picking adventure.
They've also got weekend scenic tractor rides, which bring riders over 50 miles of the countrysides from one of the highest points in Southern Connecticut.
Apple picking patrons must buy pre-purchased bags before embarking in harvesting, zoo animal petting, and buying delicious food at their gourmet food market.
6. Mr. Apples Orchard (25 Orchard Street - High Falls, NY)
Located in the gorgeous, scenic village of High Falls near the Hudson River, Their entrance is above the flowing Rondout River and surrounded by stunning mountains. They've a friendly, small, non-commercial operation.
[anad2]
They've got crunchy, refreshing, juicy apples whose variety varies by season; they've got Mcintosh apples in early September, pears until mid-September, Red Delicious in October, and Golden Delicious in November (light frost doesn't hurt them!).
They use a minimal amount of chemicals, zero herbicides, and varying prices.
Check out 6 Breathtaking Fall Day Trips Just Outside of NYC.
[Feature Image Courtesy: Instagram]