Pick-Your-Own Apple Farms for Families on Long Island

Believe it or not, it's apple-picking time already! Where did the summer go?

Apple-picking season typically lasts from mid- to late August to late October. Apple picking is a great all-around family outing. Fresh air, a little exercise, a bit of a treasure hunt, and bounty at the end. Whether you're looking for an orchard with all the bells and whistles or one with trees perfectly sized for wee ones, you can find it at one of Long Island's pick-your-own-apple farms. Whichever one you choose, be sure to call before going to ensure they're open (despite the days and hours listed below and on their website) and that they've got enough fruit for picking that day.

And check out our East End Guide for fun activities to help you make a day out of your apple-picking trip!

Lewin Farms
812 Sound Ave., Wading River
631-929-4327
Wednesday–Monday 9am–4:30pm
Known as the first pick-your-own farm on Long Island, this family-operated farm specializes in several different kinds of apples as well as a wide variety of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables. It also boasts a roasted-corn stand.

The Milk Pail Farmstand
1346 Montauk Hwy, Water Mill
631-537-2565
Monday–Saturday 9:30am–5:30pm, Sunday 10am–5:30pm
With more than 20 different varieties of apples to choose from, the Milk Pail is the perfect destination for you and your family to enjoy an apple-picking adventure! The Milk Pail grows more than 20 acres of apples on semidwarf trees, which grow to be only eight- to ten-feet tall, making the apple-picking process a bit easier. The Milk Pail’s website lists detailed information for visitors such as weekly updated variety listings, a description of each of the apples grown on the farm, cost of apples by the pound, recipes, and current weather conditions.

Woodside Orchards
729 Main Rd, Aquebogue
116 Manor Ln, Jamesport
631-722-5770
Open daily 10am-5pm
Established in 1982, Woodside Orchards has become a staple on Long Island for fresh, delicious apples. Woodside grows more than 10 varieties of apples on small semidwarf trees. To make sure that every visitor gets a chance to have the best apple-picking experience, Woodside Orchards opens new areas of the orchard every weekend. While you are there, try one of Woodside Orchards' creative treats, the Cider Slushies! 

Fort Salonga Farm
30 Meadow Glen Rd, Northport
631-269-9666
Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 10am–2pm
Fort Salonga Farms is a great place to hit if you want to get in, pick some apples, and get home for naptime. Without a lot of other bells and whistles like hayrides and such, it does offer plenty of dwarf trees for kids to pick on. It also offers freshly extracted honey for sale at the farm stand that you shouldn't miss on the way out. Fort Salonga Farms is the most westerly location on the Island. It's important to check out its website, since the crop is smaller and the farm closes from time to time to allow for more ripening.

Seven Ponds Orchard
65 Seven Ponds Rd, Watermill
631-726-8015
Open daily 9am–6pm
Why take your kids apple picking if they aren't tall enough to reach the apples? It can be back-breaking picking them up all day long to pluck the apples. While many orchards offer dwarf "type" apple varieties, only Seven Ponds can lay claim to the fact that they specialize in them. With more than 14 varieties of dwarf trees, you could spend all day in the little orchard, as I call it. It also offers red Radio Flyer wagons for you to carry your apples around in. If the kids get bored of the picking, there is plenty more to do: a corn maze, hay rides, and a farm market with a bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Seven Ponds is the place to go if you're looking for an apple-picking experience made for kids.

Wickham's Fruit Farm
28700 Route 25, Cutchogue
631-734-6441
Monday–Saturday 9am–4pm
Membership fee is required
Dating back from 1661, Wickham's Fruit Farm has some of the oldest cultivated farming land in the country, and it's one of the most beautiful apple-picking locations, with water views of Peconic Bay. (Don't forget the camera, this is a great time for a family photo op.) Membership is required to pick, but members receive daily updates on apple availability as well as a private selection of the freshest apples available for picking. While you're there, be sure to enjoy Wickham's famous apple pies, doughnuts, and apple cider, and see one of Long Island's first cider presses. Wickham's is also apart of Suffolk County’s Farmland Preservation program, which ensures the protection of the land for years to come.

Hanks Pumpkintown
240 Montauk Hwy, Watermill
631-726-4667
9:30am–6pm
A great pumpkin farm, Hanks offers apple picking too, as well as face painting, a playground, wagon rides, a corn maze, and lots more fun. In the roasted corn shack, you can get fresh-baked fruit pies, candy apples, hot or cold apple cider, and cider doughnuts, not to mention roasted corn.

Davis Peach Farm
561 Hulse Landing Rd, Wading River
Though famous for its peaches, Davis Peach Farm has great apple picking too, not to mention plums, nectarines, apricots, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and tomatoes for the picking too. While there, make sure you get one of Mrs. Davis's fresh-baked pies and the farm's famous white sangria mix. You'll need it, moms and dads, after a long day of picking...

For full coverage of apple picking, pumpkin picking, strawberry picking, and farm fun info in the tri state area, check out our Pick Your Own Guide.

And now that you've got your apples, take a look at our Boston site's Apple Recipes for Kids and Families.