If you’re looking for the best apple orchards in Vermont where you can pick your own apples, you’re in good company. Some of the oldest apple orchards in the country are found in this state, many of which are located in the foothills of the mountains.
Here, you can find the quintessential New England autumn experience of picking apples under a clear blue sky. Of course, the apples themselves are delicious, too.
Keep reading to discover the 17 best apple orchards in Vermont to visit this autumn!
1. Shelburne Orchards
Shelburne, Vermont
Shelburne Orchard lies alongside Lake Champlain in Shelburne, VT. These 60 acres are home to more than 2,000 apple trees. If you are in this area of Vermont, don’t miss out on visiting one of the best apple orchards in Vermont.
The orchard provides the opportunity to pick your own apples in September and October. But those aren’t the only delights you’ll find here. They also sell apple cider, doughnuts, and even apple brandy.
Shelburne Orchard sells apple trees directly to home growers every spring. In the autumn, visitors help themselves to varieties like Paula Red, Ginger Gold, McIntosh, Cortland, Northern Spy, Crispin, Honeycrisp, and more. In the summer, the orchard also offers the chance to pick your own peaches.
2. Hackett’s Orchard
South Hero, Vermont
Hackett’s Orchard, located in South Hero, VT, has been in operation since 1967. In the years since, this family-owned farm has grown to produce almost 50 varieties of apple. Many of these are available yearly for visitors to pick themselves.
Hackett’s Orchard hosts an annual fall festival. Here, you’ll find delicious apple-based treats like apple cider, doughnuts, apple crisp, and cider slushies. They also sell Vermont maple syrup.
Hackett’s is one of the best apple orchards in Vermont, and you only have to look at their huge number of apple varieties to learn why. You’ll find everything from classic Zestars to the unique Vista Bella.
3. Scott Farm Orchard
Dummerston, Vermont
Scott Farm Orchard grows a variety of heirloom apples and is a must see on the list of best apple orchards in Vermont. It is one of the oldest of the Vermont apple orchards, and has been in operation since 1791! These days, you can find more than 130 apple cultivars here, as well as berries, cherries, peaches, plums, pears, and more.
The orchard is on the National Register of Historic Places thanks to its long and significant history. They are also an EcoApple Certified Orchard and make an effort to use sustainable farming practices.
Scott Farm Orchard focuses on heirloom apples to preserve the traditions of long ago. Taste varieties like Baldwin, Black Oxford, St. Cecilia, Flower of Kent, and Goldrush here.
4. Yates Family Orchard
Hinesburg, Vermont
Yates Family Orchard has only been around since 2008, but in the years since then, it’s earned a reputation as one of the best apple orchards in Vermont. They grow 26 varieties of apple as well as a range of other fruit.
Here, you’ll also find peaches, plums, cherries, pears, and raspberries. Visitors can also choose from a variety of fresh treats, including baked goods made with fruit picked from the orchard. They offer apple doughnuts with delicious maple syrup ice cream.
Yates Family Orchard grows McIntosh, Honey Gold, Honeycrisp, Liberty, Empire, Northern Spy, and Golden Russet apples, to name just a few varieties available.
5. Burtt’s Apple Orchard
Cabot, Vermont
Burtt’s Apple Orchard in Cabot, VT is one of the best apple orchards in Vermont as it gives visitors the chance to experience some of the most unique apple picking in the state. This is due to the vast variety of apple cultivars for visitors to pick on their own.
Of course, like any good apple orchard, they also sell a variety of apple products, including cider, cider doughnuts, and cider vinegar.
Here are just a few of the many apples you’ll find at Burtt’s Orchard: Zestar, McIntosh, Northern Spy, St. Edmund’s Russett, Macoun, Golden Delicious, Pixie Crunch, Ida Red, Summer Mac, and Snowsweet. There’s a great mix of classic and unique cultivars to enjoy here.
6. Adams Apple Orchard
Williston, Vermont
Adams Apple Orchard and Farm Market is located in Williston, VT. This beautiful orchard and farm market lies in Champlain Valley at the foot of the Green Mountains. In addition to amazing local produce, visitors can enjoy one of the most beautiful views found among Vermont apple orchards, making it a must see of the best apple orchards in Vermont.
The orchard sells a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and local specialties like Vermont maple syrup. Once a tiny family farm, they have grown into a huge operation providing treats of all kinds to the locals.
Although Adam Apple Orchard doesn’t publicly list the varieties they grow, they are open to visitors throughout the year.
7. Mad Tom Orchard
East Dorset, Vermont
An apple orchard with a name that will stick in your mind! Mad Tom Orchard is located in East Dorset, VT. They advertise the property as “apple picking with a view,” and it’s not hard to see why. Surrounded by beautiful farmland and mountains, this is a breathtaking place to get your hands on fresh fruit.
The orchard features a variety of revitalized old trees and new hybrids. Varieties include Cortland, McIntosh, Sansa, Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, Blondee, Empire, Northern Spy, Macoun, and Crimson Crisp.
In other words, Mad Tom Orchard is the quintessential experience of a New England autumn, complete with classic varieties.
8. Chapin Orchard
Burlington, Vermont
Chapin Orchard is located just outside of Burlington, VT. This beautiful orchard is open to the public only through September and October, during the high month of the apple harvest.
So what makes Chapin Orchard one of the best apple orchards in Vermont? It all comes down to the variety! They grow a huge number of apple cultivars here, from popular classics like Gala, Rome, Jonagold, and Paula Red, to lesser-known varieties like Wealthy, Rhode Island Greening, and William’s Pride.
They also make fresh-pressed cider with an antique cider press. If you’re lucky enough to be around for a public showing, don’t miss it!
9. Liberty Orchard
Brookfield, Vermont
Liberty Orchard offers a simple and delightful experience of picking your own apples. While they don’t have the baked treats, events, or other activities that other orchards have, visitors can still encounter the quintessential New England autumn, apple picking experience here.
Liberty Orchard specializes in disease-resistant fruit trees that reduce the need for industrial pesticides and other chemicals.
They offer many apple varieties, including Liberty (where they get their name), Freedom, Brookfield, Maggie, Honeycrisp, Shizuka, Nova, and Jonafree. Visitors are offered reusable produce bags in which to put the apples. The orchard is open seven days a week during apple season.
10. Allenholm Farm
South Hero, Vermont
Allenholm Farm is the oldest commercial apple orchard in the state of Virginia. The Allen family has lived and grown there since 1870. Here, you can get not only fresh apples, but also blueberries, raspberries, cherries, peaches, and plums.
The orchard also sells amazing homemade apple products like Crabapple jelly, apple cider, applesauce, and apple butter. Stop by for some of their other treats as well, including doughnuts and their signature maple Creemees.
The orchard hosts an annual South Hero Applefest, but visitors can come to pick their own apples throughout the season, making it one of the best apple orchards in Vermont. Varieties include Lodi, Jersey Mac, and close to 30 more.
11. Happy Valley Orchard
Middlebury, Vermont
Happy Valley Orchard is located in Middlebury, VT. Throughout September and October, the gates open to visitors to pick their own apples.
You can find modern hybrid varieties as well as heirlooms here, which means that you might find flavors you won’t taste anywhere else, making this experience at one of the best apple orchards in Vermont a must! They also press their own cider to sell alongside cider doughnuts and produce from many local farmers.
Apple varieties include McIntosh, Empire, Cortland, Red Delicious, Northern Spy, Keepsake, Vermont Gold, Newtown Pippin, and more. A visit to Middlebury in the autumn is the perfect chance to enjoy new apple varieties that you have never tried before.
12. Champlain Orchards
Shoreham, Vermont
Champlain Orchards isn’t just one of the oldest continually operating apple orchards in Vermont, it’s also the place where you can still get your hands on more than 140 apple varieties. There is something here for everyone, from hybrid to heirloom varieties and everything in between.
This farm is almost completely solar-powered and uses Eco-Apple standards for growing. They use the same standards for all their crops, which include raspberries, peaches, quinces, medlars, elderberries, currants, plums, cherries, pears, apricots, blackberries, and nectarines.
It’s impossible to list all 146 apple varieties available — some of the most popular include Akane, Baldwin, and the orchard’s own Aphrodite.
13. Green Mountain Orchards
Putney, Vermont
Green Mountain Orchards has been run by the Darrow family since 1914. They are known far and wide for their delicious apples, as well as for the stunning view that surrounds the farm.
Here, you can get your hands on many types of fresh produce, including peaches, plums, blueberries, raspberries, pumpkins, and of course, apples. A full 125 acres of farmland are dedicated exclusively to apples.
Visitors are invited to visit the orchard from August through October to pick their own Cortland, Empire, and McIntosh apples. Meanwhile, you can also buy pie, apple cider, doughnuts, muffins, and many other treats at the farm store.
14. Boyer’s Orchard
Monkton, Vermont
Boyer’s Orchard, one of the best apple orchards in Vermont, has been growing apples and grapes for almost 40 years. They focus on wine and cider-making, especially with heirloom varieties.
You can also find a variety of delicious fruit on the farm in Monkton, including raspberries, plums, pears, and cherries. Many of these make their way into the varieties of wine and ciders that they produce.
If your interest is purely apples, you can find plenty of them at the farm as well. You can find close to 50 kinds of apples here, most of them heirlooms that you won’t find in many other places. You might even find a new favorite!
15. Wellwood Orchards
Springfield, Vermont
Wellwood Orchards in Springfield, VT offers the chance to pick fresh fruit throughout the year. In summer, visitors help themselves to cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and peaches. Fall brings pumpkins and squash, while apple picking starts in July and goes through October.
You’ll find a wide variety of apples here, including ones you won’t find in many other places, such as Wolf River, Gravenstein, Pound Sweet, Spencer, Jersey Sweet, Twenty Ounce, Spartan, Strawberry Apple, and Pumpkin Apple.
Of course, if you prefer the more popular varieties, there are plenty of those as well. Help yourself to Zestar, Lodi, McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Empire, Golden Delicious, Macoun, and more.
16. Sunrise Orchards
Cornwall, Vermont
Sunrise Orchards is located in Cornwall, VT. Here, you can pick your own apples or visit the farm store for fresh fruits, baked goods, maple syrup, and more.
The 200-acre farm grows many crops, but apples are a specialty, making them one of the best apple orchards in Vermont. They produce 130,000 bushels of the fruit every year, most of them in popular varieties like McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Macoun, Red Delicious, Empire, Cortland, Jonagold, Granny Smith, and Paula Red.
The orchard has been owned and operated by the Hodges family since 1970. In addition to offering apples to locals, they also supply them to stores all over the Northeast.
17. Southern Vermont Orchards
Bennington, Vermont
Southern Vermont Orchards was developed into farmland in early 1910, when the original owner turned it into the largest privately-owned orchard in the world! With thousands of apple and quince trees, they also grew cherries, pears, and plums.
The estate was sold after the owner’s death and became a commercial orchard. Now, Southern Vermont Orchards is one of the best apple orchards in Vermont. They grow 65 varieties of apples. These are sold fresh and used for baked goods and cider, which visitors can buy in the farm store.
Cultivars here include Jersey MacIntosh, Jonagold, Cortland, Mutsu, Northern Spy, and many more.
Visit the Best Apple Orchards in Vermont!
There is nowhere like New England to get delicious apples, and Vermont is no exception. You can find homegrown apples at apple orchards throughout the state from June to late October, so there is plenty of time to visit them all!
Excited to keep learning about your favorite fruit? Keep reading about apples to discover more apple orchards, apple varieties, apple recipes, and more!