I live in apple country. I mean that quite literally, as my neighborhood used to be an apple orchard, and we all have apple trees in our backyard. This is the time of year all the small towns near us gear up for their biggest season. Fall here is truly FALL, oranges and reds and yellows that make me stop mid-walk. The rumble of tractors bundling up the season’s harvest. Bursting rows of dahlias, wet from the morning’s dew. Apples so sweet it makes my teeth ache.
Which brings me to one of my favorite toddler outings: Apple picking. (Though let’s be real, I’m really there for the donuts.)
These tips aren’t apple specific but really any kind of PYO/farm experience that has all the good stuff: Donuts, hay rides, goats, and tractors, from someone who literally lives 3 minutes from two different orchards!
Gotta get the best fruit!
Whether you’re a city mouse or a country mouse, put on your flannel and go to your local orchard with your toddler. It’s one of those “core memories” activities for me, growing up in New England. The first apple of the season is where I finally realize fall is coming—even though it’s not until school starts that I realize it’s here.
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The right u-pick is everything.
There’s a phenomenal apple orchard near us that I never go to, because it’s basically like going to a big carnival. They’ve got IT ALL: Hay rides, cider donuts, a hedge maze, a beer garden, goats, and apples (obviously). It’s become so popular that entire tour buses drop people off there—no shade to the tourists, I would 100% sign up for something like that if I was coming to Boston—but it’s a little Too Much to mix that with a toddler, not least because you have to park a shuttle ride away from the actual apples.
I take my toddler to a much quieter orchard, one where you can hear the wind rustle the fallen leaves and the farmers greet you by name. It certainly gets busy on the weekends, but it’s more about the apples. We pick, get ourselves a donut, and play at the small-ish playground until it’s time to leave. I can easily get to the apples with my toddler in their wagon and of course, we always take a loop around the hayride before we go home.
When you’re looking at a farm to visit, it’s important to think about what kind of picking experience you want. If you’ve got a mix of older and younger kids, the carnival atmosphere or a gigantic playground situation is more ideal. Or you may want a place with a proper cider barn/brewery vibe if you’re coming with a baby in tow, something easy where you can keep them in the carrier but not go on an accidental hike. If I’m being super honest, the donuts make my decision for me.
If you’re in New England, Alex Schwartz aka “The Cider Donuteur” will get you oriented with this extremely detailed map, though have you ever had a *bad* cider donut? Probably not.
Cider Donuteur doing the Lord’s work!!!
My favorite local apple orchards that are an easy drive from Boston:
- Tougas Farm in Northborough, MA has a great mix of quiet/carnival. Their playground is super fun for multiple ages and they do tractor rides and goats. I don’t usually apple pick there, actually, because they do berry picking all summer long and I like to spread the love.
- If you want more of a brewery feel, I like Carlson Orchards in Harvard, MA and The Lookout Farm in Natick, MA. Lookout has a lot more “stuff” to do comparatively with playgrounds/kid-centric things but both have great cider offerings. (If you do go to lookout, bring the wagon for sure, the apples are far!)
- If you want the carnival-style apple picking experience, Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, MA truly is the best of the best. It’s crowded but for good reason, and waiting in line for their donuts is worth it.
- Further afield, Windy Hill Orchards in Greenville, NH is my favorite orchard-with-a-view and a great addition to any leaf-peeping itinerary in the White Mountains.
Go on a sensory quest.
With toddlers, it’s less about the amenities and more about keeping them on task. Depending on the orchard I go with the wagon vs. the stroller—even my SUV-style stroller can’t handle long grass. I also don’t try to pick more than a peck when I’m with my toddler unless I’m in a group, because they’ll inevitably lose interest. That’s plenty to make a solid apple crisp with (or just eat for the week!)
The key with apple picking, or any kind of farm visit, is going early. Several local orchards open as early as 8 AM, making it easy for us to get up and out (we’re up at dawn anyway), pick our apples in the quiet early morning, and have donuts for breakfast. A win-win. If the orchard opens a little later, we’ll do the same thing but finish for lunch and then tear out of there by the time the big crowds show up.
We love a tractor!
Of course, either after the hayride or before we walk up to the orchard, we do a little prep on the rules. “Ripe apples are red, so make sure it’s red all the way around before you pick,” or “The apples on the ground are for the animals. They’re not for us to take.”
That leaves us more time and space to focus on the actual task of apple picking. I make it feel like a sensory scavenger hunt. We touch the apple, feel it for ripeness, and of course, taste along the way. The glow of satisfaction on my toddler’s face when they’ve chosen the perfect apple and dropped it in the bag…amazing.
The best part of apple picking is the baking.
The best part of all this (besides the donuts, obviously) is the baking afterwards. I like making this apple cake1 or a classic apple crisp. Both of these are very toddler-friendly, though I’d recommend peeling the apples ahead of time.
If you’re not a big baker, that’s fine. You can do a LOT with an apple, and my personal favorite is cutting the apples into circles, slathering them with a little peanut butter, and topping with coconut and chocolate chips.
Apple-picking books!
These are my favorite ones to prep for an outing to the orchard:
- My favorite apple-themed book is out of print! Order Applebet by Clyde Watson from your local library.
- Monica Wellington has a whole series on careers, and Apple Farmer Annie is a great primer for little ones on what being an apple farmer is like.
- Daniel Finds a Poem by Micha Archer is a beautiful overview of nature, set during the fall.
- My all-time favorite fall book is Wild Child by Lynn Plourde. Another gorgeous way to talk about the seasons!
Thanks for being here.
Apples for days.
The first time I went apple picking with my toddler, I made the mistake of leaving the peck of apples in the wagon with them. After a few minutes I looked back to find they had taken a bite out of six or seven apples to “taste” each one like a little squirrel. I just had to laugh how seriously they took our taste test idea. Whoops!
Now we’re just a little bit older, and it’s such a magical age despite the looming threat of a tantrum at any time. I feel like they just *get it* more and truly enjoy exploring the farm, meeting the farmers, and can appreciate more where our food comes from.
Living in a rural area, this is important to me. Farms are a regular spot on our outing rotation because they tend to be full of things to see without overwhelming me or my toddler, and honestly, because I like going to farmstands and eating fresh and hot donuts on a regular basis. This is what community is made of, and it requires your participation in it.
To taste testing,
Kayla
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