Apple U-Pick Orchards in the Denver, Colorado Area in 2024, by county
Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for apples that we know of in this area. Not all areas of any state, nor even every state, have apples orchards that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!
Remember to always check with the farm's own website or Facebook page before you go - or call or email them if they don't have a website or Facebook page. Conditions at the farms and crops can change literally overnight, so if you want to avoid a wasted trip out there - check with the farm directly before you go! If I cannot reach them, I DON'T GO!
PLEASE report closed farms, broken links and incorrect info using the "Report Corrections" form below.
Boulder County
- YA YA Farm & Orchard - Uses natural growing practices, Apples, horse-drawn hay rides, farm animals
6914 Ute Hwy, Longmont, CO 80503. Phone: 303-485-5585. Email: info@yayafarmandorchard.com. Open: Friday to Sunday from 9:00 to 3:00; early September to the last weekend in October; For picking, please follow website instructions. Directions: Located in Boulder County, Colorado. Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only.
YA YA Farm & Orchard Facebook page. . Fax:. . Hay Rides available year around - your place or ours. Apples typically begin early September with the most desired Mac's! The season typically ends mid October with the Liberty's, a relative of the Macs. You may also press your own cider. We use natural practices, but are not yet certified Organic. How the U-Pick Works: Confirmed reservation - email with your request. We will send you a confirmation ticket via email for you to print and bring with you. Facebook page. At this time we CANNOT accommodate groups. This is set up for a family activity. Plan approximately 1 hour to pick apples, meet the animals, eat apple cider donuts and drink cider. You will be given 1/2 peck bags (holds 5-7 lbs of apples) to be used for picking. Bags may be limited. Please do not bring your own bags. A historic century-old farm, specializing in heirloom apples, offering family oriented activities and practicing organic methods. Part of a historic century-old farm specializing in heirloom apples, is a U-Pick-It Apple Orchard . We offer family-oriented fall activities,. While not CERTIFIED ORGANIC, we practice natural and organic methods. When you visit the farm stand and orchard you may visit our farm animals-Percheron Draft Horses, chickens, turkeys, peacocks-, take a self-guided tour, bring a picnic, and take a tractor-drawn hayride. Enjoy all things apple in our farm stand ; apples, apple cider donuts, apple pies and oh so much more! We do not charge an admission fee. U-Pick requires prior reservations and is sold out generally by August. We look forward to having you here at the orchard!
Jefferson County
- Freeman Apple Orchard - No pesticides are used apples,
1225 Cody Street, Lakewood, CO 80215. Phone: (720) 341-3062. Email: biz@michelledespres.com. Open: One day only, Saturday, September 22, 2018 from 10am to 3pm. Directions: West Colfax to Carr Street. South on Carr to 13th Street (Just past the Light Rail Tracks). West on 13th to Cody. South on Cody - the house is the fourth on the west side of the road - Property is just off W line near Garrison light rail station. Parking spaces in front of property. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only. . We do not use pesticides on the crops. (UPDATED: September 09, 2018) (ADDED: September 15, 2016) - Nelms Farm - ORGANIC, apples,
5305 Orchard Street, Golden, CO 80403. Phone: 303-917-2707. Email: ralphnelms@aol.com. Open: We will only be open over Labor Day weekend; Please check the website or call before you come; We may sell out earlier. Directions: I-70 West to Colorado Highway 58 (Golden Exit) West on Colorado Highway 58 to McIntyre Street North on McIntyre Street to West 52nd Drive West on West 52nd Drive to 5305 Orchard Street 5305 Orchard Street the last property at the North End of Orchard Street. Lots of parking spaces in front property on Orchard Street. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check. . No pesticides or herbicides used on apple trees. I offer fruit and vegetables grown the all-natural way. was founded in 2012 as a way for our family to share the pesticide and chemical-free apples in the orchard behind our home. We have available pick your own organic apples, potatoes, pumpkins, pole beans, some corn, a large supply of local honey, and jelly. We will have a bee keeper on location to talk about bees and give demonstrations on bee keeping to the kids and visits to the bee hives. Please check back to see what already picked produce is available throughout the year. I have over 1,000 apples this year. Red Delicious and Granny Smith apples available for easy picking close to ground. Please call before you come. Thank you. Owner Name : Ralph Nelms. (UPDATED: April 18, 2018, JBS) (UPDATED: July 01, 2016)
Apple Picking Tips, Recipes and Information
Apples ripen from the outside of the tree towards the center, so the apples out the outside of the tree will ripen first. Once they are picked, they stop ripening. Picking apples directly from a tree is easy. Roll the apple upwards off the branch and give a little twist; don't pull straight away from the tree. If two apples are joined together at the top, both will come away at the same time. Don't shake the trees or branches. If the apple you are trying to pick drops, (or others on the tree) go ahead and pick it up. They're perfectly fine! But do wash them before you eat them! More info: How to tell when apples are ripe
- Once picked, don't throw the apples into the baskets, place them in gently, or they will bruise and go bad more quickly.
- Don't wash apples until just before using to prevent spoilage.
- For an explanation of why apple slices turn brown and how to stop it, see this page!
-
Keep apples cool after picking to increase shelf life. A cool basement is ideal, but the fruit/vegetable drawer of a refrigerator will work, too. A refrigerator is fine for small
quantities of apples. Boxed apples need to be kept in a cool, dark spot
where they won't freeze. Freezing ruptures all of an apple's cells, turning
it into one large bruise overnight. The usual solution is to store apples in
a root cellar. But root cellars often have potatoes in them: apples and
potatoes should never be stored in the same room because, as they age,
potatoes release an otherwise ethylene gas, which makes apples spoil faster.
If you can keep the gas away from your apples, they will keep just fine.
Just don't store them right next to potatoes.
Prevent contact between apples stored for the winter by wrapping them individually in sheets of newspaper. The easiest way to do this is to unfold a section of newspaper all the way and tear it into quarters. Then stack the wrapped apples . See more here: How to store apples at home - Apples don't improve or "ripen" after being picked - this is an urban myth - see this page for the truth - with references!
Which apple variety is best?
There are tens of thousands of varieties of apples, developed over centuries. They vary in sugar, acoidity, flavors, storing, crispness and many other attributes. See our guides to apple varieties:
- Summary table of many apple varieties and their characteristics
- Detailed descriptions of each apple variety with detailed characteristics
- Apple varieties, sorted by the order in which they typically ripe
- Apple varieties that don't turn brown when they are cut
- Why are some apples brown or spotted inside when you first cut them open?
Canning apples - fully illustrated, with step-by-step instructions
- How to make applesauce
- How to make apple butter
- How to make apple jelly
- How to make apple pie filling (canned)
- How to can apples
- Home canned apple juice
Recipes, illustrated with step by step instructions
- Apple pie recipe and directions and illustrated! I can say, with, ahem, no bias at all, that this is the best apple pie recipe in the world! (Alright, I did have an apple strudel in Vienna once at that place listed in Fodors that was REALLY good, but that wasn't a pie, was it? And since this was the recipe my grandmother used, it must be great!)
- How to make applesauce for a single meal (not canning it) with NO special equipment
- Apple cobbler
- Apple crunch - best of all! Moist, low sugar and using oats!
- Apple crisp - ever-popular, low sugar and using oats!
- Apple, blackberry, cherry, and/or peach cobbler
- Apple-blackberry, crumble - a English favorite (or favourite)
Using fresh apples and miscellaneous
- How to stop cut apples from browning
- Apple festivals - find one near you!
- Apple facts
- Apple seeds and cyanide