northwestern Iowa, Sioux Falls area Apple U-Pick Orchards in !

Find a local pick your own farm here!

Apple U-Pick Orchards in northwestern Iowa, Sioux Falls 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 a 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.

New! As inflation remains high, see this page for reliable (tested) brands of generic canning lids at lower costs, and cost-saving measures for getting fruit and vegetables and home canning.
If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

New! Road tripping and camping is a great way to have a fun, safe and inexpensive family trip. The national and state parks and monuments are open, and campgrounds usually cost between $10 and $40 per night. September to November is the best camping weather. See our new website Road Tripping and Camping.com for tips, tricks, guides, checklists and info about parks, monuments and other places to visit.

New! We just went live with our latest website, FunFactoryTours.com - As they name implies, you can find a fun factory tour, including chocolate, automobiles, historical forts and sites, famous buildings, Active Federal facilities even fun geology: like fossils and volcanic areas

Dickinson County

Little Sioux Orchard - apples, pumpkins, Honey from hives on the farm, Cider mill fresh apple cider made on the premises, U-pick and already picked, concessions or refreshment stand, porta-potties, birthday parties, school tours, group reservations
2618 160th Avenue, Milford, IA 51351. Phone: (712) 320-8707. Email: fun@littlesiouxorchard.com. Open: Saturdays 9am to 5pm Sundays Noon to 4pm Weekdays by appointment. Directions: 4 miles south of Milford on highway 71. 6 miles west on A43. Payment: Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx.
Little Sioux Orchard Facebook page. Picking updates: Click here for picking updates(ADDED: September 18, 2019)

O'Brien County

Solsma's Punkin Patch - apples, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, winter squash, tomatoes
Amy Solsma, 6190 320th St, Sanborn, IA 51248. Phone: 712-729-3174. Email: jasolsma@mtcnet.net. Open: Monday to Thursday Noon to 6pm Friday and Saturday 10am to 8pm Sunday and weeknights by chance or appointment Corn Maze is open as long as possible, but sometimes it is finished before Halloween so come early. Directions: Located on Hwy 18, 4 miles east of Sanborn, IA or 4 miles west of Hartley, IA . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check. . Click here for picking updates. Crops are usually available in August, September, October Jay and Amy Solsma 6190 320th St. Sanborn, IA 51248 inspected beef, non-confinement pork, honey

Woodbury County

Autumn Grove Orchard - apples, pumpkins, gift shop, concessions or refreshment stand, porta-potties are available, school tours, group reservations
1658 180th Street, Sioux City, IA 51106. Phone: 712-204-5951. Email: autumngroveorchard@gmail.com. Open: Sundays only, 11 am to 5 pm Generally open September and October each year; Labor Day weekend through the last weekend in October. Directions: Take Highway 20 Bypass in Sioux City. Take the Morningside Avenue exit and head east, out of city limits past Memorial Park Cemetery. Turn left on 180th Street. We are at 1658 180th Street, one mile east of the pavement. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover. . Alternate Phone: 712-943-1784Eight varieties of apples over the course of our season(UPDATED: August 27, 2023)

Apple

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:

Canning apples - fully illustrated, with step-by-step instructions

New!As inflation remains high, see this page for reliable (tested) brands of generic canning lids at lower costs, and cost-saving measures for getting fruit and vegetables and home canning.
If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

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)

2024 northwestern Iowa, Sioux Falls area Apple U-Pick Farms and Orchards - PickYourOwn.org

Find a pick-your-own farm near you! Then learn to can and freeze! Since 2002! We update continuously; Beware the copycat websites!