2024 Topeka and Northeastern Kansas Apple U-Pick Farms and Orchards - PickYourOwn.org

Apple U-Pick Orchards in Topeka and Northeastern Kansas 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

Atchison County

• St. Andre Orchard - apples, blackberries, cherries, nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries (red),
  5443 Rawlins Rd, Atchison, KS 66002. Phone: (913) 360-2592. Email: standreorchard16@gmail.com. Open: By Appointment. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Visa, MasterCard, Discover.
  St. Andre Orchard Facebook page. Picking updates: Click here for picking updatesBlackberry season is typically July 1 pm to 15 Peach season is typically July 1 pm to 31(ADDED: June 21, 2017)

Brown County

• Grimm's Gardens - blueberries, cherries, apples, peaches, apricots, raspberries, persimmons, aronia, chesnuts, plums, elderberries, Honey from hives on the farm, prepicked produce, restrooms
  2991 Goldfinch Road, Hiawatha, KS 66434. Phone: 785-459-2586. Email: info@grimmsgardens.com. Open: dawn to dusk on picking days; Normal hours are Monday to Friday 8 to 6 and Saturday 8 to 4. Directions: 4 miles west of Hiawatha on highway 36 and 6.5 miles north on Goldfinch Rd. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Visa, MasterCard. Fax: Crops are usually available in July, August, September. Opening blueberry patch July 4 Thursday, raspberries are ready also; Always call ahead for specifics
  Comments from a visitor on June 29, 2011: "My 3 year old and I went to Grimm's Garden near Hiawatha KS on Monday. It was everything the website said it would be and more. The staff was friendly and helpful, even looking up questions that they did not know the answer too. Raspberry picking was awesome and a quick relax in a shaded hammock was well earned. I was very excited to find a HUGE assortment of water plants for the pond I am building. "
  Comments from a visitor on July 22, 2008: "My husband and I visited this morning and picked 30lbs of blueberries. They're beautiful, a lot of them are the size of grapes. This farm is really something to see. I will be returning many times I'm sure. They have peaches, raspberries, black raspberries, apples and wonderful flowers and landscaping. The best I've seen."

Franklin County

• Pome On The Range Orchards and Winery - apples, asparagus, cherries, pears, pumpkins, Honey from hives on the farm, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, picnic area, weddings and wedding parties, school tours
  2050 Idaho Road, Williamsburg, KS 66095. Phone: (785)746-5492. Email: info@pomeontherange.com. Open: Visit our website for details. Directions: Interstate 35 exit 176 7 miles south of Ottawa, KS Visit our website for a detailed map. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, SFMNP Vouchers.
  Pome On The Range Orchards and Winery Facebook page. . Alternate Phone: (785)242-5511Fax: (785)242-0452 We proudly open our doors to schools, civic organizations, tour busses, or anyone who wishes to visit our grounds. For large groups or special tours please call for a reservation. Special events are scheduled on various weekends especially during fall harvest. These events include: pick-your-own apples, horse-drawn wagon rides, the pumpkin patch, and much more. Come visit the orchard and bring your whole family! Shop our orchard market for fresh produce, cider donuts, wines, cider, pies, and other home goods. Free wine-tasting every day. U-pick cherries, apples, and pumpkins. (UPDATED: May 18, 2022, JBS)

Johnson County

• Wagon Wheel Orchard - apples, cherries, peaches, Honey from hives on the farm, gift shop, snacks and refreshment stand, farm animals, school tours
  15380 Edgerton Road, Gardner, KS 66030. Phone: 913-893-6050. Email: wagonwheelmail@aol.com. Open: We will typically be open weekends only but will add dates and times as crop size increases please check our website for updates. Directions: western Johnson County on Edgerton Rd - 12 mile south of 151st St . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Visa, MasterCard. . western Johnson County on Edgerton Rd - 1/2 mile south of 151st St Click here for picking updates. Crops are usually available in June, July, August, September, October, November

Lyon County

• The Orchard - Apples, picked or pick your own, apple cider and apple slushies
  1120 N. Hwy 99, Emporia, KS 66801. Phone: 620-343-8480. Open: during the season, August until November. Click here for a map and directions. . Open They host school field trips. Aside from apples, they grow peaches, plums, rhubarb, asparagus and various types of berries (apparently, none of these are pyo, though)

Shawnee County

• 86th Street Orchard - apples, cherries, grapes, pears, peaches, raspberries (black), tomatoes, other vegetables, already-picked produce (of the pyo crops), school tours
  5332 Northwest 86th Street, Topeka, KS 66618. Phone: (785) 246-1442. Email: cathy_kenny@yahoo.com. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only.
  86th Street Orchard Facebook page. Thursday to Saturday, from 9am to dusk; Other days and times by appointment; Please call or email before stopping by so we can let you know what's ripe and ready We have changed our fruit to mainly apples, peaches and Honey. We are strictly a u pick orchard with no other activities No groups do to us being a small orchard. We do have over 70 trees . Please call 785-409-3224. We have started growing raspberries in the high tunnel, but they are not at the productive stage yet. (UPDATED: May 18, 2022, JBS)

Wyandotte County

• Cider Hill Family Orchard - Apples, gourds, Pumpkins, restrooms, gift shop, concessions or refreshment stand, pumpkin patch in the field, weddings and wedding parties
  3341 N 139thst, Kansas City, KS . Phone: 913-721-2507. Email: ciderhillfamilyorchard@gmail.com. Open: Call for hours, apples in late July. Directions: Call for directions. Payment: Cash, Check. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check.
  Cider Hill Family Orchard Facebook page. As a U-Pick Orchard, our guests can choose either to pick their own or have us pick them. Our Apple Wagon will be available to take guest into the Orchard, which is a really special treat for our younger visitors. You are welcome to spend as much time as you would like exploring among the apple trees. Once you are finished picking apples, you are welcome to pick out your favorite pumpkin or see who can pull the biggest fish from one of our five ponds. The Orchard grounds are beautiful and vast. Please plan on packing a picnic lunch and relax under one of the big trees in the front or back yard.
  Comments from a visitor on June 11, 2012: "Like very much. 5 ponds, relaxing. paved parking. Fishing derby, event barn."

 

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:

• 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

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)

Using fresh apples and miscellaneous

• How to stop cut apples from browning
• Apple festivals - find one near you!
• Apple facts
• Apple seeds and cyanide

 

Other Local Farm Products (Honey, Horses, Milk, Meat, Eggs, Etc.)
(NOT pick-your-own, unless they are also listed above)

• Farm markets and roadside stands
• Local Honey Finder
• Local Meat, Milk and Eggs
• Venues: Farms, Wineries, Orchards for your event, wedding or party
• Easter egg hunts
• Children"s consignment sales
• Fruit and vegetable festivals
• Winery tours and wine tastings
• Horse rides, stables, lessons, trails
• Maple Syrup farms and sugarworks
• Bed & Breakfasts on Farms, Wineries, Ranches and Orchards
• Pumpkin patches
• Corn mazes
• Zombie Paintball venues
• Christmas Tree Farms & lots
• Environmental resources
• Consumer fraud information
• Wholesale food sources
• Resources for Farmers