2025 Hampden County in western Massachusetts Apple U-Pick Farms and Orchards - PickYourOwn.org

Apple U-Pick Orchards in Hampden County in western Massachusetts in 2025, 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

Hampden County

• Cooks Farm Orchards - apples, blueberries, peaches, plums,
  106 Haynes Hill Road, Brimfield, MA . Phone: 413-245-3241. Email: cooksorchard@gmail.com. Open: daily from 10am to 6pm during the season. Directions: Route 20 West to Brimfield Center stop light. one half mile south on Route 19, follow signs. Cook\\\'s Farm Orchard is . Click here for a map and directions. No minimum, free weekend trailer ride. one half mile south on Route 19, follow signs. Cook's Farm Orchard is open in the summer (check with us) for Blueberry picking, and from September through Thanksgiving, and weekends through Christmas for apples, cider, and baked goods.Fall is the time of year when the fun really starts at Cook's Farm Orchard. Pick-your-own apples and enjoy the crisp air, sun-warmed fruit, and the sights and scents of autumn in the orchard. (UPDATED: June 30, 2025, JBS)
  [ Click here to update the listing ]
  
  
• Echo Hill Orchards and Winery - apples, pears, pumpkins, peaches, sunflowers, already-picked apples, pears and pumpkins, gift shop, snacks and refreshment stand, picnic area, school tours, haunted hayrides
  101 Wilbraham Road, Monson, MA 01057. Phone: 413-267-3303. Email: echohillorchards101@hotmail.com. Open: PYO apples begin Labor Day weekend, tractor rides on weekends; Call ahead for crop availability for PYO on weekdays. Directions: Center of Monson \\(Rte.32\\) West on High Street to Wilbraham Road approximately 2 miles. Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard. 32) West on High Street to Wilbraham Road approximately 2 miles. . Family friendly haunted hayrides Friday and Saturday nights in October. Please call ahead for dates and times. Cider donuts in the Fall. Country gift shop and our own line of wines. (UPDATED: June 30, 2025, JBS)
  [ Click here to update the listing ]
  
  
• Jameson's High Meadow Farm - apples, blueberries, U-pick and already picked, farm animals
  410 Skyline Trail, Chester, MA 01011. Phone: 413-667-3640. Email: bjameson5@gmail.com. Open: Pick your own blueberries opens middle July; Pick your own apples opens late August from 9 am to 5 pm, daily. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check. call or emailCall for exact opening dates: Blueberries - middle July Apples - late AugustHay and maple syrup for saleCall 413-354-9609 for price and availability[ ] (UPDATED: June 30, 2025, JBS)
  [ Click here to update the listing ]
  
  
• Kosinski Farm - apples, blueberries, vegetables.
  227 North West Street, Feeding Hills, MA . Phone: 413-572-4344. Open: July and August, 7 days a week from 7am to noon, except closed on Friday. Directions: Route 57 West 1 mile past Feeding Hill Ctr. Turn right onto North West Street, one half mile on left. Family owned & operated since 1915. Sam & Sheila operated the farm successfully for over 50 years. As the 4th generation \\[ . Click here for a map and directions. Turn right onto North West Street, one half mile on left. Family owned & operated since 1915. Sam & Sheila operated the farm successfully for over 50 years. As the 4th generation (UPDATED: June 30, 2025, JBS)
  [ Click here to update the listing ]
  
  

 

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