Find a local pick your own farm here!

Apple U-Pick Orchards in Northeastern Maine 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.

Hancock County

  • Molly's Orchard - strawberries and apples
    Point Street, Columbia Falls, ME . Phone: 207-483-4178. Email: fivepines@prexar.com. Open: In season daily until dark. Click here for a map and directions. . Fax 207-483-2492. Email . is a small family operated pick-your-own strawberries and apple farm. Come join us for strawberries and our first year of apples! Turn off Rte 1 at Columbia Falls, go into village and take Point Street to our farm stand on right. Restroom available.
  • Shalom Orchard - ORGANIC, Organic blueberries and organic apples.
    Eastbrook Road, Franklin, ME . Phone: 207-565-2312. Email: shalomorchard@acadia.net. Open: call for hours and availability. Click here for a map and directions. . 1.7 miles from Route 182 & Route 200 N. Call for information on crop conditions and locations. We are a certified organic farm and everything we grow or produce is according to organic standards. We primarily grow organic fruit - apples, blueberries, cherries and raspberries - for our wines or for wholesale or retail sale from the farm. We also grow vegetables for retail sale through our CSA or from our farm store. We raise chickens for eggs and meat, and we raise registered Rambouillet sheep for wool and meat. We have for sale beautiful yarns, both handspun and organically mill-spun sportweight, both in natural colors and plant-dyed, as well as tanned pelts and fleece. We are committed to educating about organic farming and welcome school groups and tours. (UPDATED: October 2, 2018, JBS)
  • Smithereen Farm - CERTIFIED ORGANIC, apples, aronia berries, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, elderberries, flowers, gooseberries, raspberries (Autumn, red), raspberries (yellow), raspberries (Spring, yellow), raspberries (Autumn, yellow), raspberries (black), raspberries (Spring, black), raspberries (Autumn, black), strawberries, Other fruit or veg, Cider mill fresh apple cider made on the premises, restrooms
    306 Youngs Cove Road, Pembroke, ME 04666. Phone: (207) 726-4442. Email: severine@smithereenfarm.com. Open: all the time, honor box. Directions: Drive down Leighton point road, turn right on Youngs Cove road, follow road until blueberry land sign on left side of road, aprox 2 miles from Leighton point road. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only.
    Smithereen Farm Facebook page. . . July - September. We are certified organic for all crops! facebook page. (ADDED: August 05, 2019)

 

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

Recipes, illustrated with step by step instructions

Using fresh apples and miscellaneous

 

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