SW MI: Branch, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph's counties Apple U-Pick Orchards in !

Find a local pick your own farm here!

Apple U-Pick Orchards in SW MI: Branch, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph's counties 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

Branch County

Orchard Beach Farm - Minimizes chemical and pesticide use, apples, cherries, pears, porta-potties
122 Loch Haven Lane, Quincy, MI 49082. Phone: (517) 639-4609. Email: muirph@gmail.com. Open: During fruit season: Friday and Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm. Directions: From I-69 Exit 13 Coldwater Mi: each on US-12 2 miles to Fremont Road then south \\\$right\\\$ 3 miles to Cornell Road then east \\\$left\\\$ 12 mile to Fisher Road then southeast 14 mile past Brocklebank Road to Loch Haven Lane - our orchard entrance. Follow signs to our barn to check in for u-picking or to buy already picked fruit. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check. Follow signs to our barn to check in for u-picking or to buy already picked fruit. . Cherries - June 20 to July 3 Pears - August 20 to September 10;Apples are available: September 7 - November 1. We minimize use of pesticides and other chemicals. This is an historic, family-owned farm and orchard operated since 1929. We have heritage apple varieties only: Northern Spy, Grimes Golden, Steel Red, McIntosh, Jonathan, Wealthy, Red Delicious, etc. We have Bartlett and Spartlett pears and Montmorency (tart) cherries. (UPDATED: September 01, 2018) (UPDATED: July 03, 2018) (UPDATED: June 9, 2025, JBS)

Kalamazoo County

Gull Meadow Farms - apples, pumpkins, gift shop, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, picnic area, school tours
8854 Gull Road, Richland, MI 49083. Phone: 269-629-4214. Email: gullmeadowfarms@gmail.com. Open: See our website for current hours; Our U-Pick orchard opens in early September each fall and begins with McIntosh and Honey Gold. Directions: We are located 34 of a mile west of Richland on M-43. Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Visa, MasterCard.
Gull Meadow Farms Facebook page. Other varieties are available for U-Pick throughout the season as they ripen. Crops are usually available in September, October. Pumpkins, apples, wagon rides, corn maze, and all kids activities open from early September until Halloween. . Apple Ripening Schedule - Please note that these are approximate ripening times for each variety and weather can affect these times.Apple Variety - Approximate Ripening - Start U-Pick AvailablityJonagold Early September Early SeptemberEmpire Mid September Mid SeptemberGolden Delicious Mid September Mid September Jonathan Mid September Mid SeptemberRed Delicious Late September Late SeptemberRome Late September Late SeptemberMutsu Late September/Early October Mid OctoberFuji Mid October Mid October Granny Smith Mid October Mid October (UPDATED: June 9, 2025, JBS)
Husted's Farm Market and Cider Mill - apples, cherries, flowers, pumpkins, Cider mill (fresh apple cider made on the premises), and prepicked produce, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, picnic area
9191 West Main, Kalamazoo, MI 49009. Phone: 269-372-2605. Email: scotthusted@charter.net. Open: 9-6 Daily June through October; 10-5 Daily in November. Directions: Kalamazoo exit 38-b off of us 131 go 3.5 miles west to farm market 9191 west main Kalamazoo Mi. 49009. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check.
Husted's Farm Market and Cider Mill Facebook page. 5 miles west to farm market 9191 west main Kalamazoo Mi. 49009. . Crops are usually available in May, June, July, August, September, October, November. We have 23 apple varieties including Honeycrisp and Sweetango ,Sweet and Tart cherries. U-PICK apples start around September 1st. . (UPDATED: June 9, 2025, JBS)
Verhage Farms - apples, cherries, peaches, hayrides, pumpkins
8619 W M L Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI 49065. Phone: 616-375-0153. Open: for approximately 8 weeks, September 5-Nov. Directions: In Kalamazoo, go W on Stadium Dr. to 6th Street \\\$turn right\\\$. Go to the end of 6th and turn left on "ML", go over railroad tracks, 12 mile on left to 8619 West "ML" Avenue. \\\\[ . Click here for a map and directions.

St. Joseph County

Corey Lake Orchards - apples, blueberries, wine grapes, strawberries, Cider mill fresh apple cider made on the premises, porta-potties, picnic area, group reservations
12147 Corey Lake Road, Three Rivers, MI 49093. Phone: (269) 244-5690. Email: coreylakeorchards@gmail.com. Open: Check website for u - pick hours and reservation system. Directions: . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx, WIC Vouchers.
Corey Lake Orchards Facebook page. . Bakery, hard cider and fruit brandy made onsite. (UPDATED: July 17, 2022) (UPDATED: June 9, 2025, JBS)

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)

2025 SW MI: Branch, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph's counties 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!