2024 Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Apple U-Pick Farms and Orchards - PickYourOwn.org

Apple U-Pick Orchards in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania 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

Dauphin County

• Strites' Orchard Farm Market and Bakery - apples, Blueberries, Blackberries, cherries, peaches, pumpkins, raspberries (black), strawberries, Honey from hives on the farm, Cider mill fresh apple cider made on the premises, gift shop, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, school tours
  1000 Strites Road, Harrisburg, PA 17111. Phone: 717-564-3130. Email: jstrite@verizon.net. Open: U-Pick on Monday through Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 8am to 3pm, Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm. Directions: Located just off Route 322 between Harrisburg and Hershey. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx, WIC Vouchers.
  Strites' Orchard Farm Market and Bakery Facebook page. Fax: 717-564-5770 Picking updates: Click here for picking updates. . Open year roundOur U-pick crops are Strawberries, Sweet Cherries, Sour Cherries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Apples, Pumpkins, and Christmas Trees. Strites' Orchard Farm Market and Bakery Facebook page. U-Pick Cherries, Blueberries, Raspberries. Also pre-picked Sweet cherries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Sour Cherries, Broccoli, Beans, Peas, Lettuce, Kale, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Red Beets, New Potatoes, Cauliflower, Peppers, Onions, local honey, canned goods, baked goods, milk, grass-fed beef, and more! Also available- hot house tomatoes, eggplant

Lebanon County

• Good Karma Produce - Uses natural growing practices, Apples, asparagus, beans, beets, blackberries, blueberries, carrots, cucumbers, eggplants, flowers, melons, onions, pears, peas, peaches, peppers, pumpkins, raspberries, summer squash, winter squash, tomatoes, other vegetables, and prepicked produce
  104 Dohner St, Rexmont, PA 17085. Phone: 717-383-9099. Email: melissa@goodkarmaproduce.org. Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, only. . UPDATE for 2021, Their website is gone and there's nothing else about them that is current on the internet - I presume they have closed. Does anyone have current information, are they still offering pick your own or are even open? If so, please write me.Wednesday, Thurs, Friday 8 am to 7 pm special orders to be picked up by appointment onlyWe use natural practices, but are not yet certified OrganicWe accept Pennsylvania FMNP checks from seniors, & WIC programs.
• Grays Apple Ridge - apples, pumpkins and grapes
  144 Greble Road, Jonestown, PA . Phone: 717-865-3997. Email: graysappleridge@yahoo.com. Open: Self serve stand open all the time, U-PickF,S 9-5, Sun. Click here for a map and directions. Payment: cash, checks, Venmo.
  Grays Apple Ridge Facebook page. Self serve stand open all the time, U-Pick(F,S 9-5, Sun. 1-5), Opening the day after Labor Day and open Columbus Day. All apples, and pumpkins are available for retail or pick your own. All of our apple trees are dwarf to allow very easy access during picking. Three year old children often pick their own special apples and pumpkins without their parents help. We also sell jams,pickles, apple crisp. Tours are available for small groups such as 4-H, FFA, scouts, church youth groups, and both public & private school groups of 20 or lessOur orchard is presently a self serve facility with approximately 8 varieties, starting the second week in September and ending the first week in December. We also make unpasteurized cider and baked goods. The cider season starts the first Friday of October and ends the first week in December.Gray's Apple Ridge Orchard Facebook page.
• Honey Bear Orchards - apples, cherries, nectarines, pears, peaches, plums, raspberries, strawberries, and prepicked produce, snacks and refreshment stand
  1819 Thompson Avenue, Lebanon, PA 17046. Phone: 717-867-4611. Open: Call for hours Payment: Cash, Check. Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check.
  Honey Bear Orchards Facebook page. Crops are usually available in May through September Facebook page. Celebrating our 25th anniversary! Family owned and operated. Come for an enjoyable picking experience.
• Rudy's Christmas Tree Farm - apples, walnuts, Chestnuts, Honey from hives on the farm, Cider mill fresh apple cider made on the premises, Christmas trees
  3 Narrow Road at the intersection of Route 849, New Bloomfield, PA 17068. Phone: 717-921-2154. Open: Apples and hand cranked apple cider from September to November. Directions: From Duncannon, PA, go west on Route 849 for 7 miles. Watch for a large . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check. Choose and Cut Christmas Trees: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from Thanksgiving to December 23rd. Closed Christmas Eve. Open for Choose and Cut Christmas Trees: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from Thanksgiving to December 23rd. Closed Christmas EveChristmas Tree Farm sign in a mowed field on the left. At one room, red brick schoolhouse make SHARP left (watching for traffic) onto Narrow Road. Park across from the red barn in marked area.Crops are usually available in September, October, November, DecemberNew this year, farm grown Chestnuts.
• Sycamore Spring Orchard Harvest Festival - apples, apple cider, produce for sale, parking provide free, gift shop, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, picnic area
  2501 Heilmandale Road, Jonestown, PA 17038. Phone: 717-867-4389. Email: glen@sycamorespringorchard.com. Open: see our website for currents hours. Directions: see our website for directions. . Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Visa, MasterCard. . Crops are usually available in September, October Our Harvest Festival, Oct 3-5, 2008 features wagon rides, PYO apples and pumpkins, corn maze, pig roast, apple dumplings and caramel apples made fresh all weekend, bounce house, playground, apple fritters, hand-dipped ice cream, face painting, fall decorations, mums and gourds

 

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