The Unofficial Guide to the Best U-Pick Apple Orchards near Portland
The Oregonian hype around specific seasonal produce has reached cliché status. It’s still accurate. Locals will mob farm stands and u-pick orchards for Hood strawberries or Rainier cherries mere days before they appear in farmers market pints. In September, the season’s hottest fruit is likely the humble apple: the pink-fleshed Mountain Rose, the sweet and acidic Jonagold, the bracingly tart Gravenstein. The opening of u-pick orchards within the Willamette Valley and Mount Hood’s Fruit Loop—the bounty of orchards, vineyards, and berry farms that reaches south of Hood River—signal the first hint of fall, ahead of the parade of harvest festivals and pumpkin patches welcoming hoards in early October. Below, pie and cider aficionados will find a bucket list of u-pick orchards within two hours of Portland, for niche heirloom varieties and headliners like Honeycrisp. Be sure to check websites or social media (or better yet, call ahead) for that day’s offerings; apple availability can shift swiftly.
Visitors to the Mt. View Orchards in Mount Hood, Oregon, enjoy the food and drinks with their friends and family on a sunny autumn day in October 2021.
Mt. View Orchards
Mount Hood
Mt. View is built for kids, with a play area and weekend apple cider doughnuts—without becoming a full-on circus. As far as apple varieties go, you’ll find more than 125, depending on the season; that includes many of the usual suspects (Honeycrisp, Fuji, McIntosh) as well as some heirlooms, like Pink Pearl, Gravenstein, and Tokyo Rose. Yes, the orchard is certainly family friendly, but Mt. View is also a fun spot to taste hard ciders, beers, and even wines, served in the onsite Grateful Vineyard tasting room.
Farm stand, apple cider doughnuts, mountain views, play area, wagons provided
The farm store at Draper Girls, which the family stocks with property-grown produce, cider, and other Oregon preserves and pastries.
Draper Girls Country Farm
Mount Hood
Draper Girls Country Farm can be the busiest orchard on this list—a testament to how lovely the farm is. Regulars hoping to avoid the crowds visit on weekdays, where they traipse among the rows of Macs, Honeycrisp, and Tokyo Rose trees, filling buckets. Draper Girls has developed a reputation for its exceptional ciders, both nonalcoholic and hard; the latter is available to taste in a flight, sip as a glass, or take home in a growler with an apple haul. Kids love to hit up the mountain-view tree swing, or feed the farm’s family of goats.
cider tasting, farm stand, Mountain views, pumpkins
Many farms provide wagons for apple gathering (or kid-towing).
Kiyokawa Family Orchards
Mount hood
With 360-degree views of Hood, Adams, and Rainier, Kiyokawa is worth visiting for the scenery alone. The family-run business is a tight operation, with maps and well-informed staff to help you find the right tree. That’s important, since Kiyokawa has more than 150 varieties grown on-site, including hard-to-find Winter Banana, Manchurian Crabapples, and Ruby Jon. Keep an eye out for events at Kiyokawa, which run the gamut from mariachi bands and Mexican food trucks to hayrides and apple tasting.
wagons provided, farm stand, play area, events
Bell’s Orchard
Beaverton
No ladders necessary: this Beaverton u-pick orchard keeps its fruit trees short, so toddlers can get in on the fun and no top-branch Gravensteins or Braeburns go to waste. Bell’s is generally pretty mellow, with a sweet red farmhouse and a picnic area for a sack lunch at the orchard. Picking days are relatively limited; it’s best to check the orchard’s Facebook or website for updated hours and varieties.
short trees, kid friendly, wagons provided
Sherwood Orchards
Sherwood
This Tualatin Valley orchard has existed since the 1860s and is a designated u-pick-only orchard offering a whopping 70 varieties of apples. If you can’t find something, Charles Poindexter, the farm’s owner, is often on-hand for direction. Apple hunters, this is the place to cross off your bucket-list varietals: Tydeman’s Red, Spitzenburg, and Wolf River are just some of the rare apples growing here. Note that the apple crop is a little slim this year due to early season weather, so visit early if you want to pick.
Bring your own containers, u-pick plums and quince, limited crowds
Fordyce Farm
Salem
The low-key Fordyce orchard is a favorite among Mid-Valley families, who dig its inexpensive u-pick setup ($1 per pound) and its limited-but-distinctive selection (October’s apple crop includes Karmijn de Sonnaville, a deeply flavorful Dutch cross of Jonathan and Cox’s Orange Pippin). Kids can tackle the nearby hay fort, while parents supplement their apple haul with Asian pears, pumpkins, or sunflowers, depending on the season. Lingering warm days may call for a post-pick milkshake.
Kid-friendly, farm stand, bring your own bucket
True North Orchards
Salem
One of the mid-Valley’s top u-pick apple orchards, True North apples sometimes ripen later than trees in the Mount Hood area, ideal for procrastinators and those hoping to pick through late October. For u-pick, you’ll find the standards here—Jonagolds, Pink Lady, Granny Smith—as well as other pick-your-own fruits, like plums, grapes, and pears. True North stocks its general store with cider, juice, and preserves made with the orchard’s fruit, as well as a range of antiques straight out of a Laura Ingalls Wilder kitchen. If the pick runs late, order a pint of carbonated cider and grab a seat near the campfire, when seasonally appropriate.
Picnic area, cider, general store, antiques
Share this content:
Author: Hey PDX
Hey PDX Team
Post Comment