We spend a lot of time getting good apples from regional farms to stores, schools, and communities. This time, we’re suggesting you go straight to the source.
Bring a friend, bring the kids, bring that person who has strong opinions about apple varieties. These five EcoCertified™ orchards in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are worth a fall road trip from NYC, with plenty to pick, eat, and explore once you get there.
We know these farms through our work, and each has something a little different to offer. What they share is care for their orchards, pride in what they grow, and a place in a network of farmers who show up for one another.
Also, cider donuts…but we’ll get to those.
Good Apples. Thoughtful Farming.
If you’re new to EcoCertified™, let us explain. Our region’s humid summers and rainy stretches create ideal conditions for pests and diseases, making careful orchard management essential. Growing great apples here takes close attention and practices that fit those challenges.
That’s why Red Tomato developed EcoCertified with the IPM Institute of North America and university partners, including Cornell and Penn State. Growers follow rigorous, research-backed standards to manage pests while protecting pollinators, caring for soil and water, and keeping their orchards healthy. Close monitoring helps them decide when and how to act, and third-party verification ensures the standards are being met.
The growers in our EcoCertified network also share knowledge and support one another through tough seasons. Together, that thoughtful farming and strong network help keep regional orchards thriving, with delicious apples to show for it. An orchard visit is your chance to meet the people behind the fruit and taste what they’ve been working toward all season!
Find Your Fall Stop
Click a photo to jump to farm details
Fishkill Farms
Hopewell Junction, NY
At Fishkill Farms, creativity is part of the family farming story. Third-generation farmer Josh Morgenthau returned to the Hudson Valley orchard after studying art and helped reimagine its future through ecological growing, diversification, and new ways to connect visitors with the farm.
Today, that connection runs from the apple trees to the Treasury Cider Bar, where small-batch ciders feature orchard-grown apples along with seasonal fruit, herbs, and foraged ingredients.
Make a day of it: Pick apples, take a wagon ride, explore the corn maze, and settle in for live music and something from the Farmer’s Fork food stand. Cider donuts and apple cider slushies deserve a place in the plan, too.
With more than 80 apple varieties grown across the season, Fishkill offers plenty of opportunities to branch out from your usual favorites.
Before you go: Pick-your-own reservations are required. Check the farm’s website for available varieties, ticket options, and seasonal activities.
Rose Hill Farm
Red Hook, NY
With more than 100 acres of orchards, meadows, ponds, and forest and views toward the Catskills, there’s plenty of reason to linger. The farm’s history stretches back to 1798, and some of its trees hold family stories of their own. Former owners Dave and Karen Fraleigh planted the Royal Empire trees together shortly after getting married in 1984. Those trees are still producing apples today.
Make a day of it: Head into the orchard to pick a familiar favorite or try a variety you’ve never tasted. Signs point you toward what’s ripe that day. Afterward, settle in at the Rose Hill Ferments taproom for farm-made wines, ciders, and co-ferments, with food pop-ups and music adding to the afternoon. On fall weekends, Mighty Donuts makes cider donuts using Rose Hill apples.
Pick, eat, find a comfortable spot, and stay awhile. There’s no prize for getting back to the city early.
Before you go: Check picking availability, taproom hours, and the events calendar. The food and music lineup changes by day.
Indian Ladder Farms
Altamont, NY
Beneath the Helderberg Escarpment, Indian Ladder Farms gives you plenty of reasons to settle in for the afternoon.
This family farm has been growing apples since 1916. Today, more than 40 varieties grow across over 60 acres of orchards, including McIntosh, Cortland, Northern Spy, and GoldRush.
Apples aren’t the only harvest here. The farm grows hops for its brewery, with help from Heidi, an 11,000-pound hop harvester built in Germany in 1974. She processes the farm’s hops and those of neighboring growers, too. Consider her part of the crew behind your next pint.
Make a day of it: Pick apples and pumpkins, browse the farm store, and stay for lunch or dinner at the Cidery & Brewery. Find a seat in the orchard-side Biergarten overlooking the hop yard, or share a wood-fired pizza at the seasonal Pizza Garden.
For anyone planning a group outing or birthday celebration, the farm also offers prearranged orchard tours and apple-picking parties. We’re firmly in favor of celebrations where everyone goes home with apples.
Before you go: Call 1-866-640-PICK for current picking conditions, and check food service hours and seasonal events online.
Riamede Farm
Chester, NJ
This Chester farm has welcomed pick-your-own visitors since 1974, with some trees dating back to the 1930s. Families who came as children now bring kids of their own, making new memories in a familiar place.
Helping carry that tradition forward are owner Ashley Asdal and longtime farm manager Jamie Bourgeois. Ashley grew up in Chester and spent eleven years on active duty in the Navy before bringing her leadership and problem-solving skills home to the farm. Together, they care for an orchard we were proud to welcome into our EcoCertified network in 2026.
Make a day of it: Explore the apple orchard and pumpkin patch, wander the corn trail, visit the petting zoo, or pick a bunch of flowers while they’re available. Fall weekends also bring live music, lawn games, and seasonal food.
Stop at the farm store for local foods and homemade soups, and leave room for Riamede’s apple cider donuts. We recognize that this is becoming a theme.
Before you go: Advance online tickets are recommended, especially for weekends. Apples are sold by weight, and picking availability changes throughout the season.
Lyman Orchards
Middlefield, CT
Lyman Orchards has been farming since 1741. That’s a lot of apple seasons, and plenty of time to perfect a pie.
One of the original orchards in our EcoCertified program, Lyman grows approximately 30 apple varieties across 100 acres. That long family tradition carries into the bakery, where their signature Hi-Top Apple Pie follows a generations-old recipe, with more than two pounds of freshly peeled apples tucked inside. Pick your own for baking at home, or let their bakers take it from here.
Make a day of it: Fill a bag with apples, choose a pumpkin, and try your sense of direction in the fall corn maze. Then stop at the Apple Barrel Farm Market for lunch, cider donuts, ice cream, or a pie to bring home.
The Apple Barrel is open year-round, giving you a reason to return long after the last apple has been picked.
Before you go: Call 860-349-6015 for current varieties, picking locations, and conditions.
Behind every orchard visit are people making daily decisions about how to care for their trees, their land, and their farm’s future. Supporting these farms helps keep that work going and keeps regional agriculture part of our communities.
So bring your questions, try an apple variety you’ve never heard of, and take a little time to get to know the farm behind the fruit.
And if a few cider donuts make it home, we’ll consider that excellent planning.
Picking availability, hours, admission prices, and activities can change with weather and crop conditions. Check directly with each farm before heading out.