Along with traveling country roads to take in the fall foliage and piling up varieties of squash and mums on the front stoop, heading out to the U-pick apple orchard and filling a bag with fresh-picked apples is a rite of the season. Add to that jugs of fresh pressed cider and warm cider doughnuts, and you will experience autumn in all its glory.
Lake George, with its steep mountainsides, does not lend itself to farming, but there are several U-pick apple orchards nearby that can be reached with a 30-to-45-minute drive.
The Examiner crew heads out to the orchards each fall. This is a roundup of those we have visited. It is not all-inclusive, there are many we haven’t gotten to yet. We’ve measured the distances from Lake Geoge Village. Travel times vary, the roads to the orchards wind through the countryside, and it is not unusual to find yourself driving behind a slow-moving tractor, but the scenery is spectacular any way you go.
McWhorter’s Orchard
5635 NY-40
Argyle, NY
30 miles
In addition to trees heavily ladened with apples, McWhorter’s has warm cider doughnuts and offers wagon and pony rides. When the upper orchard is picked out, McWhorter’s sends apple pickers to the lower orchard about a mile down the road from their barn.
Hicks Orchard
18 Hicks Road
Granville, NY
30 miles
Hicks is one of the busiest orchards in the area. In addition to U-pick orchards, they have a large gift shop that is full of locally produced jams, honey and maple syrup as well as candy and fall décor. Visitors can watch cider-makers at work pressing apples and cider doughnuts moving along a conveyor as they fry. Slyboro Ciderhouse is on site. There you can sample a flight of their hard cider. Hicks also has goats for the full farm experience.
Apple Hill Orchard
3664 County Route 21
Whitehall, NY
31 miles
Apple Hill is a no-frills, we’re-serious-about-apples, orchard. Just pull up to the orchard, grab some bags, and start picking. The orchard is on a hillside with incredible mountain vistas. This is the place to go if you want a more relaxed experience out in nature.
Related: This little U-pick apple orchard is the real deal
Saratoga Apple
1174 NY-29
Schuylerville, NY
30 miles
Saratoga Apple’s U-pick orchards are open through the beginning of November. In addition to apples, you’ll find pears, plums and peaches in season. They make their own cider and have just launched their own hard cider, which you will find in the taproom along with other local craft beverages.
Cobble Knoll Orchard
1672 East Road
Benson, VT
42 miles
Cobble Knoll is over the Vermont border in Benson, just north of Fair Haven. They have a unique variety of apples (we are partial to the Querina Florina). The cider doughnuts come in several different flavors such as vanilla and pumpkin. They have fresh pressed apple cider and hard cider.
It’s About Thyme Farm
32 Smith Road
Olmstedville, NY
32 miles
The U-pick orchard at It’s About Thyme produces beautiful apples, but that’s not the only reason we headed up to Olmstedville. This farm has a huge U-pick pumpkin patch, a haunted (but not too scary) trail and Halloween décor and baked goods in the barn. Visitors are treated to a free cup of hot cider.