North Georgia, with its beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, is just such a great place for those who love to enjoy the great outdoors. All those exhilarating hiking trails together with that fresh country air and natural beauty surrounding you.
So why not head over to one of the many local orchards for a lovely day out with the brood.
You can go apple picking there, and maybe pick other produce besides, and grab some edutainment while you’re at it, learning all about the local agriculture and the different ways that orchards and farms can make money.
We’ve taken the liberty of putting together a shortlist of some of the best spots for apple picking and fruit in this lovely part of the state of Georgia, so you can decide where you’d like to go.
Coming Up
In this article, we’ll be sharing with you our hand-picked shortlist of the best apple picking opportunities in North Georgia.
We’ll give you the link for their website or Facebook page, the location, and a brief run through of what you can expect while you’re there.
And without further ado, let’s get straight to it!
(The following apple picking spots aren’t listed in any particular order.)
R&A Orchards is such a beautiful place, very Instagrammable. They have fields of colorful flowers and pretty blossoms on the trees.
It’s been around since 1947 and is 160 acres in size, brimming with fruits and veg.
Their apple picking season runs from September through October. And they have generous opening hours, 7 days a week from 8.30 in the morning through to 6 in the evening.
You can pick Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Stayman Winesap, Mutsu, and Rome Beauty apples.
They have over 100 homemade products in their shop and they also have a nice cafe if you want to grab a bite to eat while you’re there.
This quaint family owned and operated orchard and farm has been in business for 30 years now, and has been running pick-your-own for a number of years.
They do both u-pick blackberries and u-pick apples, with blackberries available in the summer and apples available in the fall.
When you visit for a day out, you are also invited to feed the barnyard animals, meet Festus the Donkey, visit the indoor gem mine, do a hayride or ride the train, have an ice cream, run around the corn maze, and check out the pumpkins and the playground.
The Folk Collaborative is a community oriented organization centered around Appalachian culture, with not only an orchard to enjoy but also an apothecary, a bakery, and a shop with products that are 98% derived from farm-grown products.
Your orchard experience there can include tractor rides, a picnic, a roaring campfire, cider days, and of course, picking your own apples.
As a general rule, their apple picking season runs from August through October, and you will be provided with a handy map and baskets to guide you. No reservations are required, but do check their website for dates and times.
Location: 63 Talona Mountain Rd, Ellijay, GA 30536
This lovely family owned and operated orchard and fruit farm was established as far back as the 1920s, and to quote their website, apples are the “core” of their business.
They grow 20 different varieties of apples, as well as peaches and veggies.
They also make a range of apple products and baked goods in their kitchens that you can buy at their farm market, including the likes of cider, their signature fried pies, and apple brandy cake. They even make their own ice cream and fudge, as well!
Located in the beautiful Long Creek area of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Bryson’s Apple Orchard is a great place for a spot of apple picking.
Their apple picking opens to the public from mid-August and runs through to mid-October.
They have Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, Mutsu, Ozark Golden, Granny Smith, Arkansas Black, Rome Beauty, Yates, Fuji, Winesap, Supreme Gold, Sunshine and more.
But if you’re hungry for homegrown fruit before then, you can pop along to their farm stand for some lovely fresh peaches starting from the end of July.
They also press their own apple cider and offer other farm produce and homemade goods that they make available for purchase – and you may even catch some free samples, too!
Penland’s Apple House has been family owned and operated since 1936, for generations and counting.
Their best time for apple picking is from August through November, and they are open daily from 9 in the morning until 6 at night.
They grow more than 20 different varieties of apples, including Honey Crisp, Fuji, Jonagold, Sun Crisp, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Red Delicious, to name just a few.
It’s right off the 575, so it’s a very convenient and easy to get to location. It has excellent customer ratings and reviews and comes highly recommended.
Their apples are crisp and juicy, and their muscadines are especially good.
In addition to apple picking, you are also free to purchase homemade items from their farm stand. They have the most amazing apple hand pies, peach pies, and apple cider donuts.
B.J. Reece Orchards is another family owned and operated orchard that’s great for a fun family day out. And there acres and acres of land to roam.
They have 23 different varieties of apples for visitor apple picking and their u-pick season typically runs from the beginning of August through to mid October.
In addition to apple picking, they also have a petting farm, wagon rides, cow milking, apple cannons, pony rides, scavenger hunts, and more.
No reservations are required, and both card and cash payments are accepted. And better yet, you can even bring the dog, too!
They also have a market with cider, jams and a wonderful selection of baked goods from their bakery.
Jaemor Farms has been in the Echols family for 6 generations and for over a hundred years. They began with fruit and veg crops from the get-go, and they expanded into agri-tourism in 2006.
Although they don’t offer apple picking to the public per se, they do offer picking your own peaches, flowers, and strawberries.
If you’re hankering for apples in particular however, you can purchase pre-picked apples from them at their store.
They specialize in east coast apples, but altogether they can offer Ginger Gold, Arkansas Black, Gala, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Winesap, Mutsu, Red Rome, and more.
What’s particularly different about Jaemor farms is that it hosts nights out in the farm for adults, which means that you can have a date night with a difference!
Red Apple Barn is a family owned and operated farm and orchard that has a long history, having been in the Pritchett family since 1927. And now their land totals 180 acres.
They began offering the public to pick their own apples in 2010, and they have a long list of varieties available to pick from the beginning of August through to the end of October.
Apple picking is available on Saturdays 10.30AM until 5 PM, and Sundays from 1PM to 4PM (and for school field trips by appointment).
They also offer picking your own pumpkins, tractor rides, apple cider, apple cider donuts, meeting barnyard animals, and more.
Mercier Orchards is a 4th generation family owned and operated apple orchard, founded as far back as 1943. Their 300 acres of land have idyllic scenery to enjoy, and of course, you can pick your own apples…
Their apples can include Arkansas Black, Crimson Crisp, Fuju, Goldrush, Pink Lady and more. And, they also have strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry picking as well.
They also offer tractor rides, fishing opportunities, a great farm market with some great homemade items, and there also some great things to pick up from their bakery and candy kitchen.
And we also recommend checking out their winery for free samples of apple cider, mulled wine, and more.
Wrap Up
And that’s a wrap! We hope you’ve enjoyed browsing through our shortlist of apple picking spots in North Georgia.
We appreciate it can be difficult to decide where to go, but we believe that all of the spots mentioned above would make for an excellent day out.
Hi, my name is Amelia Haslehurt and I am a food blogger. As you can guess, I am passionate about what I eat, but what is most important to me when reviewing is high quality, fresh, organic, delicious ingredients.
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