Central Watershed Outings: An Apple a Day

An Apple a Day

Pick Your Own This Fall

Story and photos by John Burk

Cold Spring Orchard in Autumn.

Visiting scenic orchards of western Massachusetts while enjoying fall foliage, a quintessential New England combination, is a favorite autumn tradition of mine. It’s a great opportunity to support local family-owned farms, which are becoming increasingly rare.

Apple production has been a tradition since colonial times in the region, where a combination of soils, climate, and altitude provides an ideal environment for growing fruit. The industry thrived during the nineteenth century, when growers exported to England and other international markets. Global competition caused many orchards to diversify and shift from wholesale distribution to retail businesses with attractions such as apple picking, farm stores, and seasonal events.

On the west side of Mount Tom, one of the Pioneer Valley’s prominent landmarks, Park Hill Orchard produces ninety types of fruit, including forty-eight apple varieties. Like other orchards, the farm, owned by Russell Braen and Alana Hartley, implements a variety of sustainable practices to minimize impact on the environment and improve the land for future generations. These include scientifically-based pest management techniques that target troublesome insects without adversely affecting other species.
In addition to apple picking, which starts in August, Park Hill’s harvest season events include Art in the Orchard, an exhibition of sculptures on a walking trail. The 2024 display, open through Thanksgiving weekend, features work by local students.

At the University of Massachusetts’s Cold Spring Orchard in Belchertown, students, researchers, and commercial growers experiment with new apple varieties, evaluate horticultural and management techniques, and develop environmentally-friendly practices. The facility, which grows more than 100 apple varieties, as well as blueberries, peaches, sunflowers, and pumpkins, was established on a former dairy farm in 1962 after the university converted the original research orchard on the Amherst campus to a residential area.

Visitors are welcome at the orchard which features scenic views to the Mount Holyoke Range and lies just south of Quabbin Reservoir. The farm store opens in August, and apple picking is available on weekends starting in September. See their Facebook page for dates and varieties. Purchases support research and education.

Appropriately named for its location atop a 950-foot hill near the Mohawk Trail in Shelburne, Apex Orchards features outstanding three-state views across the Connecticut River Valley to Mount Toby, the Holyoke Range, and Mount Monadnock. Operated by seven generations of the Peck family since 1828, the farm produced a variety of commodities in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries before converting to an orchard in 1946.

To expand and diversify the retail business, owner Tim Smith purchased a portion of the original farmstead in 2011 and established a pick-your-own orchard, which opens daily starting in September, and a store that sells locally-made products such as maple syrup, honey, and ice cream. In addition to apples, other fruits include peaches, pears, and nectarines. From August through October, the farm offers weekend events and tractor rides.

In the picturesque hills of Colrain, near the Mohawk Trail and Route 112 Scenic Byways, Pine Hill Orchards grows apples, pumpkins, plums, blueberries, and other fruits on more than eighty acres. Like other farmers, the Shearer family persevered in 2023 after frosts destroyed their entire peach crop and roughly half of the apples. “We’ve expanded our store with a variety of items to help cover bad crop years,” says co-owner Brady Shearer.
Utilizing a modernized apple press that has been in service for more than 100 years, Pine Hill Orchards produces roughly 120,000 gallons of cider annually for use in doughnuts, bottled sweet cider, and hard ciders produced in collaboration with local craft breweries and wineries. A favored beverage in historic times, hard cider has regained popularity in recent years.

The farm store, open year-round, sells produce, cider, prepared meals, homemade pies, and craft beer. Apple picking runs from Labor Day weekend through Columbus Day, or longer if conditions allow. Fall weekend attractions include family events, a food truck, wagon rides, and resident miniature donkeys, pigs, goats, and geese.

The last active orchard in Ashfield’s Apple Valley, a historic farming district where apple production dates back to the early 1800s, Clark Brothers Orchard is an important part of the region’s heritage. Established by the Clark family in 1896, the farm produces more than thirty classic and modern apple varieties, eight types of grapes, and other fruit, mainly for wholesale customers. Through collaborations with the University of Massachusetts, the Clarks have helped develop new varieties of apples and seedless grapes.

Apples and other produce are available at the farm store, which opened in July (daily except on Saturdays) at the onset of blueberry season. Nearby Bear Swamp, a Trustees of Reservations nature preserve on Hawley Road, features two overlooks with views of Apple Valley and an orchard on adjacent private land.

At the Mohawk Trail’s eastern end in Phillipston, Red Apple Farm sits atop a 1,200-foot hill near the Millers River. Established in 1912 and operated by the Rose family since 1929, the orchard is home to the nation’s oldest commercial McIntosh tree, which still bears fruit after 112 years, and an experimental tree that has produced more than 100 varieties. An eighteenth-century farmhouse, barn, and stone walls stand alongside modern amenities such as wind turbines and solar panels. After a destructive hailstorm in 2019, the farm used damaged apples to create a hard cider produced in conjunction with a local brewery.

Originally a wholesale business, Red Apple Farm became a popular destination through the efforts of Bill Rose and his son, Al, who implemented attractions such as a farm store, seasonal events, a petting zoo, and the Brew Barn, which offers craft beer, food, and live music. The pick-your-own season runs from July through October; harvest dates for apples, fruits, and sunflowers are available on the farm’s website.

Well-maintained hiking trails provide opportunities to enjoy fall colors in adjacent forests and wetlands. From the back of the main orchard, several paths explore the watershed of Thousand Acre Brook, where wetlands provide habitat for beavers, great blue herons, moose, and other wildlife. On the east side of Highland Avenue, a two-mile loop leads to a wooded ridge, beaver pond, and a forest management area.

John Burk is a writer, photographer, and historian from western Massachusetts whose credits include books, guides, and articles in nature and regional publications.