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Hudson Valley Apple Picking 2026: Orchards Worth the Drive

The Farmers Choice Team

Apple picking in the Hudson Valley is open for 2026 at five u-pick orchards within a short drive of a Farmers Choice store: Twin Star Orchards, Jenkins-Lueken Orchards and Dressel Farms around New Paltz, and Fishkill Farms and Barton Orchards on the Dutchess County side near Fishkill. The season opened between late August and mid September, depending on the farm, and runs to about November 1, with reservations required at Fishkill Farms, picking on weekends only at Dressel Farms, and one long-running Highland orchard that has closed its u-pick. Every day and hour below was read on the orchard's own site in mid September 2026. Farms change plans with the weather and the crop, so check once more before you drive.

Where can you pick apples near New Paltz?

Three orchards sit within about 10 minutes of Thruway Exit 18, in the flat farm country around the village.

Twin Star Orchards, 155 North Ohioville Road, is the closest of the five to the New Paltz store, about 2 miles and 4 minutes away; our dispensary near Twin Star Orchards page has the drive. Its site takes apple picking bookings and currently posts seasonal hours of Friday noon to 8PM, Saturday 11AM to 8PM and Sunday 11AM to 7PM, with the kitchen opening at noon. An apple map on its homepage highlights the varieties in season, and in mid September it marked Gala, McIntosh and a limited amount of Honeycrisp. Leashed dogs are welcome.

Jenkins-Lueken Orchards, 69 Yankee Folly Road at Route 299, opened its 2026 u-pick on Saturday, September 5, with more than 500 apple trees, plus pumpkins. The main u-pick fields are open Saturday and Sunday 9AM to 5PM, a smaller u-pick area by the farm stand runs during weekday hours, and the farm stand opens at 9AM every day. The fields take cash only, though the farm stand will run a card and hand you a receipt to bring to the bag table. Rows are labeled by variety. It is about 6 miles and 10 minutes from the New Paltz store.

Dressel Farms, 271 Route 208, is the weekend orchard: u-pick apples on Saturdays and Sundays only, from 10AM, September 12 through November 1, with u-pick pumpkins daily in October from 9AM to 5PM and the roadstand open daily from 9AM. No pets in the fields or orchard, by federal food safety rules. Dressel is about 5 miles and 10 minutes from the store, on the Route 208 corridor that runs south toward Gardiner.

Where can you pick apples near Fishkill?

Fishkill Farms, 9 Fishkill Farm Road in Hopewell Junction, grows more than 100 apple varieties, all eco-certified and a third of them certified organic. Reservations are required for pick-your-own, they cover your parking and the fruit in the field, and sold-out days have no waitlist, so book before you leave. Apple reservations were open through Sunday, November 1 when we checked, picking hours are generally 9AM to 5PM Tuesday through Sunday in season, and the Fall Harvest Festival weekends run every Saturday and Sunday from September 12 through November 1, plus Monday, October 12, with wagon rides included in the reservation and live music in the courtyard, noon to 4PM on most festival days. An April frost took most of the farm's 2026 peach, nectarine and pear crop, so check the pick-your-own page before counting on pears. The farm store is open Tuesday to Sunday 9AM to 6PM, and dogs are not allowed in the orchard. It is about 6 miles and 15 minutes from Farmers Choice Fishkill, and the Hopewell Junction page covers the roads.

Barton Orchards, 63 Apple Tree Lane in Poughquag, is an apple orchard and pumpkin farm that picks daily, noon to 5:30PM, with an apple season it says typically runs from late August through late October or early November. Farm admission is free except on festival weekends and select holiday weekdays, parking is always free, and bags come from the Apple Shack. Its October festival weekends include the Hudson Valley Apple Festival on October 3 and 4 and the Harvest Festival on October 10 to 12; passes are sold in advance and at the gate, and the farm links the current schedule from its site. Use the main entrance on Apple Tree Lane, since the farm warns that some map apps route drivers to a back gate on Lime Ridge Road that is not open to the public. Barton is about 15 miles and 25 minutes from the Fishkill store.

When are the apples ready?

Two of the orchards publish what is ripe. Jenkins-Lueken's approximate chart lists Honeycrisp and McIntosh from the start of September, Gala from September 5, Empire, Cortland, Fortune, Jonagold and Macoun from September 15, Fuji and the Delicious types from September 20, Mutsu from October 1 and Ida Red from October 15. Fishkill Farms had Honeycrisp, Gala, early Fuji, McIntosh, Jonamac and Snapdragon in season in mid September alongside its organic Crimson Crisp, Liberty and Pixie Crunch. Honeycrisp is an early apple on both lists, so go in September for it; the late keepers such as Mutsu and Ida Red come in October. The October 10 to 12 holiday weekend is a festival weekend at Barton and adds a Monday festival day at Fishkill Farms, and it falls at the front of the Shawangunk foliage window, so in New Paltz an hour of picking fits around the leaf-peeping loop.

Which Farmers Choice is closest to each orchard?

Distances are OpenStreetMap and OSRM estimates from the orchard to the store, rounded to 5 minutes.

  • Twin Star Orchards: Farmers Choice New Paltz, about 2 miles and 4 minutes.
  • Dressel Farms: Farmers Choice New Paltz, about 5 miles and 10 minutes.
  • Jenkins-Lueken Orchards: Farmers Choice New Paltz, about 6 miles and 10 minutes.
  • Fishkill Farms: Farmers Choice Fishkill, about 6 miles and 15 minutes.
  • Barton Orchards: Farmers Choice Fishkill, about 15 miles and 25 minutes.

Highland used to have its own answer. Wilklow Orchards on Pancake Hollow Road, a six-generation farm with pick-your-own apples every fall, now says on its site that the pick-your-own and farm stand are closed, with a thank-you for 45 years. From Highland the New Paltz orchards are a short run west on Route 299, about 12 minutes to the store and a few more to the trees.

Keeping a purchase sealed

Anything from a Farmers Choice counter leaves sealed and stays that way until you are home. New York does not allow opening cannabis packaging or consuming cannabis in a vehicle, moving or parked, and the orchards are private farms with their own rules. Our guide to New York cannabis laws covers where consumption is and is not allowed.

Both stores are a short drive from these orchards. Farmers Choice New Paltz is at 1 Old Route 299 by Thruway Exit 18, open 8AM to 10PM daily, and Farmers Choice Fishkill is at 18 Westage Drive on Route 9 at I-84, open 8AM to 10PM Sunday to Wednesday and 8AM to 11PM Thursday to Saturday. Order Now from the Fishkill menu or the New Paltz menu, and most orders are ready inside an hour, or stop in and let a Farm Hand walk you through what came in this week. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID showing you are 21 or older.

Questions & answers

When does apple picking start in the Hudson Valley?

Between late August and mid September, depending on the orchard. Jenkins-Lueken Orchards opened its 2026 u-pick on Saturday, September 5, Dressel Farms picks weekends from September 12 through November 1, Barton Orchards says its apple season typically runs late August into late October or early November, and Fishkill Farms takes apple reservations through Sunday, November 1. Early varieties go first, so call or check the farm's site for what is on the trees.

Do you need a reservation to go apple picking near Fishkill?

At Fishkill Farms, yes. Its pick-your-own page says reservations are required, they cover parking and fruit in the field, and they sell out on busy fall days with no waitlist. Barton Orchards in Poughquag posts daily picking hours and sells bags at its Apple Shack, and its festival weekends need a pass. Twin Star Orchards in New Paltz takes apple picking bookings on its own site.

Which apple orchards are closest to New Paltz?

Three sit within about 10 minutes of Farmers Choice New Paltz at Thruway Exit 18. Twin Star Orchards at 155 North Ohioville Road is about 2 miles away, Dressel Farms at 271 Route 208 is about 5 miles, and Jenkins-Lueken Orchards at 69 Yankee Folly Road is about 6 miles, by OpenStreetMap and OSRM estimates.

Is Wilklow Orchards in Highland open for apple picking in 2026?

No. Wilklow Orchards' own site now says its pick-your-own apples and farm stand are closed, with a thank-you for 45 years, so the long-running u-pick on Pancake Hollow Road is off the list this fall. Highland pickers head west on Route 299 to the New Paltz orchards instead, or across the river to Fishkill Farms and Barton Orchards on the Dutchess side.

Can you bring a dog apple picking in the Hudson Valley?

It depends on the orchard. Twin Star Orchards welcomes leashed dogs, and Barton Orchards allows leashed dogs in the orchard but not in its buildings or corn maze. Dressel Farms allows no pets in its fields or orchard under federal food safety rules, and Fishkill Farms keeps dogs out of the orchard, the farm store and growing areas. Check the orchard's own page before you go.

Sources

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