Our family apple picking fun at Beardley’s Cider Mill & Orchard in Shelton was one family Fall experience that was long overdue. The Beardsley’s have been farming the plot of land in Shelton, CT since 1849. Everything from hay to turkeys has been raised on the farm, including apples planted in the 1920’s, some of which are still being harvested today.
Beardsley’s Cider Mill & Orchard has over 10,000 dwarf apple trees in their Pick-Your-Own Orchard and over 400 peach, nectarine and plum trees on the farm. The orchard’s dwarf and semi-dwarf trees with branches never grow higher than 10-12 feet which make it convenient for children and grown-ups to pick apples in season.
We arrived for our family apple picking fun at Beardley’s Cider Mill & Orchard on a gorgeous Fall day and couldn’t wait to get started. Pick-Your-Own Apple Season happens on Saturdays and Sundays only, 10am – 5pm, weather permitting. The girls had Columbus day off so it was the perfect opportunity to visit the farm. We excitedly paid for our entrance fee and each of us got a plastic bag to fill with our apple picking. It’s advised on the website to call for varieties updates and availability.
Mid September:
Gala, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Macoun, Cortland and Liberty
Early October:
Mutsu, Jonagold, Empire, Red Delicious, McIntosh
Mid October:
Winesap, Braeburn, Enterprise, Granny Smith and Rome
We started our family apple picking fun at Beardley’s Cider Mill & Orchard with picking some red delicious apples and proceeded to pick a few Jonagold, McIntosh, Winesap and Mutsu. The price for Pick-Your-Own apples is $1.75/lb and come prepared to walk a while to not only pick apples but also explore the farm and at your pace, especially with little children.
We developed quite the appetite after our family apple picking fun at Beardley’s Cider Mill & Orchard so we headed to Beardsley’s farm store to taste their deliciously warm apple cider donuts and we were not disappointed. The farm store has apples, cider, pies, scones, fruit breads and local raw honey available daily right until Christmas Eve. Our family apple picking fun at Beardley’s Cider Mill & Orchard is one family experience that keeps on giving because we have been enjoying our apples with various yummy apple based recipes like salad, sauce and pies. We enjoyed our moment at Beardsley’s Cider Mill & Orchard and plan to make it a family Fall tradition.
