My son and I love apples and I think my toddler eats one just about everyday. We always have a supply in the house. I was thrilled to learn that when we planned to pick peaches a bit ago that there were also apples ready for picking!
We love going to Eastmont Orchards in Colts Neck. Delicious Orchards (the BEST place in NJ for fresh fruit pies and apple cider donuts!) is only right around the corner from that store. We always enjoy being in the neighborhood of Delicious Orchards so we can pop in for some specialty treats and really fresh fruits and veggies (and of course, pie and donuts!). They also have apple cider slushies that are definitely worth the trip!
On a weekday late afternoon we decided to pop over to pick peaches and apples just an hour from closing. Most families were prepping for back to school and it's still pretty warm so it wasn't that crowded which was great! Parking was only a short walk away from the rows of trees ready for picking which is AWESOME when you are picking fruit with a toddler. The less those little legs have to walk, the better!
We were able to pick peaches, nectarines and apples all in this one excursion! All of the fruit was easy to pick and my toddler enjoyed pulling them off the branches himself (although my sister and I had to help him select good ones-- after all, you pay for everything you pick!). We had lots of space and plenty trees to select from, with the different varieties being only a few rows of trees from one another. For your future visits, keep in mind that supply will vary depending on when fruit is ripe and how busy the fields have been before you. This may also change how much you need to walk to get to pickable fruit. Every time you go picking, just be aware that the amount of available ripe fruit is constantly fluid. Eastmont does share details on their website on what is available for picking so you can know the type of apples that are already ripe.
We happily filled a bag of toddler-picked fruit and at check-out, the girl at the counter put a stamp on my toddler's hand which he thought was VERY cool. He couldn't stop looking at it! It's the little things, right? After that, we were quickly back in the car and followed the bumpy rambling road out of the orchard and we were on our way!
Strollers are welcome at Eastmont but we hardly use ours anymore. My little boy is a great listener and stays close to mama when we are out and about so we had an easy time without one. Strollers are great for toting heavy bags of apples though if you are planning on picking a lot! Also-- like for all things now, bring your own bags!
If you've followed my blog, you've heard about my family farm dreams! I love activities like this! And the great part about apple and peach picking so early is that after we eat everything, we will still have time to go back and pick apples again! Maybe we'll check out another orchard for our next visit-- and don't worry, we will always share our details here!