Fall is upon us and it is a great time to explore some nearby orchards.  Pick your own places offer a fun experience of getting your own produce and trying out some apple varieties that you don’t see in the grocery store.  Here are some places to go apple picking near Locust Grove.

The Market at Grelen Down in Somerset, you can easily spend much of the day at this picturesque location. In addition to apple picking, they have a café of delicious food and a store to browse.   If it’s your first time visiting, stop into the market for directions to the orchard, bring your own bag, and pick away.  The property also has trails to explore. 

FT Valley Farm Just outside of the town of Sperryville, FT Valley Farm has beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  They have many varieties of apples to pick from August to late October.

Fruit Hill Orchard   Located in Fluvanna County just south of Zion Crossroads, this orchard offers lots of outdoor fun.  They provide apple picking sticks, share info on the types of apples available, and even have a little apple museum.  When your kids need to run off some energy there are lots of fun games located in the rows of the orchard.  They can try a relay race, bean bag toss, and more.  There is also a farm store that offers lots of other great products.

Carter Mountain Orchard The side of a mountain isn’t the typical location that you might think of in association with apple orchards, but that is where Carter Mountain Orchard is located just north of Charlottesville. After selecting your produce you can wander around the picturesque property and enjoy goodies from the farm store.

If you feel like exploring a little further out, here is a great resource with many places to pick apples throughout Virginia.