In the rolling hills of Henderson County, dozens of orchards produce more than four million bushels of apples each year (80 percent of North Carolina’s total apple crop). The county’s rich soils, warm daytime temperatures, and forgivingly cool nights — plus abundant land for farming — helped catapult our state to seventh in the nation for apple production.
Apple season swells from August through October, the trees heavy with dozens of varieties of the fruit, from snappy Honeycrisps to juicy Pink Ladies. You can buy them from roadside farm stands and packing houses, but if you really want to get into the spirit, make a beeline for the orchards themselves. Each year, come fall, these farms transform into scenes of pure autumn splendor. Here, picking your own bushel of apples is just the start — sip cider, enjoy a baked treat from an on-site bakery, find your way out of a corn maze, and peruse a pumpkin patch for the most sincere in the bunch. Read on for eight Henderson County farms that have become part of families’ fall traditions, and pick one (or several) to make part of your traditions this season. And to find our guide to the sweet treats made at the orchards, click here to read about one writer’s sugar-fueled excursion along U.S. Route 64 in the area known as Apple Alley.
Stop by Mountain Fresh Orchards, where you’ll want to pick up a warm apple fritter — or two. Photography courtesy of Mountain Fresh Orchards
Make this family-owned orchard in Hendersonville a fall destination. Throughout the season, you can pick up to 16 different varieties of apples and shop for farm-fresh fall decor, including pumpkins and Indian corn. We recommend going with family or friends on a weekend day, getting one of the bakery-made apple treats (your choice of warm fritters, apple cider doughnuts, or fried hand pies) and climbing aboard the Apple Express train for a ride through the orchard as you munch on your snack.
2887 Chimney Rock Road
Hendersonville, NC 28792
(828) 435-0020
Thursdays to Sundays from late August to late October, Jeter Mountain Farm is a no-holds-barred autumn extravaganza, complete with live bluegrass music, a farm market, and smoked pulled pork barbecue. Climb aboard one of the tractor-pulled wagons that will wheel you into the orchard to see which of the 25 apple varieties are ripe for picking When you need to fuel up, check out The 1813 Smokehouse, which serves barbecue and down-home sides or settle in with a flight of ciders from the Cider Co. Taproom, made with apples grown at the farm.
1126 Jeter Mountain Road
Hendersonville, NC 28739
(828) 513-0656
From selling apples from a roadside tent in the 1960s, this family farm has evolved into a spot with a you-pick orchard, apple cannon, tractor rides, gem mining, and wildly popular apple cider doughnuts, all of which make it a recurring contender to be named the best apple orchard in the country. If you pick apples in the orchard, keep your eyes peeled for the farm’s animal residents, many of which roam freely around the property. The orchard swells with activity during weekends in the fall, so if you’re looking for a quieter experience, try visiting them later in the afternoon or during a weekday.
1193 Pinnacle Mountain Road
Flat Rock, NC 28731
(828) 692-7930
Among the many sweet selections at Grandad’s Apples ’N Such, you can choose a massive ice cream sandwich (made with doughnuts, of course) or an apple cider slushie topped with vanilla soft-serve. photograph by Tim Robison
If winding through a corn maze underneath a clear, October sky is on your fall bucket list, swing by this Hendersonville orchard. On weekends in the fall, Grandad’s offers a playscape of seasonal fun, from a towering corn maze to sweet treats, like the Mountain Glacier apple cider slushee topped with vanilla soft serve. Starting Labor Day weekend, visitors can load and fire fruit from an apple cannon into the pond and ride a family-friendly train pulled through the orchard by a tractor. By late September, Grandad’s pumpkin patch opens, and you can scour the rows to find your future jack-’o-lantern.
2951 Chimney Rock Road
Hendersonville, NC 28792
(828) 685-1685
If the orange jack-’o-lantern-shaped silo doesn’t set your spirits into seasonal mode, then maybe the loaves of fresh apple bread or the shelves of seasonal candles, fruit preserves, and apple-themed home goods inside the Apple House will. A commercial farm for most of the year, Coston Farm opens to visitors every apple season, welcoming them to pick apples straight from the orchard in addition to shopping for folk art from the gift shop and delicious apple-loaded baked goods from the bakery.
3748 Chimney Rock Farm
Hendersonville, NC 28792
(828) 685-8352
Don’t leave Stepp’s Apple House without a peck of mountain apples to take home. photograph by Jared Kay
Whether or not a pun is intended, we recommend hitting your step count at this family-owned farm. A five-acre corn maze is open daily to visitors, with a new design each year (perfect if you want to challenge your crew to a race through the rows). Prefer a slower pace? Climb aboard a wagon for a ride around the farm or practice your aim with the apple cannons (both offered on weekends). While you might be tempted to snack as you pick apples in the orchard, the farm encourages visitors to bring their own picnic lunch to enjoy in the fresh mountain air … just don’t forget a hand-dipped caramel apple for dessert!
170 Stepp Orchard Drive
Hendersonville, NC 28792
(828) 685-9083
A family farm for nearly 100 years, the Justus family has since carved a space for themselves in the agritourism sector with seasonal cider, tours, playgrounds, and sweet treats. photograph by Jack Sorokin
For five generations, the Justus family has grown apples in Henderson County. Their centennial family farm has evolved well beyond the orchard to become a destination for all ages. They have some classic attractions for little ones — a train through the orchard, an apple cannon, a bouncy jump pad — as well as special offerings for adult visitors, like the Justus Orchard Taproom, which serves their own fruit ciders, along with beer and wine, in an open-air patio. All ages will enjoy meeting the Highland pony and goats at the petting zoo, plus ordering a sampling of apple cider dumplings, apple hand pies, and ice cream to fuel the fun.
187 Garren Road
Hendersonville, NC 28792
(828) 974-1232
Every Sunday afternoon from Labor Day to the end of October, you can venture into the orchard to pick more than 40 varieties of heirloom and modern apples ripening on the trees. Afterwards, clip a bouquet of sunflowers to take home, and spend a minute lingering in the quiet mountain air with an apple strudel and cider in hand. Don’t worry if you don’t make it there on Sunday; you can find their apples at the West Asheville Farmers Market on Tuesdays and at area farmers markets on Saturdays.
280 Bent Arrow Lane
Hendersonville, NC 28793
(828) 685-7728
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