Calculated from the 100 orchards in our database that have published 2026 dates, out of 578 we track across 49 states.
Unlike a pumpkin patch or a Christmas tree lot, an apple orchard doesn't have one opening day — it has a rolling procession of varieties, each with its own ripening window. Picking the wrong week doesn't mean the orchard is closed; it means the apple you wanted isn't on the tree yet, or already picked over.
Ginger Gold, Paula Red, and Zestar lead the way. These don't store well and rarely show up at the grocery store, which makes them one of the few genuine reasons to visit an orchard early rather than wait for peak season.
The workhorses: McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Gala, and Cortland typically ripen here, along with most of what an orchard's "what's ripe now" list will show on a given September weekend. This is also, unsurprisingly, the busiest stretch — most family visits cluster here.
Fuji, Pink Lady, GoldRush, and EverCrisp are late keepers, often the last varieties standing after Honeycrisp rows have been picked clean. Orchards that stay open into November are usually selling from these varieties, plus whatever's left in cold storage.
478 of the 578 orchards we track — 83% — had published no 2026 dates at all when we last checked. Apple orchards are generally less date-driven than pumpkin patches or tree farms since many operate all season on a rolling basis, but hours, weekend-only schedules, and "what's ripe" lists still change week to week — worth a call or a check of the orchard's own site before driving out.
This is why we mark listings whose 2026 dates came from the orchard's own website with a green badge —86 of 578 currently qualify. Everything else is compiled from published sources and should be checked before you drive.
Median opening and closing dates for the orchards in each state that have published them. States with few published dates are noisier — the count is shown so you can weigh it.
| State | Published dates | Typical open | Typical close | Season runs to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 5 of 19 | August 15 | October 31 | November 23 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 of 19 | August 15 | November 15 | November 15 |
| Virginia | 4 of 19 | August 24 | October 31 | December 1 |
| Illinois | 4 of 19 | August 29 | November 1 | November 1 |
| Indiana | 3 of 20 | August 29 | November 7 | November 7 |
| Minnesota | 7 of 21 | August 29 | November 1 | November 1 |
| New Hampshire | 1 of 12 | August 29 | — | — |
| Georgia | 2 of 11 | September 1 | — | — |
| Missouri | 4 of 19 | September 1 | October 31 | November 30 |
| Wisconsin | 12 of 21 | September 1 | November 1 | December 21 |
| Delaware | 1 of 3 | September 4 | — | — |
| Maryland | 3 of 16 | September 4 | November 1 | November 1 |
| Vermont | 3 of 11 | September 4 | — | — |
| Connecticut | 2 of 13 | September 5 | — | — |
| Iowa | 5 of 21 | September 5 | November 1 | December 22 |
| Massachusetts | 2 of 13 | September 5 | — | — |
| Nebraska | 2 of 9 | September 5 | November 1 | November 1 |
| New Jersey | 5 of 16 | September 5 | October 31 | November 2 |
| North Carolina | 6 of 16 | September 5 | October 25 | October 25 |
| Ohio | 3 of 19 | September 5 | November 1 | November 1 |
| Tennessee | 2 of 13 | September 5 | November 15 | November 15 |
| California | 4 of 21 | September 6 | November 15 | November 15 |
| Alabama | 2 of 8 | September 7 | October 3 | October 3 |
| Utah | 2 of 10 | September 7 | October 12 | October 12 |
| Maine | 1 of 11 | September 10 | October 12 | October 12 |
| Arkansas | 1 of 8 | September 12 | November 1 | November 1 |
| Kentucky | 3 of 14 | September 12 | September 13 | September 13 |
| New York | 2 of 20 | September 15 | — | — |
| South Dakota | 2 of 6 | September 15 | October 31 | October 31 |
| Washington | 2 of 18 | September 19 | October 31 | October 31 |
| Nevada | 1 of 3 | September 24 | — | — |
| Idaho | 1 of 11 | September 25 | October 31 | October 31 |
| New Mexico | 2 of 10 | September 26 | November 25 | November 25 |
| Alaska | 0 of 8 | — | — | — |
| Arizona | 0 of 5 | — | — | — |
| Colorado | 0 of 14 | — | — | — |
| Florida | 0 of 1 | — | — | — |
| Kansas | 0 of 9 | — | — | — |
| Louisiana | 0 of 1 | — | — | — |
| Mississippi | 0 of 2 | — | — | — |
| Montana | 0 of 7 | — | October 31 | October 31 |
| North Dakota | 0 of 4 | — | — | — |
| Oklahoma | 0 of 6 | — | October 31 | October 31 |
| Oregon | 0 of 14 | — | September 30 | September 30 |
| Rhode Island | 0 of 10 | — | — | — |
| South Carolina | 0 of 8 | — | — | — |
| Texas | 0 of 6 | — | — | — |
| West Virginia | 0 of 11 | — | — | — |
| Wyoming | 0 of 2 | — | — | — |
Michigan opens earliest on this measure and New Mexico latest. Treat those as tendencies rather than rules — an individual orchard's opening weekend is set by its own crop and its own varieties, not a statewide calendar.
An unusually warm March 2026 pushed apple and stone-fruit trees into early bloom across much of the eastern half of the country, and a hard freeze on April 21 — with temperatures dropping into the low 20s°F overnight — killed a large share of that year's crop. Virginia Tech's tree fruit extension program called it "devastating" for Winchester-area orchards, where an earlier April frost had already weakened primary buds before the April 21 freeze finished off the secondary shoots; Penn State described the losses to Pennsylvania growers as "catastrophic." Reported apple losses ranged from roughly 70% to 90% in the hardest-hit areas, across a freeze zone spanning at least 13 states including Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.
In practice, this means a normal-looking orchard listing near the freeze zone may have a much smaller crop than usual this season — or none at all. Several orchards we track have posted this directly on their own sites (reduced hours, "limited crop," or apple picking unavailable for 2026 entirely), and we've noted it plainly on those specific listings. It is not a reason to distrust an orchard; it's weather, and most affected farms expect a normal crop again next year. If a listing near the Mid-Atlantic or Great Lakes looks thin on details this season, a quick call before you drive is worth it either way.
Sources: Virginia Tech Tree Fruit Horticulture Updates, Penn State News, FreshPlaza.
Orchards that draw weekend crowds are far calmer on a weekday morning — the same rows that have a line for the wagon on Saturday afternoon can be nearly empty on a Tuesday. If your schedule allows it, a weekday visit is the single highest-value decision you can make, bigger than the choice of orchard.
Dates and what's actually ripe change through the season. Every listing here records where its dates came from and when we read them.