Basse's Farms

Our take

The short version

Basse’s Farms, in Colgate northwest of Milwaukee, is one of the better-documented stops in this research batch: 15 named apple varieties, a clear tiered pricing structure, and specific 2026 season dates posted on the farm’s own site. The one operational detail worth flagging before you go is that the farm doesn’t take cash — it’s credit, debit, or mobile payment only.

Fifteen varieties, genuinely spelled out

The record names Honeycrisp, Ludacrisp, Zestar, McIntosh, Cortland, Rosalee, Summerset, Sweet Zinger, Pink Lady, Gala, Ida Red, Fuji, Sun Crisp, Candy Crisp, and EverCrisp — a list long enough to span the whole ripening calendar. Zestar and McIntosh sit toward the early-to-midseason end, Honeycrisp and Gala in the middle, and Fuji, Pink Lady, and EverCrisp typically run later into October. That spread means there’s likely to be something worth picking across most of the season, though the record doesn’t say which specific varieties are ready on which weekend — that’s the kind of week-to-week detail a phone call settles better than any static list.

Clear pricing, tiered by volume

Rather than a single flat rate, Basse’s posts a genuine tiered structure: $8.95 per person for u-pick admission, which includes a quarter-peck bag, with kids under two admitted free. From there, a full peck runs $22.99 and a half bushel $44.99 — both a better per-pound value than paying the admission-plus-bag rate repeatedly. That’s a level of pricing transparency this research batch doesn’t see often, and it makes Basse’s easier to budget for in advance than orchards that only post a vague “pricing varies by crop” note.

No cash accepted

One specific operational detail worth planning around: the farm’s own site describes itself as cashless, accepting only credit, debit, or mobile payment. That’s a small thing but an easy one to get caught out by if you’re used to bringing cash to a farm stand — worth a mental note before you leave the house.

More than apples: sunflowers and zinnias

Basse’s runs a sunflower maze and a zinnia walk-through alongside the orchard, which the record treats as a distinct offering rather than a generic “activities” filler. That combination — a genuine flower-focused attraction alongside fruit picking — puts Basse’s in a smaller group of Wisconsin orchards in this research batch that have built out a second, photogenic reason to visit beyond the apples themselves.

Dates that are highly likely, but not airtight

The farm’s own site states that “Apple Picking Continues Sept. 18th - Nov 1st,” inside a farm-wide season that opens August 29th. The catch: that sentence itself didn’t carry an explicit “2026” label when the page was read — only an image filename elsewhere on the site referenced the year. That’s a strong signal these are the correct 2026 dates, but it stops short of the site stating the year outright in the text itself, so treat the dates as very likely rather than fully confirmed, and consider a quick call to 262-628-2626 if you’re planning a trip around a specific weekend.

Getting there

Basse’s Farms is at 3190 County Road Q in Colgate, Waukesha County, part of the broader Milwaukee-area cluster of orchards in this research batch. The lat/lng on file reflects Colgate’s city center rather than a geocoded street address, so use the posted address for directions. Hours run Friday through Sunday, 10am to 6pm, with the last field walk at 5:30pm — arrive with enough daylight and time before that cutoff.

Bottom line

Basse’s Farms stands out in this research batch for how much it actually documents — 15 varieties, tiered pricing down to the dollar, and specific dates — with the one real catch being cashless-only payment. If your card or phone is charged and you’re not chasing one very specific variety on one very specific weekend, this is a well-planned stop to build a fall day around.