A well-documented Ellijay u-pick with a confirmed 2026 start date and specific bag pricing, but picking requires buying both a fruit bag and a separate paid Farm Fun activity ticket per person — budget for both.
U-Pick requires a bag purchase: 1/2 peck $12, 1 peck $24, 1/2 bushel $48; apple picking is bundled with a paid Farm Fun activity package per person (kids under 2 free)
B.J. Reece Orchards is one of the better-documented stops in this file, with a dated 2026 season announcement, specific bag pricing, and posted hours straight from the orchard’s own site. The one detail every visitor should know before arriving is a real cost consideration: picking here isn’t just about buying a bag of apples. Per the record, you need both a U-Pick bag purchase and a separate, paid Farm Fun activity ticket per person to actually pick, which changes the math on what a family outing here costs compared to a simpler orchard.
The site’s own language, quoted directly in the record, reads: “OUR 2026 U-PICK SEASON WILL BEGIN AUGUST 29 AND BE OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER.” That’s about as unambiguous as a season announcement gets in this file — a specific start date and a commitment to being open daily through the two peak fall months. No end-of-season date is given, so the record leaves that field null rather than guessing at when picking wraps up.
The pricing here is more granular than most entries in this file: a half peck runs $12, a full peck is $24, and a half bushel is $48. That’s a useful reference point if you’re trying to figure out how much fruit you’ll come home with relative to cost — a half bushel is roughly four times the volume of a half peck for four times the price, so there’s no bulk discount built into the bag-size scaling based on what’s posted. On top of the bag price, remember the Farm Fun activity ticket is a separate, required cost per person to actually enter the U-Pick rows; kids under 2 are the one exception, listed as free.
The market and picking hours aren’t identical. Monday through Saturday, the property is open 9am to 6pm; Sunday hours shift to 1pm-6pm. During fall, last U-Pick admission is 5pm — an hour before the general closing time — so if you’re aiming to pick apples specifically, don’t cut it close to a 6pm arrival.
Cider donuts are listed as confirmed on-site. Whether B.J. Reece presses its own cider is a separate question the record doesn’t answer — the cider_mill field is blank rather than marked false, meaning it simply wasn’t confirmed either way. If watching cider get pressed matters to your visit, that’s worth a direct question by phone.
The record lists three named activities beyond the rows themselves: Farm Fun activities (the same paid package required for picking), field trips, and photography sessions. The field trip listing suggests this orchard has some infrastructure for group bookings, which tracks with a business detailed enough to publish precise bag pricing. Photography sessions being called out separately hints that the orchard may be a deliberate backdrop for family fall photos — a detail worth asking about if that’s part of your visit plan, since no pricing or booking process for that is in the record.
The research notes flag a 3% card surcharge and state that no advance reservations or discounts are offered for U-Pick. Neither of those is unusual for a small agricultural business, but knowing about the card surcharge ahead of time avoids a surprise at checkout, and knowing reservations aren’t offered means this is a first-come basis rather than something you can lock in ahead of a busy fall weekend.
The market itself is confirmed to carry more apple varieties than are available to pick yourself, per the site — but the record doesn’t name any of them, for either the U-Pick rows or the market shelves. If a specific variety matters to you, that’s unconfirmed here and worth a phone call.
B.J. Reece Orchards is at 9131 Hwy 52 E in Ellijay, Gilmer County, part of the same Apple Alley corridor as Hillcrest Orchards and other nearby stops in this record.
This is one of the more transparently priced and dated entries in this file, which makes it easier to plan around than many neighboring orchards. The trade-off to keep in mind: budget for both a fruit bag and a Farm Fun activity ticket per person, not just the apples themselves, and expect a 3% surcharge if paying by card.
The orchard's own site states: 'OUR 2026 U-PICK SEASON WILL BEGIN AUGUST 29 AND BE OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER.' No specific end date is given.
You're expecting simple per-pound picking without an additional activity-ticket cost — both a bag purchase and a Farm Fun ticket are required per person here.
B.J. Reece is in the same Highway 52 East Ellijay corridor as Hillcrest Orchards and several other named orchards in this record, though drive times between them aren't included here.
August 29, 2026, running seven days a week through September and October, per the orchard's own site. No specific end date is stated.
Bag pricing is: half peck $12, one peck $24, half bushel $48. On top of that, picking is bundled with a paid Farm Fun activity package per person, with kids under 2 free — you need both a bag and the activity ticket to pick.
Monday-Saturday 9am-6pm, Sunday 1pm-6pm, with last U-Pick admission at 5pm in the fall.
Yes, cider donuts are confirmed in the record, though a cider mill is not confirmed either way.
The research notes mention a 3% card surcharge applies, and no advance reservations or discounts are offered for U-Pick.
Opens August 29, 2026 (closing date not published). 7 days/week in September-October. Hours: Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 1pm-6pm (last U-Pick admission 5pm in fall).
Prices start at $12. U-Pick requires a bag purchase: 1/2 peck $12, 1 peck $24, 1/2 bushel $48; apple picking is bundled with a paid Farm Fun activity package per person (kids under 2 free)
Yes — it's a pick-your-own orchard, with pre-picked apples at the farm stand too.
9131 Hwy 52 E, Ellijay, GA 30536, in Gilmer County. It is one of 8 orchards we track in Ellijay / Gilmer County (Apple Alley).
We track 8 orchards in Ellijay / Gilmer County (Apple Alley), 4 of which let you pick your own apples. At $12 to start this one sits right on the regional median of $12.
There are 7 other orchards we track in Gilmer County. All Ellijay / Gilmer County (Apple Alley) orchards →
reeceorchards.com
Checked September 2026.