A century-plus family orchard grown into a large fall-festival operation with cider donuts and a real activity lineup, though u-pick is confined to a named 'Apple Acres' area rather than the whole property.
Deal’s Orchard sits at 1102 244th Street in Jefferson, Greene County, and the record describes it as family-owned since 1917 — a longer history than most orchards in this research batch — and a past Iowa Tourism Award winner. It’s grown well beyond a basic picking farm into what the record calls a large fall-festival operation, with hayrides, a corn maze, a jumping pillow, a pumpkin patch, a sunflower field, live music, and even a 5K race all confirmed as activities. Hours are daily, 9am-6pm, with no day of the week closed — a more accessible schedule than several other Iowa orchards in this batch that limit access to weekends. Phone is 515-386-8279.
A bakery on site sells cider apple donuts, and the orchard also sells hard cider, both confirmed directly from the orchard’s own website. Both u-pick and pre-picked apples are available.
One specific, checkable detail stands out in this record: the orchard’s u-pick area has its own name, “Apple Acres,” and the site treats it as distinct from the main “Apple Barn” retail store. That distinction matters for planning a visit — arriving expecting to walk straight into an orchard row from the main store parking lot may not match how the property is actually laid out. The practical takeaway is to ask specifically about Apple Acres access and hours when calling, rather than assuming the whole property functions as one big u-pick field. The site notes Apple Acres opens around August 29, which is a specific, useful marker for early-fall timing, though it isn’t tied to an explicit day-by-day 2026 calendar beyond that.
The activity list here — corn maze, jumping pillow, sunflower field, live music, and an organized 5K race — puts Deal’s closer to the larger, festival-style orchards in this research batch (like the bigger Des Moines-metro operations) than to a small family farm. That’s useful context for setting expectations: a visit here is likely to involve crowds, parking logistics, and a longer day if the goal is to take in more than just picking. Anyone wanting a quiet, low-key picking trip might find this busier than expected, especially on weekends during peak fall-festival season, though the record doesn’t give specific crowd guidance.
No apple varieties are named anywhere in the record, so there’s no way to know from this alone which apples are ripe on a given visit, or whether the orchard leans toward early, mid, or late-season fruit. U-pick pricing also isn’t posted — no per-bag or per-pound figures were found. And while “around August 29” gives a rough opening signal for Apple Acres, there’s no confirmed closing date, so a mid-to-late-fall visit should be checked directly rather than assumed to be within season.
Deal’s Orchard combines a long family history with a genuinely large slate of fall activities — corn maze, jumping pillow, sunflower field, live music, and a 5K — plus confirmed cider donuts and daily hours that beat the weekend-only schedules common elsewhere in this batch. The catch is that u-pick apples live specifically in the “Apple Acres” section, not across the whole property, and neither variety names nor pricing are confirmed, so calling 515-386-8279 to confirm current Apple Acres access is the right move before planning the trip around picking specifically.
The site notes its u-pick 'Apple Acres' area opens around August 29, but doesn't give a full dated 2026 calendar or closing date, so treat late August through fall as the general window and confirm current status directly.
you're expecting the whole property to be pick-your-own — u-pick is specifically the 'Apple Acres' section, separate from the main Apple Barn store.
9am-6pm daily, per the record.
The record confirms u-pick apples generally, but the site's specific 'Apple Acres' u-pick area is called out separately from the main Apple Barn store — ask specifically about u-pick access rather than assuming the whole property is pick-your-own.
Yes, confirmed on the orchard's own site, along with a bakery and hard cider.
Not stated in the record. No specific variety names were posted.
Hayrides, a corn maze, a jumping pillow, a pumpkin patch, a sunflower field, live music, and a 5K race, per the record.
2026 dates had not been published when we last checked. In past seasons it has run: Daily. Check with the orchard before driving out.
Pricing was not published when we last checked.
Yes — it's a pick-your-own orchard, with pre-picked apples at the farm stand too.
1102 244th Street, Jefferson, IA 50129, in Greene County. It is one of 1 orchards we track in West Central Iowa.
There is 1 other orchard we track in Greene County. All West Central Iowa orchards →
Map pin is set to the town centre. Navigate to the street address above, not the pin.
dealsorchard.com
Checked September 2026.