Established in 1937, this reads more as a fall-festival destination — corn maze, apple slingshots, live music — than a strict hands-on orchard, and the site doesn't say whether apples are pickable from the tree or sold pre-picked at the market, so call ahead if picking your own is the priority.
Drumheller’s Orchard, on Drumheller Orchard Lane in Lovingston, has been operating since 1937 and remains family-run, per the record — a long history in Nelson County’s fruit-growing region. But the character of the visit described here leans more toward a fall-festival destination than a classic hands-on orchard: the record lists a corn maze, apple slingshots, a pumpkin patch, and live music as activities, a lineup that reads closer to an autumn entertainment stop than a picking-focused farm.
The record is genuinely unclear on a basic question: whether apples at Drumheller’s are pick-your-own or sold pre-picked at the market. The u_pick field in the underlying data is left unset rather than marked true or false, and the orchard’s own site — read directly for this record — didn’t specify either way. That’s a meaningful gap for anyone whose main goal is climbing into the trees themselves rather than buying already-picked fruit, and it’s not something this record can resolve without more information than the site provided.
A third-party travel roundup names specific 2026 Apple Harvest Festival dates: September 26-27 and October 17-18. Those are concrete, appealing dates for planning a fall outing, but they aren’t confirmed on Drumheller’s own official site, which means there’s a real chance they’re accurate seasonal programming that the farm simply hasn’t posted itself, or they could be outdated from a prior year. Either way, this record treats them as a third-party claim rather than a confirmed date, consistent with how conflicting or unconfirmed information is handled throughout this batch.
Outside of festival weekends, the general hours are straightforward: Tuesday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm, and Sunday from noon to 5pm, with Monday as the one closed day. That’s a generous schedule compared to some of the weekend-only orchards in this region, giving visitors more flexibility for a midweek stop even without a festival happening.
Corn mazes, apple slingshots, and live music point toward a farm built for a multi-hour family outing rather than a quick fruit-buying errand. Cider donuts are also confirmed in the record, which fits the broader pattern of orchards in this region treating donuts as a standalone draw. None of these activities are described with pricing or specific scheduling beyond the general hours, so exact costs and whether activities run every open day or only on festival weekends both remain open questions.
No apple varieties are named anywhere in the record. Whether picking is hands-on or pre-picked is unconfirmed. No 2026 season-start or season-end date appears on the official site, only the third-party festival dates. Address coordinates used are a Lovingston-area fallback rather than a precise geocode of Drumheller Orchard Lane.
Drumheller’s Orchard, established in 1937, presents itself through this record as a fall-festival farm — corn maze, apple slingshots, live music, cider donuts — more than a dedicated pick-your-own operation, and the record genuinely can’t confirm which kind of apple experience is on offer. Anyone prioritizing hands-on picking should call 434-263-5036 before visiting; anyone happy with a festival-style fall outing, possibly timed to one of the third-party-listed Apple Harvest Festival weekends, will likely find this a solid stop regardless of how the picking question resolves.
No 2026 season dates are confirmed. A third-party travel roundup lists an Apple Harvest Festival on Sep 26-27 and Oct 17-18, 2026, but those dates aren't confirmed on the official site.
hands-on tree picking is your specific priority — the record can't confirm whether apples here are pick-your-own or sold pre-picked at the market.
Unclear from the record. The u_pick field is unset (neither confirmed true nor false), and the orchard's own site didn't specify whether picking is hands-on or apples are sold pre-picked at the market.
Tuesday through Saturday 9am-5pm, Sunday 12pm-5pm, closed Monday.
A third-party travel roundup lists dates of Sep 26-27 and Oct 17-18, 2026, but these aren't confirmed on the orchard's own official site.
A corn maze, pumpkin patch, apple slingshots, and live music, per the record.
Since 1937, and still family-run, per the record.
2026 dates had not been published when we last checked. In past seasons it has run: Tue-Sun. Check with the orchard before driving out.
Pricing was not published when we last checked.
No — this orchard sells pre-picked apples from its own trees rather than u-pick.
1130 Drumheller Orchard Ln, Lovingston, VA 22949, in Nelson County. It is one of 7 orchards we track in Blue Ridge / Charlottesville.
We track 7 orchards in Blue Ridge / Charlottesville, 6 of which let you pick your own apples. The orchard has not published a starting price, so it cannot be compared on cost — call before you budget.
What sets it apart locally: it has a corn maze, which most Blue Ridge / Charlottesville orchards on our list do not.
One caveat worth repeating: this orchard had not published its 2026 dates when we last checked, while 2 of the 7 orchards we track in Blue Ridge / Charlottesville had. Treat any date you see elsewhere as last year's until the orchard confirms it.
There are 3 other orchards we track in Nelson County. All Blue Ridge / Charlottesville orchards →
drumhellersorchard.com
Checked September 2026.