A nonprofit educational orchard in Anchorage growing ten named apple varieties for community programs and volunteer days, not a conventional pick-your-own business — and its own site is explicit that it isn't open on a regular schedule.
Friends of Boyer’s Orchard and Greenhouse is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community orchard located at 645 East 81st Ave in Anchorage, and the record is clear that this is a fundamentally different kind of operation than most other listings in this directory. Rather than a commercial farm selling apples to visitors, it’s an educational and community resource running field trips, educational programs, and volunteer days. The apple variety list is genuinely substantial for a demonstration orchard: Alkmene, Ambrosia, Baldwin, Cameo, Chestnut Crab, Fuji, Ginger Gold, Golden Sentinel, Grimes Golden, and Honeycrisp are all named, with tags describing the total collection as 14-plus varieties.
Volunteer days are specifically confirmed: Wednesdays, 4-6pm, running May through September. Beyond that window, the orchard’s own site is explicit that it is “not open on a regular schedule, please contact us for information on visiting.”
This is the most important thing to understand about this listing: nothing in the record confirms that the public can pick apples here, or under what circumstances. The orchard’s framing — educational programs, field trips, volunteer days — suggests a demonstration and teaching orchard, likely intended to showcase what apple varieties can grow successfully in Anchorage’s climate and to give community members hands-on gardening experience, rather than a destination built around selling or offering up its own harvest to visitors. The record deliberately leaves u_pick and pricing unspecified rather than assuming either way, since the nonprofit’s own site doesn’t address it directly.
Growing ten-plus named apple varieties, several of which (Ginger Gold, Grimes Golden, Baldwin) are less commonly seen at commercial orchards, fits with an educational mission focused on showing what’s possible in a challenging climate rather than a business optimizing around a few high-demand commercial varieties. If you’re interested in cold-climate apple growing generally, or in seeing a wider range of varieties than a typical commercial stand offers, this orchard’s collection is genuinely notable — even without confirmation that you could pick or purchase from it directly.
Unlike orchards where a visitor can simply check posted hours and show up, Friends of Boyer’s Orchard explicitly asks interested visitors to contact the nonprofit directly for information on visiting. That’s a meaningfully different access model, and it reinforces that this isn’t set up as a typical commercial destination. Anyone interested — whether in volunteering, a field trip, or simply learning more about the orchard — should expect an actual conversation with the organization before any visit, rather than relying on a schedule.
No phone number is given in the record. No pricing exists, and no confirmation of public u-pick access is available either way. No 2026-specific programming dates beyond the general May-September Wednesday volunteer window are provided.
Friends of Boyer’s Orchard and Greenhouse is a genuine, well-documented nonprofit resource in Anchorage with an impressive apple variety collection, but it’s explicitly not a conventional visitor destination — its own site says it isn’t open on a regular schedule, and whether the public can pick apples here at all isn’t addressed. Reach out directly through alaskaorchard.org if you’re interested in volunteering, a field trip, or learning more, rather than planning a drop-in apple-picking visit.
Not stated as a visiting window. The nonprofit's own site lists Wednesday volunteer sessions, May through September, but states the orchard is 'not open on a regular schedule, please contact us for information on visiting.'
you're hoping to simply pick apples on a drop-in visit — the orchard's own site says it isn't open on a regular public schedule, and whether the public can pick apples here at all isn't stated.
Not stated. This reads more like an educational garden than a visitor destination — u_pick and pricing are both left unspecified in the record because the orchard's own site doesn't clarify whether or under what terms the public can pick.
Ten are named in the record: Alkmene, Ambrosia, Baldwin, Cameo, Chestnut Crab, Fuji, Ginger Gold, Golden Sentinel, Grimes Golden, and Honeycrisp. Tags describe the orchard as having 14+ varieties total.
The orchard is not open on a regular public schedule, per its own site. Volunteer days are Wednesdays, 4-6pm, May through September.
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit community orchard and greenhouse, per the record, running educational programs and volunteer days rather than a conventional pick-your-own business.
The orchard's own site says to contact them directly for information on visiting, rather than showing up during posted hours, since none exist.
2026 dates had not been published when we last checked. Check with the orchard before driving out.
Pricing was not published when we last checked.
Alkmene, Ambrosia, Baldwin, Cameo, Chestnut Crab, Fuji, Ginger Gold, Golden Sentinel, Grimes Golden, Honeycrisp — note that what's actually ready to pick changes week to week through the season.
645 East 81st Ave, Anchorage, AK 99518, in Anchorage Municipality. It is one of 2 orchards we track in Anchorage.
There is 1 other orchard we track in Anchorage Municipality. All Anchorage orchards →
Map pin is set to the town centre. Navigate to the street address above, not the pin.
alaskaorchard.org
Checked September 2026.