A fifth-generation, roughly 100-acre operation on the Grand Mesa's Surface Creek side — a genuinely different micro-region from Palisade — but whether apple picking is u-pick or farm-stand-only is unconfirmed.
Fritchman Orchards is a fifth-generation family operation on the mesa above Cedaredge and Orchard City, in the Surface Creek Valley on the Grand Mesa’s south side. That’s worth underlining: this is a meaningfully different micro-region from the Palisade/Grand Junction cluster that dominates Western Slope apple coverage, and from the North Fork Valley orchards further north. If you’re trying to diversify a Western Slope apple trip beyond Palisade, this is one of the few entries in this research batch that gets you there.
According to the research notes, Fritchman grows peaches, apples, cherries, and plums across roughly 100 acres — a working farm scale rather than a boutique operation. The “Fifth-Generation Farm” tag in the record reinforces that this is a long-established family business, which for some visitors is itself part of the draw: buying fruit from a farm with generational roots in the specific piece of land it’s grown on.
This is the record’s clearest gap. Neither a Yelp listing nor a farm-feature blog post — the two sources used here — confirmed whether apple picking at Fritchman is self-serve u-pick or limited to buying already-picked fruit at a stand. Rather than assume based on the farm’s size or the fact that “u-pick” doesn’t appear in its tags, the record leaves this field unknown. If picking your own apples is the point of your trip, calling 970-835-3628 before you drive out is the only way to know for sure.
Beyond the u-pick question, this record is thin in the ways that matter most for trip planning: no apple variety names, no season start or end date, and no pricing information turned up in the research behind it. What is confirmed — daily hours of 8am to 5:30pm — comes from secondhand sources rather than the farm speaking for itself online, since no orchard-operated website could be located.
Unlike some other Western Slope orchards in this research batch that have their own sites (even ones that didn’t post every detail), no website for Fritchman Orchards turned up in the research behind this record. That makes the phone number the primary tool for confirming anything beyond the basic hours and address on file here.
Fritchman Orchards sits at 13686 Highway 65 in Eckert, Delta County — on the Surface Creek side of the Grand Mesa, distinct from the Palisade-area orchards and the North Fork Valley orchards (like Big B’s Delicious Orchards) elsewhere in this research batch. The latitude and longitude on file are Eckert city-center coordinates rather than a geocoded point for the specific address.
Fritchman Orchards is a legitimate, long-established fruit farm in an under-covered part of Colorado’s apple country, but this record can’t tell you whether you’ll be picking apples yourself or buying them pre-picked, what varieties are on offer, or when the season runs. Call ahead before making the drive to the Surface Creek Valley.
Not stated in the record — no season dates are posted, only daily hours of 8am-5:30pm.
You need a confirmed u-pick option — whether picking is self-serve or farm-stand-only was not confirmed by any source.
Fritchman Orchards is on the Grand Mesa's Surface Creek side near Eckert, Cedaredge, and Orchard City — a distinct growing region from both the Palisade/Grand Junction cluster and the North Fork Valley orchards in this research batch.
Not confirmed. The record leaves u-pick status unknown rather than guessing one way or the other.
Per the research notes, peaches, apples, cherries, and plums, across roughly 100 acres on the mesa above Cedaredge and Orchard City.
Not stated in the record. No variety names were found.
8am to 5:30pm daily, according to a Yelp listing and a farm-feature blog post — the orchard's own website could not be located to confirm this directly.
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.
No — this orchard sells pre-picked apples from its own trees rather than u-pick.
13686 Highway 65, Eckert, CO 81418, in Delta County. It is one of 1 orchards we track in Surface Creek Valley.
There is 1 other orchard we track in Delta County. All Surface Creek Valley orchards →
Map pin is set to the town centre. Navigate to the street address above, not the pin.
Checked September 2026.