Gardenhour Orchards

Our take

The short version

Gardenhour Orchards, in Smithsburg, Washington County, in Maryland’s Hagerstown Valley, is a long-established u-pick apple orchard with one of the largest confirmed variety lists in this entire batch — 13 named apples. That’s the good news. The important caveat, stated directly on the orchard’s own homepage, is that an April 2026 freeze damaged much of this year’s fruit crop, and the site itself describes 2026 pick-your-own availability as limited and uncertain.

Thirteen named varieties — a real standout

Few records in this research pass name this many varieties: Gala, Honeycrisp, Jonathan, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Empire, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Cameo, Stayman, Fuji, CrimsonCrisp, and Pink Lady. That list spans the full ripening calendar, from mid-season apples like Gala and Honeycrisp through some of the latest varieties of the year — Granny Smith, Stayman, Fuji, and Pink Lady are all typically among the last apples picked each fall. In a normal year, that breadth alone would make Gardenhour worth a special trip for variety-seekers.

The frost damage notice — read this before you drive out

This is the single most important thing in the record, and it comes straight from the orchard’s own site rather than a secondary source: a homepage notice currently reads “Produce is limited this year due to the April freeze… 2026 Season very limited.” Rather than posting fixed pick-your-own hours or dates, the site directs visitors to call directly for current status. That’s about as clear a signal as an orchard can give that this isn’t a normal season — treat the variety list above as what the orchard normally grows, not necessarily what’s currently available to pick.

A genuine Washington County gap, filled

Before this record, the only Washington County, Maryland entry in this dataset was Bragunier Farms & Orchard, in Clear Spring — on the opposite side of the county from Smithsburg. Gardenhour fills that geographic gap for visitors closer to the Smithsburg or Hagerstown Valley side of the county, frost damage notwithstanding.

What’s still unknown

Hours, season dates, and pricing are all unconfirmed — none are published, which lines up with the frost-damage notice directing visitors to call rather than check a schedule online. This isn’t a case of missing research; it’s the orchard itself signaling that a normal seasonal calendar doesn’t apply this year.

Getting there

The address is 22511 Gardenhour Rd, Smithsburg, MD 21783. The coordinates (39.68515, -77.584459) come from the address cross-check against Maryland’s Best and pickyourown.org listings.

Bottom line

Gardenhour Orchards has the credentials to be one of the better variety-selection stops in Western Maryland in a typical year, but 2026 isn’t a typical year according to the orchard’s own homepage. Call 301-824-7466 before making the trip — the frost damage notice means pick-your-own availability could be far more limited than the 13-variety list suggests.