One of Iowa's longer-running orchards, planted in 1960, but 2026 u-pick access is reportedly limited to just three specific weekends — an unusual restriction worth confirming by phone since the orchard's own website couldn't be verified securely.
Hinegardner Orchards sits at 1348 295th Street near Montour, Tama County, and the record describes it as one of Iowa’s longer-running orchards, planted in 1960 with its first pick-your-own day recorded in 1967 — a history that stretches back further than any other orchard in this research batch. It’s grown to roughly 3,000 trees across 20 varieties. Phone is 641-492-6353. A cider mill is confirmed, along with u-pick strawberries and plums alongside apples, plus a pumpkin patch.
The most specific — and most unusual — detail in this record is the 2026 season schedule: rather than a full daily or weekly season, third-party listings describe u-pick access as limited to three specific weekends — September 20-21, September 27-28, and October 4-5 — with hours running 7am-6pm on those dates only.
This record carries an explicit caveat that’s worth taking seriously: the orchard’s own domain, hinegardnersorchard.com, returned an SSL certificate mismatch error during research and couldn’t be verified directly. That’s a different kind of gap than a site simply not having a dated announcement — an SSL error can mean anything from an expired certificate on an otherwise-fine site to a domain that’s no longer actively maintained. Because of that, the specific three-weekend schedule comes entirely from third-party sources (Yellow Pages, upickfarmsusa.com, stepoutside.org) rather than the orchard confirming it directly, and the record is explicit that no orchard_site confirmation was granted as a result.
If the third-party-reported schedule holds, this is one of the most restrictive u-pick windows among the orchards researched in this Iowa batch — most others offer at least a several-week season, even if only on certain days of the week. Three specific weekends spanning late September into early October means there’s essentially no flexibility to reschedule a visit if plans change; missing all three weekends would mean missing the season entirely. Given the uncertainty around the source, calling 641-492-6353 directly before committing to one of those dates is the sensible move, both to confirm the dates still hold and to make sure nothing has shifted since the third-party listings were last updated.
The 1960 planting date and 1967 first-picking-day detail give this orchard a genuine sense of longevity that most others in this research batch can’t match. But that history doesn’t come with a named variety list — the 20-variety count is reported in total, without specifics — so there’s no way to say from this record which apples are actually available across those three narrow weekends.
No apple varieties are named, no u-pick pricing is given, and the entire 2026 schedule rests on third-party reporting rather than the orchard’s own confirmation. Given the SSL issue, it’s also worth considering that even the phone number, while likely accurate, hasn’t been independently re-verified beyond the sources checked.
Hinegardner Orchards’ long history (since 1960) and confirmed cider mill make it a distinctive stop in the Tama County area, but the reported three-weekend-only 2026 schedule is both unusually restrictive and unconfirmed by the orchard’s own website, which couldn’t be securely reached during this research pass. A phone call to 641-492-6353 to verify the September 20-21, 27-28, and October 4-5 dates is essential before planning a trip around this listing.
Third-party listings report 2026 u-pick access limited to three weekends: September 20-21, September 27-28, and October 4-5, 7am-6pm on those dates. This is unusual among orchards in this batch and should be confirmed by phone.
you're hoping to drop in outside the three reported weekend dates — u-pick access is described as limited to those specific windows, not a full daily season.
Third-party listings report three specific weekends: September 20-21, September 27-28, and October 4-5, with hours 7am-6pm on those dates. This wasn't confirmed on the orchard's own site, which couldn't be reached securely during this research pass.
Planted in 1960, with its first pick-your-own day in 1967, per third-party sources — one of the longer-running orchards identified in this research batch.
Roughly 3,000 trees across 20 varieties, per third-party sources.
Yes, confirmed in the record.
The domain (hinegardnersorchard.com) returned an SSL certificate mismatch error during this research pass and could not be verified directly.
September 20 – October 5, 2026. Sept 20-21, Sept 27-28, Oct 4-5. Hours: 7am-6pm on scheduled u-pick dates.
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.
1348 295th Street, Montour, IA 50173, in Tama County. It is one of 1 orchards we track in East Central Iowa.
Map pin is set to the town centre. Navigate to the street address above, not the pin.
upickfarmsusa.com · stepoutside.org · hinegardnersorchard.com
Checked September 2026.