A family farm growing fruit along Torch Lake since 1980, with '10+ varieties' of u-pick apples advertised — but only Honeycrisp is actually named, and King Orchards runs two separate addresses, so make sure you're headed to the right one.
King Orchards sits at 4620 N M-88 in Central Lake, Antrim County, part of Michigan’s Traverse City-area fruit belt along Torch Lake. The record’s phone number is 231-544-6479 and the website is kingorchards.com. This is a family farm that’s been growing fruit since 1980, with a season that the research notes describe as spanning strawberries through apples rather than apples being the sole focus — a broader, more sequential picking calendar than a single-crop apple orchard.
Hours are listed as Monday through Saturday, 9am to 4pm, and Sunday, 9am to 3pm — a somewhat shorter window on Sundays than most orchards in this file, worth noting if you’re planning a weekend trip and want a full afternoon.
This is the single most important practical detail in the record: King Orchards operates two separate properties. This record covers the u-pick orchard on M-88 in Central Lake. A second location exists on US-31 in Kewadin, which functions as a bakery and fruit stand rather than a picking site. Anyone searching for “King Orchards” and landing on information about the Kewadin storefront could easily end up at the wrong address expecting to pick apples. If u-pick is the goal, the Central Lake M-88 address above is the one to navigate to.
The site’s own northern-michigan-u-pick page advertises “over 10 varieties of U-pick apples available Labor Day through October,” which sounds substantial — but the page doesn’t actually name most of those varieties. The only one confirmed by name anywhere in the record is Honeycrisp, mentioned elsewhere on the site. That leaves a real gap: if you’re hoping to pick a specific variety other than Honeycrisp, this record simply can’t tell you whether it’s part of that “10+” list or not. The claim of ten-plus varieties is worth taking at face value as a general statement of range, but not as a confirmed checklist.
The u-pick window is described as running “Labor Day through October,” which gives a reasonable general sense of timing but stops short of a specific start or end date tied explicitly to 2026. That’s different from orchards elsewhere in this file, like Diehl’s or Schwallier’s, where the site states exact calendar dates. Labor Day 2026 falls on September 7, so a reasonable early-visit target would be shortly after that date, but this record can’t promise apples will be ready that specific week without a call to confirm.
No cider mill status, cider donuts, or additional activities are confirmed in the record — those fields are left null or empty rather than assumed absent. That doesn’t necessarily mean King Orchards lacks them; it means this research pass didn’t find confirmation either way, so nothing is claimed here beyond what was actually found.
King Orchards sits within the broader Traverse City-area fruit region covered by a few other entries in this file, including Rennie Orchards in Williamsburg and Jacob’s Farm in Traverse City itself — none directly adjacent, but all part of the same northern Michigan orchard corridor for anyone planning a multi-stop trip up north.
King Orchards is a long-running, credible family operation with real range across its season, but the specifics that would help plan a precise trip — a firm 2026 date range and a full variety list — aren’t confirmed here. Make sure you’re headed to the Central Lake M-88 address rather than the Kewadin storefront, and treat “Labor Day through October” as a general season rather than a guaranteed opening date.
King Orchards' own site describes u-pick apples running Labor Day through October, without a specific 2026-dated range.
you head to King Orchards' Kewadin bakery/fruit-stand location expecting to pick apples — u-pick happens at the separate Central Lake M-88 address covered in this record.
Rennie Orchards in Williamsburg and Jacob's Farm in Traverse City are both covered elsewhere in this file within the same broader Traverse City area / northern Michigan fruit region.
The site advertises 'over 10 varieties of U-pick apples,' but only Honeycrisp is named specifically anywhere in the record.
The site says Labor Day through October, without stating a specific 2026 date range.
Yes — this record covers the u-pick orchard on M-88 in Central Lake. A second King Orchards bakery and fruit-stand location exists on US-31 in Kewadin, which is not the u-pick site.
Monday-Saturday 9am-4pm, Sunday 9am-3pm, per the record.
Since 1980, per the record, growing fruit along Torch Lake and Lake Michigan.
2026 dates had not been published when we last checked. In past seasons it has run: Mon-Sat, Sun (shorter hours). Check with the orchard before driving out.
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.
Honeycrisp — note that what's actually ready to pick changes week to week through the season.
4620 N M-88, Central Lake, MI 49622, in Antrim County. It is one of 4 orchards we track in Traverse City Area.
We track 4 orchards in Traverse City Area, 3 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.
One caveat worth repeating: this orchard had not published its 2026 dates when we last checked, while 0 of the 4 orchards we track in Traverse City Area had. Treat any date you see elsewhere as last year's until the orchard confirms it.
There is 1 other orchard we track in Antrim County. All Traverse City Area orchards →
kingorchards.com
Checked September 2026.