A Kenai Peninsula orchard claiming almost 100 apple varieties with monthly public tasting events, but access is limited to Saturday mornings only, and both the variety count and u-pick status come from a single secondary source.
O’Brien Garden and Trees sits at 49240 Freda Dr in Nikiski, on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, and the record’s most striking claim is scale: almost 100 different apple varieties, described as mostly dessert types (apples meant primarily for fresh eating rather than cooking or cider). If accurate, that would make this one of the more variety-diverse apple operations in this entire research batch, spanning multiple states. Beyond the variety count, the orchard is notable for running monthly public tasting events — held the third Sunday of the month, August through October — rather than only offering a picking window. Phone is 907-598-1339.
Regular access is limited to Saturdays, 10am-2pm, a notably narrower window than most orchards researched, whether in Alaska or elsewhere in this project. That four-hour Saturday-only schedule is worth building a visit around carefully, since there’s no confirmed weekday or extended-weekend access.
As with a few other Alaska listings in this batch, the near-100-variety figure comes from a single source — thealaskafrontier.com’s roundup of Alaska apple-picking destinations — and no dedicated orchard website was found to verify it directly. No specific variety names accompany the claim either. Given Alaska’s growing conditions, an operation with that many distinct apple varieties would represent a genuinely notable, decades-in-the-making collection, but without a second source or the orchard’s own materials to check against, the figure should be treated as an interesting claim to ask about directly rather than a confirmed inventory.
The monthly tasting events (third Sunday, August-October) stand out as a genuinely different offering than most orchards in this research batch provide. Rather than only picking apples off the tree, this format suggests visitors can sample multiple varieties in a guided or informal tasting setting — a meaningfully different experience than a typical u-pick visit, and potentially a better way to explore a near-100-variety collection than picking blind without knowing which trees are which. The record doesn’t specify whether tasting events require registration, have a cost, or are simply open to the public during the stated Sunday windows.
The Saturday-only, 10am-2pm regular access window deserves emphasis because it’s easy to assume an orchard is open on a more typical weekend schedule (Saturday and Sunday, or with broader hours) unless told otherwise. Here, the record is specific: outside of the monthly Sunday tasting events, Saturday mornings appear to be the only confirmed regular access window. Missing that four-hour block means waiting for the following Saturday or the next monthly tasting event.
No specific apple variety names exist anywhere in the record despite the near-100 count claim. No pricing is confirmed for regular Saturday access or the tasting events. No independent orchard website exists to check any of this directly, and both the variety count and u-pick status trace back to the same single secondary source.
O’Brien Garden and Trees claims a genuinely remarkable apple variety collection on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, paired with a distinctive monthly tasting-event format, but the entire record rests on one uncross-checked secondary source, and regular access is limited to a narrow Saturday morning window. Anyone interested should call 907-598-1339 to confirm current details before planning a trip around either the Saturday hours or a specific tasting-event date.
Saturdays, 10am-2pm, per the record — a narrower window than most orchards researched. Tasting events run the third Sunday of the month, August through October, offering a separate way to visit beyond regular Saturday access.
you can only visit on a weekday or outside the 10am-2pm Saturday window — no other regular access is confirmed in the record.
Almost 100, per a single secondary source (thealaskafrontier.com's Alaska apple-picking roundup) — described as mostly dessert types, but no specific variety names were given and the figure wasn't independently confirmed.
Saturdays only, 10am-2pm, per the record — a narrower window than most orchards researched in this directory.
Yes — the third Sunday of the month, August through October, per the record, offering a separate public event beyond regular Saturday access.
The record marks u_pick as true, though this comes from the same single secondary source as the rest of the details and wasn't independently confirmed.
49240 Freda Dr, Nikiski, AK 99611. Phone: 907-598-1339.
2026 dates had not been published when we last checked. In past seasons it has run: Saturdays. Check with the orchard before driving out.
Pricing was not published when we last checked.
Yes — it's a pick-your-own orchard.
49240 Freda Dr, Nikiski, AK 99611, in Kenai Peninsula Borough. It is one of 1 orchards we track in Kenai Peninsula.
Map pin is set to the town centre. Navigate to the street address above, not the pin.
thealaskafrontier.com
Checked September 2026.