A diversified agritourism farm along the Route 2 corridor with an unusually long 36-variety apple list, including heirlooms like Roxbury Russet, plus a craft cidery, live-music venue, and hiking trails — a genuine standout in this batch on variety alone.
Red Apple Farm is a large, diversified agritourism destination along the Route 2 corridor near Athol and Gardner, Massachusetts, in Worcester County. What sets it apart in this research batch is sheer variety: 36 named apple varieties, the longest list of any orchard checked, including heirlooms like Roxbury Russet and R.I. Greening alongside modern staples. Beyond the orchard, it runs a craft cidery and a live-music and BBQ venue called The Brew Barn, plus hiking trails and disc golf.
The full named list includes Vista Bella, Yellow Transparent, Lodi, Puritan, Jersey Mac, Early Mac, Williams Pride, Duchess Of Oldenburg, Paula Red, Red Gravenstein, Wealthy, Ginger Gold, McIntosh, Honey Crisp, Snow, Gala, Macoun, Cortland, R.I. Greening, Lucky Rose, Empire, Spartan, Spencer, Roxbury Russet, Baldwin, Ida Red, Rome, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Northern Spy, Winter Banana, Senator, Yellow Newtown Pippin, Crispin/Mutzu, Arkansas Black, and Aztec Fuji. That’s a genuinely rare depth of selection — several of these (Roxbury Russet, R.I. Greening, Winter Banana, Duchess Of Oldenburg) are heirloom varieties you won’t find named at most orchards in this dataset, which tend to stick to a handful of modern commercial names. If exploring less-common apples is part of what draws you to picking your own, this record makes a strong case for Red Apple Farm specifically.
The record confirms a craft cidery on-site, along with a working cider mill and cider donuts. Combined with the variety list above — several of which are traditional cider apples rather than purely eating apples — this suggests a farm that treats cider-making as a serious part of its identity, not an afterthought.
The orchard’s harvest-dates page states, “The 2026 picking season starts around July 1st!” — an explicit 2026-dated statement, which is unusual and worth noting. But July 1st is far too early for any apple variety to be ready; it almost certainly refers to the farm’s overall PYO season opening with early summer berries, not apples. Rather than misapply that date to apples, the record leaves apple-specific season_start and season_end unconfirmed.
The activities list — cidery, live-music venue, disc golf, hiking — points to Red Apple Farm functioning as a broader entertainment and recreation destination, not just a picking operation. The Brew Barn specifically offers live music and BBQ, which could make for a longer, more social visit than a typical apple-picking trip.
No PYO pricing is listed, and no apple-specific season dates are confirmed, despite the otherwise unusually rich detail in this record. Given the farm’s size and the breadth of its offerings, calling ahead for specifics about apple readiness and pricing makes sense here.
The address is 455 Highland Ave, Phillipston, MA 01331. The listed coordinates are a Phillipston town-center fallback rather than a geocode of the exact address, so treat the map pin as approximate.
Red Apple Farm’s 36-variety apple list, genuine craft cidery, and broader entertainment offerings make it one of the more compelling stops in this entire research batch. Just don’t plan your apple-picking trip around the site’s “July 1st” opening date — that’s almost certainly a summer-berry reference, not an apple one. Call 978-249-6763 to confirm current apple availability.
The site states 'The 2026 picking season starts around July 1st,' which likely refers to summer berries rather than apples specifically, so apple-specific dates aren't confirmed.
You're trying to time a visit around apples specifically using the site's 'July 1st' opening date — that likely refers to summer berries, not apples.
Thirty-six are named — the longest list of any orchard in this research batch — including heirlooms like Roxbury Russet, R.I. Greening, and Baldwin, alongside familiar names like Honeycrisp, Gala, and Cortland.
Yes — a craft cidery is confirmed, along with cider donuts and a cider mill.
Yes — The Brew Barn is a live-music and BBQ venue on the property, per the record.
Likely not. The site states 'The 2026 picking season starts around July 1st,' which appears to describe the farm's overall PYO season, likely opening with summer berries, rather than an apple-specific date.
The record lists hiking trails and disc golf on the property, alongside the cidery and live-music venue.
2026 dates had not been published when we last checked. 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.
Vista Bella, Yellow Transparent, Lodi, Puritan, Jersey Mac, Early Mac, Williams Pride, Duchess Of Oldenburg, Paula Red, Red Gravenstein, Wealthy, Ginger Gold, McIntosh, Honey Crisp, Snow, Gala, Macoun, Cortland, R.I. Greening, Lucky Rose, Empire, Spartan, Spencer, Roxbury Russet, Baldwin, Ida Red, Rome, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Northern Spy, Winter Banana, Senator, Yellow Newtown Pippin, Crispin/Mutzu, Arkansas Black, Aztec Fuji — note that what's actually ready to pick changes week to week through the season.
455 Highland Ave, Phillipston, MA 01331, in Worcester County. It is one of 2 orchards we track in North Central Massachusetts.
There are 4 other orchards we track in Worcester County. All North Central Massachusetts orchards →
Map pin is set to the town centre. Navigate to the street address above, not the pin.
redapplefarm.com
Checked September 2026.