A 160-plus acre orchard owned by the City of Leominster and run by a volunteer nonprofit, offering free guided hayrides — the 2026 u-pick season is confirmed open, with five early varieties currently ripe.
Sholan Farms, in Leominster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, has an ownership structure unlike anything else in this research batch: it’s a 160-plus acre orchard owned by the City of Leominster and operated by the volunteer nonprofit Friends of Sholan Farms. That model shows up directly in the visitor experience — free, guided hayrides, walking trails, and community garden plots are all part of the offering, alongside pick-your-own apples.
The orchard’s own site states plainly, “Our 2026 U-Pick season is now open with the first early varieties ready for picking!” Five specific varieties were confirmed ripe as of that update: Blondee, Ginger Gold, Paula Red, Zestar, and Marshall McIntosh. All five are classic early-season apples, which lines up with the site’s own framing of these as the “first early varieties” of the year — later varieties presumably follow as the season progresses, though the record doesn’t name them yet.
Most orchards in this dataset are private family businesses. Sholan Farms is different: city-owned land, run by volunteers through the Friends of Sholan Farms nonprofit. That structure explains some of the farm’s distinctive offerings — free hayrides with a guide, for instance, rather than a paid attraction, plus walking trails and community garden plots that stay accessible year-round, beyond just the fall apple season.
Because of that broader community mission, Sholan Farms functions as more than a seasonal apple stop. The walking trails and community garden plots mean there’s a reason to visit outside of harvest season too, if you’re local to the Leominster area and interested in the trails or garden program specifically.
No pick-your-own pricing is found in the record. Given the nonprofit structure, pricing here may work differently than at a typical commercial orchard, but that’s speculation rather than something confirmed — a call to 978-840-3276 is the way to get a real answer.
The address is 1125 Pleasant Street, Leominster, MA 01453. The listed coordinates are a Leominster town-center fallback rather than a geocode of the exact address, so treat the map pin as approximate.
Sholan Farms offers a distinctive, community-oriented apple-picking experience thanks to its city-owned, nonprofit-run structure — free hayrides and year-round trails are real, confirmed perks. The 2026 season is open with five early varieties ready, though pricing itself isn’t published, so a quick call fills that gap.
The site states directly: 'Our 2026 U-Pick season is now open with the first early varieties ready for picking!' Daily hours are 10am-5pm.
You need pick-your-own pricing confirmed before you go — none is published.
Yes, confirmed directly on the orchard's own site: 'Our 2026 U-Pick season is now open with the first early varieties ready for picking!'
Five early varieties were confirmed ripe as of the site's current update: Blondee, Ginger Gold, Paula Red, Zestar, and Marshall McIntosh.
The 160-plus acre orchard is owned by the City of Leominster and run by the volunteer nonprofit Friends of Sholan Farms — an unusual ownership model compared to most orchards in this dataset.
Yes — free hayrides with a guide are offered, per the record, alongside walking trails and community garden plots available year-round.
Daily, 10am-5pm, confirmed on the orchard's own site.
2026 dates had not been published when we last checked. In past seasons it has run: Daily. 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.
Blondee, Ginger Gold, Paula Red, Zestar, Marshall McIntosh — note that what's actually ready to pick changes week to week through the season.
1125 Pleasant Street, Leominster, MA 01453, 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.
sholanfarms.com
Checked September 2026.