A fourth-generation Fruit Ridge farm with an unusually long 14-variety u-pick list and small wagons to help you haul it home, but the orchard's own site couldn't be fetched directly, so treat the dates as secondhand until you call.
Steffens Orchard Market is a fourth-generation family orchard at 4344 13 Mile Rd NW in Sparta, part of Kent County’s Fruit Ridge apple belt. The record’s phone number is 616-887-2404 and its website is steffensorchardmarket.com. It offers both u-pick and pre-picked apples, plus a pumpkin patch and wagon carts to help pull picked fruit back from the rows — a small but genuinely useful detail for anyone bringing kids or picking more than a light bag’s worth.
Here’s the honest caveat that shapes how much weight to put on everything else in this record: steffensorchardmarket.com’s own certificate didn’t match its hostname when this record’s research pass tried to fetch it directly, so nothing here comes from the orchard’s own words. Instead, the address, phone number, hours, and the full 14-variety list were pulled from a Fruit Ridge Markets partner listing (fruitridgemarket.com) and pickyourown.org. Both are third-party sources describing what Steffens offers, not Steffens describing itself, which is why the record’s confirmation field is left null. It’s still useful information — pickyourown.org in particular tends to be maintained by people who actually track regional u-pick operations — but it’s a step removed from a first-party source, and that gap is worth knowing before you treat the dates as locked in.
The season listed is September 11 through October 31, 2026, with hours of 11am to 6pm, Tuesday through Sunday — Mondays are closed. That’s a later start than some Fruit Ridge neighbors; Schwallier’s Country Basket a few miles away opens in mid-August, so Steffens appears to skip the earliest-ripening apples in favor of a shorter, more concentrated fall window.
What stands out most is the variety count: fourteen apples, running from Blondee and Gala early in the list through Fuji, Pink Lady, and Evercrisp — all late-season varieties — at the end. That’s one of the longer lists in this file, and it spans the ripening calendar unusually well for a single farm, from apples typically ready in late August through ones that hold on into November. If you’re chasing a specific variety like Pink Lady or Evercrisp rather than just “an apple,” Steffens’ spread gives you more room to time a visit correctly — though again, exactly which varieties are ready on which week within that September 11-October 31 window isn’t broken down in the record.
One specific, checkable detail: the record notes Steffens provides small wagons for u-pick visitors to pull through the orchard rows. That’s a practical convenience worth mentioning to anyone who’s dreaded hauling a heavy bag of apples back to the car on a previous trip elsewhere. Cider donuts are also confirmed, though the source listing calls them out as a weekend-only October item rather than something available for the whole season — a distinction worth keeping in mind if donuts are the main draw for a weekday visit.
No pricing was found for u-pick apples in this record, so there’s nothing to plan around beyond bringing a normal amount of cash or a card.
Steffens sits in the same general Fruit Ridge cluster as Schwallier’s Country Basket and Klein Cider Mill & Market, all within a few miles along the Sparta road grid, with Robinette’s Apple Haus & Winery a short drive south in Grand Rapids. None of that is an official pairing from Steffens itself — it’s simply how close together these Kent County orchards happen to sit.
Steffens looks like a solid, long-established pick with real variety depth and a thoughtful touch in the wagon carts, but this particular record is built on secondhand sources rather than the orchard’s own site. Before committing to a September 11 start date or Tuesday-Sunday hours, a quick call to 616-887-2404 is the safer move — especially since the site itself couldn’t even be reached directly during research.
The record lists a September 11 through October 31, 2026 season, Tuesday through Sunday, 11am-6pm — closed Mondays.
An hour or so for picking; the wagons make a longer visit across a wide variety list easier on your arms.
you're planning a Monday visit — the record shows Steffens closed that day, or you need details confirmed directly from the orchard rather than a partner listing.
Steffens sits within a few miles of Schwallier's Country Basket and Klein Cider Mill & Market in the same Sparta/Fruit Ridge cluster, and a short drive north of Robinette's Apple Haus & Winery in Grand Rapids.
The record lists fourteen: Blondee, Gala, McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Early Fuji, Cortland, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Idared, Spy, Fuji, Pink Lady, and Evercrisp.
Tuesday through Sunday, 11am-6pm, per the record. It's closed Mondays.
Yes — the record notes wagon carts are provided for u-pick visitors to pull through the rows.
The record lists a pumpkin patch among the activities.
Yes, though the record notes weekend-only donuts were specifically called out for October, per the source listing.
September 11 – October 31, 2026. Tuesday-Sunday (closed Mondays). Hours: 11am-6pm.
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, Gala, McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Early Fuji, Cortland, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Idared, Spy, Fuji, Pink Lady, Evercrisp — note that what's actually ready to pick changes week to week through the season.
4344 13 Mile Rd NW, Sparta, MI 49345, in Kent County. It is one of 4 orchards we track in Fruit Ridge.
We track 4 orchards in Fruit Ridge, 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.
Its season runs about 51 days against a regional average of 64, so it is a shorter window than most of its neighbours — the varieties you want may be picked out before nearby orchards close.
What sets it apart locally: it has a hayride or wagon ride, which most Fruit Ridge orchards on our list do not.
There are 5 other orchards we track in Kent County. All Fruit Ridge orchards →
steffensorchardmarket.com · fruitridgemarket.com · pickyourown.org
Checked September 2026.