A small family-run orchard and pumpkin patch that also sells at the Des Moines Downtown Farmers Market — a useful in-city alternative to the drive, though its own website was unreachable during research, so details lean on secondary sources.
Storybook Orchard sits at 12832 Royal Orchard Drive in Story City, Story County, and the record describes it as a small, family-run orchard and pumpkin patch. Phone is 515-733-4474. Confirmed activities include tractor rides, a pumpkin patch, and — notably — a stand at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market on Saturdays, which the record notes runs through late October. Both u-pick and pre-picked apples are listed as available.
The record is upfront about a real limitation in how it was compiled: the orchard’s own website URL returned a 404 error during this research pass, so the details here come instead from the farm’s Facebook page and third-party aggregators like Yelp and Tripadvisor. No hours, no apple varieties, and no pricing were located anywhere in the sources checked.
The single most useful, checkable detail in this record is the farmers-market connection: Storybook Orchard reportedly sells at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market on Saturdays, with that run continuing through late October per third-party aggregators. For anyone in the Des Moines metro who doesn’t want to make the drive out to Story City itself, that’s a genuinely practical alternative way to buy this orchard’s apples — though it’s worth noting this comes from secondary sources rather than the orchard’s own current confirmation, and the record doesn’t specify what’s sold there (whole apples versus other products) or at what price.
A 404 error on an orchard’s own website is a meaningfully different situation than a site that simply didn’t render fully, or one written in general seasonal language without exact dates — it suggests the URL on file may be outdated, the domain may have lapsed, or the site may be temporarily down. Any of those are possible, and this record can’t distinguish between them. What it does mean practically is that anyone planning a visit should treat the phone number (515-733-4474) as the primary way to confirm the orchard is open and operating this season, rather than trying to check a website first.
Nearly every specific a visitor would want before driving out is absent here: no hours, no season-start or season-end date for the orchard itself (season_end in this record reflects the farmers-market run mentioned by aggregators, not a confirmed orchard closing date), no apple varieties, and no pricing. This is one of the thinner records in this Iowa research batch in terms of orchard-specific detail, even though the farmers-market connection gives it one genuinely useful, distinguishing fact.
Storybook Orchard offers a small, family-run picking experience plus a pumpkin patch and tractor rides, and its Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market stand is a real, useful alternative for city-based visitors who’d rather not drive to Story City directly. But with the orchard’s own website unreachable during this research pass and no hours, varieties, or pricing confirmed from any source, a phone call to 515-733-4474 is the necessary next step before planning either kind of visit — to the orchard or to the market stand.
Not stated in the record with a specific start date. Third-party aggregators note a farmers-market run through late October (season_end around October 31), but no dated 2026 orchard-opening announcement was located.
you need confirmed hours or pricing before visiting — neither is available in the record, and the orchard's own website returned a 404 during research.
Sells at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market on Saturdays through late October, per third-party aggregators, offering an in-city alternative to visiting the Story City location directly.
Yes, per third-party sources — the farm also maintains a booth at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market on Saturdays through late October.
Not stated in the record. No hours were found.
Not stated in the record. No varieties are named.
The orchard's own website URL returned a 404 error during this research pass, so details come from its Facebook page and third-party aggregators instead.
A pumpkin patch, tractor rides, and the farmers market stand, per the record.
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.
12832 Royal Orchard Drive, Story City, IA 50248, in Story County. It is one of 3 orchards we track in Central Iowa.
We track 3 orchards in Central Iowa, 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 1 of the 3 orchards we track in Central Iowa had. Treat any date you see elsewhere as last year's until the orchard confirms it.
There are 2 other orchards we track in Story County. All Central Iowa orchards →
Map pin is set to the town centre. Navigate to the street address above, not the pin.
facebook.com
Checked September 2026.