A diversified pick-your-own farm east of Des Moines with no admission fee to browse the property — a genuine standout among more festival-priced orchards in this batch — but the farm's own site returned little content, so most details lean on third-party listings.
No admission fee to walk the property; u-pick produce priced separately (amounts not posted)
Upstream Gardens & Orchard sits at 5987 NE 88th Street in Altoona, Polk County, east of Des Moines, and the record describes a genuinely diversified pick-your-own operation: apples alongside peaches, pears, cherries, plums, and a long list of berries, plus a honey store run from the farm’s own beehives. Phone is 515-957-1303. The one clearly confirmed pricing detail is a notable one — there’s no general admission fee to walk the property, which stands in contrast to several larger, festival-style orchards elsewhere in this Iowa research batch that charge per-person admission just to access u-pick areas or attractions.
Hours are described as varying week to week rather than following a fixed schedule, and apple season itself is described only in general terms as running “August to November,” without a specific 2026-dated range.
Unlike orchards where the details come straight from a farm’s own current website, the record here notes that Upstream Gardens’ own homepage returned only a page title with no readable body text during this research pass. That means the details compiled — address, phone, activities, and the honey store — were corroborated across third-party listings like Yelp and FruitPickingNearMe rather than confirmed directly by the operator. That’s not necessarily a sign anything has changed at the farm; it may simply reflect a site that didn’t render properly during this particular research pass. Still, it’s a meaningfully different confidence level than a record built on a farm’s own current page, and it’s the reason a phone call is the recommended next step here rather than treating this record as fully current.
Among the orchards researched in this batch, several larger operations charge a flat per-person admission just to enter the property, on top of whatever’s charged for the apples or produce picked. Upstream Gardens’ pay-only-for-what-you-pick model is a genuine point in its favor for cost-conscious visitors, especially families who might otherwise be picking a smaller amount but still paying full admission elsewhere. The tradeoff is that specific per-pound or per-bag prices for apples aren’t posted in this record, so the actual out-of-pocket cost for a typical basket isn’t confirmable here.
No apple varieties are named, so there’s no way to know from this record what’s actually available on a given visit, or whether the farm leans toward early or late-season fruit. The “August to November” season description is broad enough to cover most of a typical Iowa apple season, but it’s not a specific enough range to plan a trip around without confirming current status. And because hours vary week to week rather than following one fixed schedule, calling ahead before driving out is more important here than at orchards with steady, posted hours.
Upstream Gardens & Orchard offers something genuinely different from the festival-scale operations elsewhere in this research batch: no admission fee, a wide range of pick-your-own fruit beyond apples, and its own honey store. But because the operator’s own site didn’t return usable content during this research pass, and hours vary week to week, calling 515-957-1303 to confirm current apple availability and that week’s hours is the responsible way to plan a visit here.
Apple season is described only in general terms — 'August to November' — rather than a specific 2026 date range, so confirm current availability directly before visiting.
you want confirmed hours before leaving — the record notes hours vary week to week and weren't pinned to a specific schedule.
No — the record confirms no admission fee to walk the property. U-pick produce, including apples, is priced separately, though specific amounts aren't posted.
Not stated in the record. No varieties are named.
The record describes a diversified pick-your-own operation growing peaches, pears, cherries, plums, and several berries alongside apples.
Hours vary week to week, per the record — no fixed daily schedule is confirmed.
Yes, run from the farm's own beehives, 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. No admission fee to walk the property; u-pick produce priced separately (amounts not posted)
Yes — it's a pick-your-own orchard.
5987 NE 88th Street, Altoona, IA 50009, in Polk County. It is one of 4 orchards we track in Des Moines Metro.
We track 4 orchards in Des Moines Metro, 4 of which let you pick your own apples.
What sets it apart locally: it has a farm market or store, which most Des Moines Metro orchards on our list do not.
One caveat worth repeating: this orchard had not published its 2026 dates when we last checked, while 0 of the 4 orchards we track in Des Moines Metro had. Treat any date you see elsewhere as last year's until the orchard confirms it.
Map pin is set to the town centre. Navigate to the street address above, not the pin.
upstreamgardens.com
Checked September 2026.