Apple Picking Near DC

Apple Picking Near DC

Apple season near DC starts in late August and runs through October, with different varieties ripening on their own schedule. Early apples like Gala and Ginger Gold come first, and the ones most kids actually want, Honeycrisp and Fuji, land in September. If you go the last week of August you will pick apples, just not the famous ones. Butler's Orchard in Germantown is the busiest and most set up for families, with hayrides and a play area on top of the orchard rows. Homestead Farm in Poolesville is smaller, open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm, and has farm animals kids can look at while you pay. Hollin Farms in Delaplane is the drive-out-to-the-country option, currently open Saturdays and Sundays 9am to noon with last admission at 11:30.

One thing to know about 2026 specifically: a hard freeze in April cut into tree fruit across the region, so several orchards have a shorter apple season and fewer varieties than a normal year. That makes calling ahead more than a formality. Butler's takes reservations and posts what is ripe on their site. Homestead and Hollin both answer the phone and will tell you straight if apples are on or off that week. Do that call the night before, not from the car halfway there.

Parent Tips 💡

• ✓Call the farm the night before. The April 2026 freeze cut regional apple crops, so what is ripe changes week to week. A two minute call saves a wasted hour in the car.
• ✓Go early on a Saturday or pick a weekday. Orchards near DC are packed by 11am on fall weekends, and parking fields fill before the rows do.
• ✓Ask which rows are open before you start. Farms rotate sections so trees can recover. Wandering into a closed row and getting told to move is a bad way to start.
• ✓Bring a carrier for babies. Strollers get stuck in orchard grass. A hip carrier or backpack leaves both hands free for picking.
• ✓Set the bag limit up front. Kids pick fast and enthusiastically. Agree on how many bags you are buying before anyone touches a tree.
• ✓Pack wipes and a change of clothes. Fallen fruit on the ground plus a curious toddler equals sticky. Every time.