One of these West Coast apple orchards grows 150 fruit varieties, one charges by the pound, and one hands you an $18 bag before you’ve picked anything
Apple season doesn’t start on one date out here — it starts on three. Washington’s already close, Oregon’s about to shift into full gear, and California’s biggest U-Pick won’t even open its gates for another couple weeks. Same fruit, three completely different systems.
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Oregon: Hood River Valley’s 150-variety orchard
Kiyokawa Family Orchards sits in Parkdale, just outside Hood River, with Mt. Hood rising over the whole valley. It’s a fourth-generation farm and the largest U-Pick in the valley, growing over 150 varieties of apples, pears, Asian pears, cherries, and stone fruit. Most orchards pick a handful of crowd favorites and call it a day — this one basically refuses to.
U-pick shifts into its full fall schedule on August 21: open daily, Monday through Friday 10am to 4pm, weekends 9am to 5pm, running into November. Bring your own container (boxes are sold if you forget one), and dogs on a leash are welcome to walk the rows with you.
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Washington: Wenatchee Valley, priced by the pound
Stutzman Ranch runs its U-pick the old-fashioned way — you pick, they weigh it, you pay for exactly what you took. Gala apples are set to open any day now, with Fuji and Golden Delicious following in early-to-mid September.
The orchard opens for picking at 9am and stops letting people in at 3:30pm daily, and everyone 12 and up owes at least $5 in fruit — or $5 flat just to walk the rows. Bring your own bucket, grab a wagon if you’re picking for a crowd, and leave the dog at home; pets aren’t allowed past the tie-up area near the entrance.
California: Julian’s 7,000-tree operation, and an $18 bag
Julian runs on a completely different system. Volcan Valley Apple Farm doesn’t open until late August, and once it does, nobody’s weighing anything — it’s $5 admission, then $18 for a bag that holds about six to seven pounds, one bag per group.
What that gets you: 7,000 trellis-grown trees across ten acres, planted low enough that little kids can pick without help, plus a taste of all seven varieties at the gate before you commit to a row. Gravensteins open the season in late August; Pippins close it out in October. Dogs on a leash are welcome, and the farm’s open Friday through Monday, 9am to 4:30pm.
If you’re bringing kids, Julian’s trellis rows win — no ladder, no reaching, no meltdown over an unripe branch. If you’d rather pay for exactly what lands in your bag, Washington’s the honest system. And if you just want the biggest possible selection under one roof, Oregon’s 150 varieties settle that argument fast.
Trip tips: grab a rental car to get between orchards, and lock in a hotel nearby before the weekend crowds do.
Rules and fees change — always confirm current requirements before you go.
