Yellow, green, and red, oh my! Fall is just around the corner, which brings one much-anticipated activity - apple picking. Round, shiny apples in various shades and varieties become ever abundant and evident in the surrounding Michigan orchards and farms from late August through October. Our Castle in the Country Bed & Breakfast, nestled in the heart of apple country, makes the perfect fall harvest getaway spot. In any direction you’ll find places to pick to your heart’s content. So book your favorite guest room for a weekend or midweek stay, and bring along your guide to apple-picking in Southwest, MI. The farms are located within only a 30-minute drive of the Castle.
“Autumn is the mellower season,
and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits.”
— Samuel Butler
Square Nail Farm, Allegan, MI
Location: 16 min
2437 118th Ave., Allegan, MI 49010
Square Nail Farm is a small, 25-acre family farm that produces 23 varieties of apples, as well as pumpkins, plums, peaches, and fresh cider in the fall. Their cider is fresh pressed, unpasteurized, and available to purchase in 1/2 gallon and gallon containers. They also participate in a low/reduced spray program that reduces the amount of applied chemistry by 40% in comparison to store-bought fruit.
Sauer Orchards, Bloomingdale, MI
Location: 17 min
44410 18th Ave, Bloomingdale, MI 49026
Sauer Orchards offers just over a dozen varieties of apples, from Empire to Ruby Mac, and tart cherries on an impressive 340 acres of land. This family-owned and -operated farm is as beautiful as it is plentiful.
Overhiser Orchards, South Haven, MI
Location: 24 min
6405 109th Ave., South Haven MI 49090
Providing the local community with fresh fruit since 1863, Overhiser Orchards offers several types of fruit throughout the year, including almost two dozen varieties of apples, such as sweet and crunchy Honeycrisp and Golden Supreme. Pumpkins, plums and pears are available too. Visit their What We Grow webpage for produce availability dates. In addition to juicy fruits, Overhiser also offers farm animals to see and feed, a corn maze to get lost in, farm tours, and even a cornhole tournament.
VerHages Fruit Farm & Cider Mill, Kalamazoo, MI
Location: 26 min
8619 West ML Ave., Kalamazoo Mi 49009
Vern VerHage founded VerHage Fruit Farms in 1960. In 1962, Nancy VerHage started the cider mill, producing a secret blend of apple cider using specially-selected apples. The VerHage family continues using Nancy's special cider recipe today, with no additives or preservatives. VerHage Fruit Farms is still in the family and now includes a large U-pick operation, caramel apples, homemade pies, fudge, hay tires and much more.
Dutch Farm Market, South Haven, MI
Location: 27 min
6967 109th Ave., South Haven, MI 49090
If you’d rather reap the harvest without the work, visit Dutch Farm Market. Home-grown and deliciously fresh apples from McIntosh to Rome, are already picked to perfection and waiting for you.
Crane U-Pick Orchard & Corn Maze, Fennville, MI
Location: 30 min
6054 124th Ave., Fennville, MI 49408
Beginning around Labor Day weekend, Crane Orchards is teeming with over a dozen varieties of apples from Blondee to Red Delicious. Visit their website to learn which apples to use for eating raw, chopping in salads, and baking or cooking. Once you’re there, you may just stick around for a tractor driven hayride, or to take the corn maze challenge. The maze features 20 acres of creatively designed paths that will lead you nowhere, or eventually somewhere.
Gold Coast Farms, Fennville, MI
Location: 31 min
6331 120th Ave., Fennville, MI 49408
This family-owned and -operated farm has been growing and selling fruit since 1894, and boasts 112 acres filled with 13 varieties of apples. Formerly known as Margot Farms, they chose the new name Gold Coast Farms in the 1990s as a nod to the past; when the locals would refer to the farm’s delightful fruit as "gold."
Book your fall getaway now at Castle in the Country and enjoy prime apple-picking in Southwest MI.