PYO of Monadnock Region

The air is crisp, the leaves are turning and fall crops are in abundance here in New England. Fall is my favorite season, especially living here in New Hampshire. Every season offers different exciting and unique activities for people to do, but one of the best parts of autumn in the Monadnock Region (including all the harvest festivals, of course) are all of the pick your own orchards and farms offering pumpkins, gourds and apples for you to enjoy. Come the end of September, most of the apple orchards open their gates for early harvest picking that goes almost into the beginning of November. Following closely after, pumpkin patches are a vibrant sight of orange gourds that inspire you upon sight. Let’s take a stroll through our list of pick your own apple and pumpkins.

Up first on our harvest tour is Milford, NH. About twenty five minutes from Peterborough, Milford is home to Macleod Orchards. This beautiful apple orchard is nestled up on a hill to provide relatively cool breezes on those sunny days of picking your own apples. With a large variety of apples, Macleod’s also features a small farm stand that sells pumpkins, gourds and other delightful treats for when you finish picking.

As you head back in towards Peterborough, a stop off at Windy Hill Orchards in Greenville offers not only apple picking, but pick your own pumpkins as well! Right behind the farm stand (which sells fresh made apple cider donuts!) there’s a corn maze to add into the fall festivities, along with a hayride that’ll take you on a leisurely loop about the property. Surrounded by a hilly landscape crisp with the changing of leaves, Windy Hill is a great spot to pick apples or pumpkins to enjoy this fall with your family while having some fall fun.

Heading out towards Walpole past Keene, Alyson’s Orchard sits atop a beautiful hill overlooking the valley leading down to the Connecticut River. A beautiful spot not only for pictures and amazing views, the orchard is such a treat for apple picking as well. They offer pick your own apples for a large portion of the fall months, usually ending their picking season by the beginning of November. This orchard is just so breathtaking because of the views, you’ll end up catching yourself gazing across the farm a few times while you snag a peck of apples! If you’re in a hurry, you can stop into their farm stand to grab apples (and other great treats!) inside.

Fall is an especially wonderful time to enjoy with friends and family outside within the Monadnock Region. Apples and pumpkins galore just waiting to be collected and enjoyed, while apple cider and baked goods call our names. From the fall festivals just about every weekend in almost every town to the farm stands chock full of vibrantly colored produce that mimic the leaves around, there’s bound to be something to do!