2024 Colusa, Lake, Napa, Sacramento, Solano, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties in California Apple U-Pick Farms and Orchards - PickYourOwn.org

Apple U-Pick Orchards in Colusa, Lake, Napa, Sacramento, Solano, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties in California in 2024, by county

Below are the U-Pick orchards and farms for apples that we know of in this area.

Not all areas of a state have apples orchards that are open to the public. If you know of any others, please tell us using the add a farm form!

Remember to always check with the farm's own website or Facebook page before you go - or call or email them if they don't have a website or Facebook page. Conditions at the farms and crops can change literally overnight, so if you want to avoid a wasted trip out there - check with the farm directly before you go! If I cannot reach them, I DON'T GO!

PLEASE report closed farms, broken links and incorrect info using the "Report Corrections" form below.

New! As inflation remains high, see this page for reliable (tested) brands of generic canning lids at lower costs, and cost-saving measures for getting fruit and vegetables and home canning.
 If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

New! Road tripping and camping is a great way to have a fun, safe and inexpensive family trip. The national and state parks and monuments are open, and campgrounds usually cost between $10 and $40 per night. September to November is the best camping weather.  See our new website Road Tripping and Camping.com for tips, tricks, guides, checklists and info about parks, monuments and other places to visit.

New! We just went live with our latest website, FunFactoryTours.com - As they name implies, you can find a fun factory tour, including chocolate, automobiles, historical forts and sites, famous buildings, Active Federal facilities even fun geology: like fossils and volcanic areas

Yolo County (Sacramento area)

• Impossible Acres (also called The Pickin' Patch) - boysenberries, blackberries, raspberries..cherries, peaches, apples..pumpkins, corn, gourds
  26565 Road 97D, Davis, CA . Phone: 530-750-0451. Email: impossibleacres@aol.com. Open: from late May through July each year,from 9 am to 6 pm on Wednesday to Sunday, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays except if a holiday falls on a Monday; always check their website or call before you go . Directions: West of Davis, East of Winters, South of Woodland, North of Dixon. Follow signs from the corner of County Road 98 and County Road 31 \(Covell\). Call for hours; Petting zoo and school tours. Pick-your-own produce: boysenberries, blackberries, raspberries..cherries, peaches, apples..pumpkins, corn, gourds..goats, ponies, chickens..hayrides, mazes, scarecrows. Most of our produce is marketed as pick-your-own so we have set up the farm to provide easy access to the picking fields. We grow man - truncated. . Click here for a map and directions.
  Impossible Acres (also called The Pickin' Patch) Facebook page. West of Davis, East of Winters, South of Woodland, North of Dixon. Follow signs from the corner of County Road 98 and County Road 31 (Covell). Call for hours; Petting zoo and school tours. Pick-your-own produce: ..goats, ponies, chickens..hayrides, mazes, scarecrows. Most of our produce is marketed as pick-your-own so we have set up the farm to provide easy access to the picking fields. We grow many varieties of each crop to extend the picking season, and we provide containers to pick into and scales to weigh your produce. During the various seasons we have a wonderful variety of fruits for you to pick: Boysenberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, Peaches, Apples, Pumpkins, Cherries, Tomatoes, Apricots. We have small orchards and berry patches set up for people to pick their own produce. You can get tree or vine ripened apricots, plums, pluots, apriums, cherries, blackberries, raspberries, nectarines and peaches. (Other stuff, too!) It is hard to predict when the different crops will be ripe each year, so you never know what you might be picking when you come. There is no charge to enter the farm and parking is free. You only pay for the produce you pick. Impossible Acres facebook page (UPDATED: September 3, 2023, JBS)
  Comments from a visitor on May 23, 2010: "Last summer, I went to Impossible Acres in Yolo County (I live in Sacramento). They had a huge selection of you-pick apricots, plums, hybrids thereof, as well as tons of blackberries and some strawberries. They were friendly and easygoing and my friends and I all had a great time - not to mention that we got tasty fresh fruit for free!"

Yuba County

• Bishop's Pumpkin Farm - Apples, pumpkins, walnuts, Corn maze.
  1415 Pumpkin Lane, Wheatland, CA 95692. Phone: 530-633-2568. Open: Pumpkin patch last week in September thru October 31. Click here for a map and directions. Sunday to Thursday 9-6; Friday and Saturday 9-7. Company picnics, from April thru AugustFrom the north, drive south on Hwy 65 to Wheatland. Turn right on 4th St and drive one half mile to the farm. From Interstate 80 east of Roseville, take Hwy 65 turnoff. Wheatland is approximately 21 miles north. Turn left on 4th St and drive one half mile to the farm. (UPDATED: May 28, 2018, JBS)

 

Apple

Apple Picking Tips, Recipes and Information

Apples ripen from the outside of the tree towards the center, so the apples out the outside of the tree will ripen first.  Once they are picked, they stop ripening. Picking apples directly from a tree is easy. Roll the apple upwards off the branch and give a little twist; don't pull straight away from the tree. If two apples are joined together at the top, both will come away at the same time. Don't shake the trees or branches.  If the apple you are trying to pick drops, (or others on the tree) go ahead and pick it up. They're perfectly fine! But do wash them before you eat them! More info: How to tell when apples are ripe

• Once picked, don't throw the apples into the baskets, place them in gently, or they will bruise and go bad more quickly.
• Don't wash apples until just before using to prevent spoilage.
• For an explanation of why apple slices turn brown and how to stop it, see this page!
• Keep apples cool after picking to increase shelf life.  A cool basement is ideal, but the fruit/vegetable drawer of a refrigerator will work, too.  A refrigerator is fine for small quantities of apples. Boxed apples need to be kept in a cool, dark spot where they won't freeze. Freezing ruptures all of an apple's cells, turning it into one large bruise overnight. The usual solution is to store apples in a root cellar. But root cellars often have potatoes in them: apples and potatoes should never be stored in the same room because, as they age, potatoes release an otherwise ethylene gas, which makes apples spoil faster. If you can keep the gas away from your apples, they will keep just fine. Just don't store them right next to potatoes.
  Prevent contact between apples stored for the winter by wrapping them individually in sheets of newspaper. The easiest way to do this is to unfold a section of newspaper all the way and tear it into quarters. Then stack the wrapped apples. See more here: How to store apples at home
• Apples don't improve or "ripen" after being picked - this is an urban myth - see this page for the truth - with references!

Which apple variety is best?

There are tens of thousands of varieties of apples, developed over centuries. They vary in sugar, acoidity, flavors, storing, crispness and many other attributes. See our guides to apple varieties:

• Summary table of many apple varieties and their characteristics
• Detailed descriptions of each apple variety with detailed characteristics
• Apple varieties, sorted by the order in which they typically ripe
• Apple varieties that don't turn brown when they are cut
• Why are some apples brown or spotted inside when you first cut them open?

Canning apples - fully illustrated, with step-by-step instructions

• How to make applesauce
• How to make apple butter 
• How to make apple jelly
• How to make apple pie filling (canned)
• How to can apples
• Home canned apple juice

New!As inflation remains high, see this page for reliable (tested) brands of generic canning lids at lower costs, and cost-saving measures for getting fruit and vegetables and home canning.
 If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

Recipes, illustrated with step by step instructions

• Apple pie recipe and directions and illustrated! I can say, with, ahem, no bias at all, that this is the best apple pie recipe in the world! (Alright, I did have an apple strudel in Vienna once at that place listed in Fodors that was REALLY good, but that wasn't a pie, was it? And since this was the recipe my grandmother used, it must be great!)
• How to make applesauce for a single meal (not canning it) with NO special equipment
• Apple cobbler
• Apple crunch - best of all! Moist, low sugar and using oats!
• Apple crisp - ever-popular, low sugar and using oats!
• Apple, blackberry, cherry, and/or peach cobbler
• Apple-blackberry, crumble - a English favorite (or favourite)

Using fresh apples and miscellaneous

• How to stop cut apples from browning
• Apple festivals - find one near you!
• Apple facts
• Apple seeds and cyanide

 

Other Local Farm Products (Honey, Horses, Milk, Meat, Eggs, Etc.)
(NOT pick-your-own, unless they are also listed above)

• Farm markets and roadside stands
• Local Honey Finder
• Local Meat, Milk and Eggs
• Venues: Farms, Wineries, Orchards for your event, wedding or party
• Easter egg hunts
• Children"s consignment sales
• Fruit and vegetable festivals
• Winery tours and wine tastings
• Horse rides, stables, lessons, trails
• Maple Syrup farms and sugarworks
• Bed & Breakfasts on Farms, Wineries, Ranches and Orchards
• Pumpkin patches
• Corn mazes
• Zombie Paintball venues
• Christmas Tree Farms & lots
• Environmental resources
• Consumer fraud information
• Wholesale food sources
• Resources for Farmers