Sisters Abigail, 7, and Elizabeth Kalista, 9, pick honeycrisp apples at Ridgetop Orchards on Sunday. Mirror photo by Holly Claycomb

FISHERTOWN – Shorter days, cooler temperatures and blue skies filled with puffy clouds means fall is just around the corner and the region’s orchards are throwing open their doors to welcome apple lovers looking for the freshest fruit of the season.

To be fair, orchards already had their doors open, as the harvest season begins with cherries, moves to peaches, nectarines, plums and pears, then morphs into the apple crop, which offers more than two dozen varieties – from the fan favorite honeycrisp, available now, to late apples with such names as winter banana, ambrosia and pink lady, to name a few.

Bedford County is home to tens of thousands of apple trees, perched on the ridges for which the Chestnut Ridge School District is named.

The ground is considered among the top sites for orchards in Pennsylvania due to its higher elevation and well-drained soil, but the end result of years of hard work all comes down to Mother Nature, said Megan Boyer of Ridgetop Orchards.

Fortunately, despite the recent spate of dry weather, the apples are “delicious,” pronounced Lois LaPorta of Davidsville, who was picking a bagful from among the bins on the “front porch” at the Ridgetop Orchards packing house.

A trip to any of the four orchards located along Bedford County’s apple trail offers a chance to stock up not only on apples, but on cider, honey, apple butter, pumpkins and more as the trend in agritourism means businesses are offering an immersive experience for all ages.

Walking through neat rows of trees Sunday afternoon, the Kalista family of Hollidaysburg – Walt and Nicole, along with daughters Elizabeth, 9, and Abigail, 7, and Nicole’s parents, Dennis and Jan Kotzan of Johnstown – were filling several bushel bags in Ridgetop’s U-Pick section.

The young girls were giggling, running to pick apples from lower branches and bringing them back for “inspection” by their parents and grandparents.

This type of experience not only exposes the girls to nature, Walt said, but it’s a fun family activity.

The learning experience doesn’t end when they leave the orchard because they have plans to make applesauce, apple chips in the air fryer and desserts. They also plan to enter baked goods in the upcoming Hollidaysburg Community Farm Show, Walt and Nicole said.

Apple dumplings, apple pie and apple chips were on the minds of Lacie Scott and Joseph Reed and daughters Ariella Reed, 7, and Everly Reed, 4. The Everett family was enjoying the sunshine and family time while searching for their own perfect apples among the fruit-heavy branches, also in the honeycrisp section of the orchard, where a grinning Ariella said one apple she sampled “was so, so good.”

The U-Pick season will continue each weekend through October, while supplies last, Boyer said, and will transition to Granny Smith and evercrisp when those varieties are ripe.

This is technically the second year Ridgetop Orchards has offered U-Pick apples. The first year in 2023 was pretty much a disaster as it got rained out, Boyer said. So last year, they chose to step back, re-evaluate and “gather our composure.”

That pause seemed to have worked, as dozens of people headed into the orchard over the weekend to get some hands-on apple-picking experience.

Creating memories

Modern society seems far removed from agriculture, Boyer said, but the current trend is to go back. “People want to connect with the land and with agriculture,” she explained.

With photo cutouts, a corn maze, corn pit, apple hand pies and cider donuts, not to mention fall staples like pumpkins and apple cider, visitors are invited to “create memories that truly last,” Megan Boyer said.

Offering some confusion to locals and visitors alike, Boyer Orchards is located over the ridge in New Paris. It is operated by both the second and third generation of growers, and yes, they are related to the owners of Ridgetop, though the businesses are entirely separate from one another.

Boyer Orchards, too, offers photo opportunities and plentiful choices in apple varieties. In addition, pears and plums are still available, along with pumpkins, cider and honey.

While Bedford’s Fall Foliage Festival, slated for the first two weekends in October, will have visitors from near and far descending on the orchards, Boyer Orchards has their own festival set for Oct. 18, during which visitors can try out a variety of apple and fall-inspired goodies, including fresh apple butter.

The event “is a big hit with customers,” Janet Boyer said, noting there will be a food truck on site as well as activities for kids, such as face painting.

Family tradition

With about 500 acres of orchards and 800 to 1,400 trees per acre, depending on the variety, Ridgetop Orchards is the largest fruit-grower in Bedford County, followed by Boyer Orchards, with about 300 acres.

The last two orchards on the trail list are Sleeks and McCoy’s, both in New Paris.

While they are on the smaller scale, both offer a variety of apples and other related products.

Jackie Sleek said the rich, fertile ridges used for fruit growing were at one time filled with more than a dozen different orchard names – Suter’s, Leonard’s, Davis, Pepe’s, Wright’s, Amick’s and more – but as those families grew older and the younger generations were either unable or unwilling to continue the tradition, the land was leased or purchased by the larger orchards.

It’s sad, in a way, she said, but it’s nice the land is still being used for orchards, a tradition that dates back 100 years or more.

While Ridgetop has about 75 workers harvesting apples, Sleek’s has three, four counting her husband, Jackie Sleek said. Their children are involved as well, making for the fourth generation, she said.

Both Sleek’s and McCoy’s offer more than apples at this time of year, with honey, apple butter, cider, pumpkins and more.

They, too, give pointers on how to use apples and the varieties that make the best pies and other goodies.

What orchards currently have available will change, as “more and more varieties” will be ripening as the days get shorter and the nights cooler, Sleek said, noting their orchard has more than 30 varieties from start to finish, with at least 15 more varieties yet to be picked.

It might seem that after months of picking, packing and selling apples that growers might get a little weary of the fruit, but that’s not so, Sleek said.

She gets a bit full of peaches after a while, but not apples.

“I love apples to eat and to bake,” she said. “I never get apple-d out.”

Sharing the season with family and customers is a highlight of the orchard business, growers said.

“We get to share the most fun portion” of our job, Megan Boyer said of inviting the community into the orchards.

If you go

Ridgetop Orchards, 2953 Valley Road, Fishertown; 814-839-4181

Boyer Orchards, 4116 Cortland Drive, New Paris; 814-839-4715

Sleek’s Orchard, 181 Wentz Road, New Paris; 814-733-4776

McCoy’s Orchard, 2573 Quaker Valley Road, New Paris; 814-839-4612