Our senior lifestyle editor, and author of the The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, Amy Traverso, shares her list of New England’s best apple orchards.
Poverty Lane Orchards
Steve Wood and Louisa Spencer operate two businesses on this beautiful hilltop farm overlooking the Connecticut River Valley: Poverty Lane Orchards, where they grow dozens of antique and unusual apple varieties, and Farnum Hill Ciders, where they make complex ciders from the aforementioned apples. Both are worth exploring for their nuance and quality, whether in the pick-your-own orchards or in the farm stand/tasting room.
98 Poverty Ln., Lebanon, NH, 603-448-1511, povertylaneorchards.com
Gould Hill Farm
Is this the most beautiful orchard setting in New England? We certainly haven’t seen another one that matches its 75-mile view, which can spread as far as the White Mountains. It’s worth coming back just for that. You can also make a project of tasting the seventy-plus apple varieties that Tim and Amy Bassett now grow. One varity particular is worth noting: Hampshire, a tree that sprang up from seed on this very farm and, with its abundant juice and rich flavor, makes a great pie. There’s also live music, a pumpkin patch, a farm store with cider donuts, and a charming little nature museum.
656 Gould Hill Rd, Contoocook NH, 603-746-3811, gouldhillfarm.com
Nashoba Valley Winery
Set in the heart of America’s first fruit bowl, this beautiful winery/restaurant/wedding destination is also home to acres of pick-your-own Cortland, McIntosh, and Roxbury Russet trees, as well as a spectacular antique apple orchard stocked with rare finds like Pink Pearl, Ashmead’s Kernel, and Esopus Spitzenburg—nearly 100 in all. Tack a wine tasting and dinner onto your day and you have a make-your-own harvest festival.
100 Wattaquadock Hill Rd., Bolton MA, 978-779-5521, nashobawinery.com
Red Apple Farm
Red Apple Farm looks like a New England apple orchard out of central casting: country road lined with maples and stone walls? Check. Rows of apple trees? Check. White farmhouse? Check. Red farmstand stocked with dumplings, apples, and jams? Check. Hay rides and a pumpkin patch? You got it. But wander over by the picnic pavilion near the front gate and you’ll find a craggy old tree festooned 108 grafted varieties, each to a branch, Back in 1970 when the tree was first planted, was just a plain Cortland, but the Rose family began grafting new varieties onto it each year. It’s worth a visit just to see this Technicolor tree. But you’ll also find 40 pick-your-own varieties to satisfy any craving.
455 Highland Ave., Phillipston MA, 800-628-4851, redapplefarm.com
Scott Farm
This 626 acre property, owned by the non-profit Landmark Trust USA, produces 70 varieties of “ecologically grown,” low-spray heirloom and unusual apples, such as Roxbury Russet, Belle de Boskoop, Winter Banana, and Hidden Rose. It also served as the primary location for the filming of the movie Cider House Rules. There are classes on pruning and grafting, apple pie baking, hard cider making. And you can rent any of several historic structures on the property for a weekend getaway—including Rudyard Kipling’s estate, Naulakha, where he wrote “The Jungle Books.”
707 Kipling Rd., Dummerston VT, 802-254-6868, scottfarmvermont.com