Ask TripFinder: Where to Go Apple Picking near Seattle?

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Dear TripFinder,

Dear Tara,

I’m so glad you asked because we’ve been thinking of apples a lot around here too — like apple pie, apple cider, apple chutney, apple butter… you get the idea. It’s not fall in the Northwest without picking apples! And are we ever in luck: Washington state produces about 60 percent of the nation’s supply of apples, from super sweet to pucker-worthy tart varieties. Most of the U-pick locations in Central Puget Sound are for blueberries and other berries. For apples, you’ll have to drive a little bit farther but we think it’s worth it!

U-pick Apples in the Seattle Area:

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Skagit Valley Fruit / Jones Creek Farms

If you’re an heirloom apple connoisseur, head straight to Jones Creek Farms, a small, family-run operation in the fertile Skagit Valley.This place is an annual trip for us. I love experimenting with different proportions of unique apple varieties when making apple butter in the crock pot, one of my standard holiday gifts.  In their organically-maintained orchard you’ll find Mott Pink, Aroma, Jonamac, Gravenstein, Sunrise, Niagara Mac, Akane, Early Cortland and 100 or so more. The farm also hosts Upick Asian pears, squashes and pumpkins.

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Apple Creek Orchards

Looking for an excuse to head up to Bellingham for an afternoon in Fairhaven? Go early and head first to  Apple Creek Orchard near Ferndale to pick some Jonagolds. The price for apples is $15 for a 5 gallon bucket. (bring your own boxes or buckets). The farm also has chickens, geese, ducks, and guinea hens walking about to the delight of apple-picking children.

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Lattin’s Country Cider Mill and Farm

They don’t host U-pick apples, but one of our favorite spots in the harvest season is Lattin’s Country Cider Mill and Farm near Olympia, where the last weekend in September and each weekend in October they host a fun Apple Festival (no admission charge, $3 to park a vehicle). Take a tractor-drawn wagon ride to their pumpkin patch, then find your way through a corn maze. Kids will love the plethora of baby farm animals to pet.

Got a burning travel question? You ask, we’ll answer.

Note: This article was originally published in September 2012 and has been updated with current information.

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