The 5 Best Farms for Apple and Pumpkin Picking in New Jersey
Here is the thing nobody is telling you about fall in Jersey this year. Back in April we got a freak freeze, 90 degree heat one week and 28 degrees the next, and it wiped out the apple crop at a bunch of the most famous orchards in the state. Battleview in Freehold, Terhune in Princeton, Eastmont in Colts Neck, Donaldson in Hackettstown, Johnson's Corner in Medford: no pick your own apples in 2026. The farm stores are stocked and the pumpkin patches are open, but the trees are bare. So this list is not the usual suspects. These are the five farms where you can still walk into an orchard, pick apples right off the tree, and load up on pumpkins in the same trip. Check the farm's picking page the morning you go, because even at these spots the crops are lighter than a normal year and the good varieties move fast.
1. Alstede Farms, Chester (Morris County)
The full day trip. Alstede is the biggest fall operation in the state and it has the deepest crop left standing: Honeycrisp, Cortland, Macoun and Liberty are all picking excellent right now, plus a 35 acre pumpkin patch. Entry is a timed ticket that includes your container, the hay wagon rides, the corn maze and the sunflower trail, and pumpkin pickers get a $9.99 credit built into the ticket. Pumpkins run $0.89 a pound. There is a cider mill, homemade ice cream, cider donuts and live music on the weekends. Buy your ticket online, it saves you $8 versus paying at the shed. Get there at 9 on weekends, last entry is 4:30 and the fields close at 6.
2. Melick's Town Farm, Califon and Oldwick (Hunterdon County)
My pick for food people. Melick's is the largest fruit grower in New Jersey, 25,000 apple trees, and that scale is exactly why it still has apples when half the state does not. Open every day 9 to 6 with the last entry at 5, no reservations, just pull up. Entry is $4.99 on weekdays and $6.99 on weekends and that includes the wagon rides. Apples are priced per pound by variety, most around $3. The move is Oldwick for the working cider mill where you can watch the press run, then grab fresh cider, hard cider and a dozen cider donuts for the ride home.
3. Demarest Farms, Hillsdale (Bergen County)
The North Jersey and city answer, about 40 minutes out. Demarest does it tidy: you book your slot online ahead of time, no tickets are sold at the farm, and the $9 admission gets you the orchard, the petting zoo and the playground. Apple bags are $21 and hold 10 to 12 pounds, and any pumpkin in the patch is a flat $13 no matter how big you go. This is also the cider donut stop, voted the best in the state. The farm has been running since 1886 and it is Bergen County's only pick your own apple and pumpkin farm.
4. Giamarese Farm, East Brunswick (Middlesex County)
The value pick, and in Central Jersey it is not close. Tuesday through Friday you can pick for a $3 entry. Weekends are Fall Harvest Weekends at $15, which adds the hayride, the corn maze and the sunflowers. The farm has been family owned since 1941 and, a rare sentence in 2026, it says right on its page that it has an adequate supply of apples: Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji and Macintosh. Pumpkins, gourds and late season vegetables are out there too. Call ahead for the day's per pound prices before you drive over.
5. Johnson's Locust Hall Farm, Jobstown (Burlington County)
The South Jersey pick, and go now, not later. Locust Hall is the sister farm to Johnson's Corner in Medford, which lost its whole apple crop this year, so do not mix them up, the tickets do not transfer. Locust Hall held onto a limited supply: apples are $8 for a quarter peck and $15 for a half peck, pumpkins and gourds are $0.95 a pound, and there are hayrides, a corn maze and Tomasello wine tastings if you are making a day of it. The farm has already said it expects to sell out of apples before the season ends, so this one is first come, first served.
The pumpkin only list, so nobody drives out for the wrong thing: Terhune, Happy Day, Donaldson, Battleview, Eastmont and Johnson's Corner all have great pumpkin patches and fall festivals this year, just zero pick your own apples. If pumpkins are the whole mission, they still deliver. But if you want an apple off a tree in New Jersey in 2026, the five above are your list.