Things to Do

10 Spots to Pick Your Own Apples and Pumpkins Near DC Now That it FINALLY Feels Like Fall

Throw on your fave flannel and get to pickin'.

Photograph via Instagram by @walmeida.

Enjoy fall to the fullest at local farms where you can: pick apples, race pigs, pick pumpkins, get lost in corn mazes, pick flowers, shoot pumpkins out of cannons, pick up fall-flavored treats, and more.

Baugher’s Orchards and Farms

1015 Baugher Rd., Westminster, Maryland; (410) 857-0111

Distance from DC: About 70 miles.
Pumpkins: $0.65 per pound.
Apples: Call to check varieties, prices by the bag. $12 for a half peck bag, $21 for a full peck bag, $34 per half bushel bag.
Hours: 10 AM to 4 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Kids can jump around in the giant pumpkin bounce house or get their faces painted. Rent a wagon for just $2 to carry your apples (and snap that perfect farm-y Insta). Think there’s no way you’ll be able to use all of your harvest? Find cooking inspo at the on-site bakery offering apple fritters, apple dumplings and homemade apple butter.

Butler’s Orchard

22222 Davis Mill Rd., Germantown, MD; (301) 428-0444

Distance from DC: 29 miles
Pumpkins: $0.65 cents per pound
Apples: Stayman apples. $1.99 per pound.
Hours: 9:30 AM to 6 PM from Tuesday through Sunday.

Admission is $12 a person (free for kids under two). Race pedal tractors, hop into a Cinderella-esque pumpkin coach ride, or get lost in the corn maze. Food-wise, they’ve got hamburgers and hot dogs, as well as turkey and pork sandwiches.

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Catocin Mountain Orchard

15036 North Franklinville Rd., Thurmont, MD; (301) 271-2737

Distance from DC: About 66 miles.
Apples: Autumn Gala, September Wonder, Crimson Crisp, Cortland, Jonagold, Cameo. Prices by the bag. $12 for a half peck bag, $19 for a full peck bag, $30 per half bushel bag. Orchard entrance fee is $2 per person.
Hours: Hours vary by day with picking on weekends. Call ahead to check.

Come for the apples, stay for the flowers—pick snapdragons, sunflowers, or Black-Eyed Susans, to sport some Maryland pride. Try the pumpkin nut bread and ginger spice cookies.

Gaver Farm

5501 Detrick Rd., Mount Airy, Maryland; (301) 865-3515

Distance from DC: About 46 miles.
Pumpkins: $0.59 per pound.
Apples: Fuji, Cameo, Blondee Gala, Buckeye Gala, Empire. Prices by the bag. $20 for a full peck bag, $32 per half bushel bag. Each bag covers the cost of orchard admission for four people.
Hours: Pumpkin patch is open Monday to Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM. Apple picking is open on weekends.

Corn mazes, giant jump pillows, and pedal karts are offered for additional fun ($13.50 on weekends, $9 on weekdays; kids under two for free). Enjoy fall classics like apple cider and sugar-coated cider donuts.

Great Country Farms

18780 Foggy Bottom Rd., Bluemont, Virginia; (540) 554-2073

Distance from DC: About 59 miles.
Pumpkins: $0.59 per pound plus farm admission (weekdays: $8 for children and $10 for adults; weekends: $10 for children and $12 for adults).
Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM on Monday to Sunday.

Who needs the derby when you can race….pigs? Witness a pig race yourself at Great Country: competitions are held every weekend at 11 AM, 1 PM and 3 PM. Afterwards, roast marshmallows on-site.

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Homestead Farm

15604 Sugarland Rd., Poolesville, Maryland; (301) 977-3761

Distance from DC: About 24 miles.
Pumpkins: $0.65 per pound
Apples: Aztec Fuji, Enterprise, Sun Fuji. $2.49 per pound up to 20 pounds; $1.99 per pound over 20 pounds; $1.49 per pound over 100 pounds.
Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM on Monday to Sunday.

Cruise through the foliage with scenic hayrides from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM on Saturdays and Sundays (at $4 per person per ride). Snag some locally-made honey to dip straight-off-the-tree apples.

Larriland Farm

2415 Woodbine Rd., Woodbine, Maryland; (301) 854-6110

Distance from DC: About 42 miles.
Pumpkins: The patch is just a mile north, still on the same property. (Price unavailable.)
Apples: Stayman, Golden Delicious. (Price unavailable.)
Hours: 9 AM to 6 PM on Tuesday to Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM on weekends.

Embrace the supernatural at the “Boo Barn,” where kids ages 4 to 6 can scream at/run away from animated ghosts and goblins. Hayrides are available Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 AM to 4 PM. Warm apple fritters and a fleet of food trucks roll into the farm during the weekends, too.

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Milburn Orchards

1495 Appleton Rd., Elkton, MD; (410) 398-1349

Distance from DC: About 95 miles.
Apples: Variety rotates weekly. $2.19 per pounds
Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM on weekends.

Take advantage of unlimited hayrides and a fun corn maze for $10 per person ($5 for seniors and college students). If you’re fed up with apples, food vendors serve hot dogs, pizza, french fries, and more.

Rock Hill Orchard

28600 Ridge Rd., Mount Airy, MD; (301) 831-7427

Distance from DC: About 36 miles.
Apples: Variety rotates depending on availability. Prices by the bag. $12 for a small bag and up to two guests, $21 for a medium bag and up to four guests, $32 for a large bag and up to six guests.
Hours: 10 AM to 4 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

PUMPKIN. CANNON. When you’ve exhausted your pumpkin-pirate pretending, feed the baby cows and then cool down with freshly made fall-flavored ice cream, including apple cinnamon and maple vanilla flavors.

Stribling Orchard

11587 Poverty Hollow Ln., Markham, Virginia; (540) 364-3040

Distance from DC: About 64 miles.
Pumpkins: $3 per pie pumpkin, $0.59 per pound for large pumpkins, $1.00 per pound of heirloom pumpkins.
Apples: Golden Delicious, Stayman, Granny Smith, York. $1.50 per pound.
Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM from Tuesday through Sunday.

Leave the kids behind and drop by the orchard for a Chateau O’Brien wine tasting between 11 AM to 5 PM during October. Or, pull together a picnic spread from the bakery and listen to live music every weekend. Pick up a loaf of cinnamon-apple-raisin bread and slather on the bakery’s pumpkin butter, or try some of the local cheese with apples for a peak-autumn grilled cheese.

Daniella Byck
Lifestyle Editor

Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.