Apple Picking Near NYC Especially for Families with Toddlers

9/9/11 - By Anna Fader

[UPDATED: August 11, 2012]

With apple- and pumpkin-picking season closing in, and the fall weather approaching, how best to include the little ones? We went looking for some of the best places to go apple picking within one hour of New York City that are good for families with toddlers. These spots have small trees with low-hanging fruit so that little ones can reach the apples, plus other fun stuff for kids like hay rides, petting zoos and more.

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A reader recommended Silverman's Farm in Connecticut as a great place to pick your own apples with toddlers. It's about an hour from Manhattan and has little trees that even a toddler can reach. Silverman's Farm also offers hayrides, a pumpkin patch for pumpkin picking, a green market and a petting zoo.

I've also heard that Applewood Orchards is good for little pickers and offers family fun with hay rides, animals, face painting, puppet shows, live music and homemade cider doughnuts. (There's also wine tasting for adults.) If you go to Applewoods, you can visit nearby Storm King Art Center afterward.



For full coverage of apple picking, pumpkin picking, strawberry picking and farm fun info in the tri state area, check out our Pick Your Own Guide.

And now that you've got all those apples, take a look at these Apple Recipes or Kids and Families.

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About the Author

Anna Fader

Founder of Mommy Poppins

A fourth-generation Brooklynite, Anna started Mommy Poppins in 2007 to help families find the best things to do with kids in NYC, with a particular emphasis on sharing activities that are free, affordable, and enriching. The site, used by millions of families, has grown to become the ultimate resource for parents in the major US cities, plus travel guides for 100s of destinations.

Anna is a believer in the magic of summer camps, traveling with kids, and that you can raise kids on a budget and still have a rich life full of amazing memories. Anna's first Mommy Poppins book, The Young Traveler's Journal and Activity Book, published in 2025 and co-written with her daughter, Amelia Eigerman, brings that ethos to life, in addition to this website.