I always associate one thing with the fall — apples. And lots of them. This year we decided to give apple picking at Hillview Farms a try. Since having the kids, we try to go once a year and we usually switch up where we go to check out some new places along the way.
I have passed by the farm some on a few of my longer runs and always been curious and a friend recommended it. From the road, it looks quite modest. I was pleasantly surprised how much more there is to the farm than I expected.
Planning your visit
The cost for the tractor ride up and over to the orchards is $10 per person. We thankfully arrived early afternoon, as we saw the crowd pick up significantly around 2PM.
Even with the tractor ride, you will still likely be doing a fair amount of walking on varied terrain, so recommend comfortable shoes. Ans warning that the basket they give you to put the apples in holds way more than it looks like!
Picking apples and pumpkins
When we went, even with their apple crop down a bit, there were more than enough great apples from which to choose — with rows tagged along the edge to tell you where you could pick.
This year unfortunately was not a kind one for pumpkins. This location lost their entire pumpkin crop! They do however have some great pumpkins of all sorts they brought down from their other farm in Vermont.
We loved this photo opp they have set up in front of their market — a perfect way to check in every year and see how much the kids have grown!
Farm Market
Make sure to spend some time in their market. We have been to a lot of these around New Jersey and had no idea we had one this good so close by all along! Great selection of fresh fruits and veggies, pies and honey. We will definitely be back for another round of apple picking at Hillview Farms. And now to enjoy some of the homemade apple butter I made!
223 Meyersville Road, Gillette, NJ – 908.647.0957
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