Orchards near Big Lake, MN

Delano

Apple Jack Orchards has drawn Twin Cities families to the banks of the Crow River in Delano for more than 30 years, across 90 acres of apples, u-pick raspberries, pumpkins, and squash. A 100-year-old barn houses the Olde Barn Gift Shop and bakery, selling jams, sauces, and fresh baked goods alongside wagon rides and fall entertainment.

Greenfield

Knapton's grows five acres of summer red and yellow raspberries, an acre of fall raspberries, pick-your-own apples, and a large pumpkin patch at the corner of Highway 55 and Lake Sarah Heights Drive in Greenfield. The farm also raises cherries, pears, sweet corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, and winter squash. It runs from late June through November, about 20 miles west of Minneapolis in western Hennepin County.

Princeton

JQ Fruit Farm and Orchard grows pick-your-own blueberries on six acres of roughly 10,000 plants raised herbicide- and pesticide-free, plus u-pick apples with a half-peck minimum and raspberries. It sits on 33rd Street outside Princeton in Mille Lacs County, north of the Twin Cities. Berry picking runs midsummer and apples in early fall, and the farm makes its own products from the harvest.

More than 50 fall attractions spread across this orchard west of the Twin Cities, with free admission and parking. Pick from over 20 apple varieties, pre-picked or u-pick, plus pick-your-own pumpkins starting in mid-September. The petting farm holds goats, pigs, cattle, peacocks and turkeys, and there are wagon rides, a corn maze, a trackless train, jump pillows and corn pits. A $25 wristband covers the rides, or pay per activity. Open Thursday through Sunday. Email [email protected].

Maple Plain

Homestead Orchard, now operating as Moondance Orchard, is the oldest and largest apple orchard in Hennepin County, on County Road 92 north of Maple Plain. The small, family-run place opens in August for pick-your-own and pre-picked apples and presses its own cider. Older directory listings still carry the Homestead name, but the current Facebook page runs under Moondance. Call (763) 479-3186 to check picking before visiting.

Minnetrista

An apple orchard on rolling land in Minnetrista, started by Lowell and Phyllis Schaper in the mid-1970s and grown to roughly 12 acres of trees on a 40-acre property. Fall weekends bring school tours, a general store, and stands selling brats, donuts and cider pressed from the orchard's own apples for sister label Painter Creek Winery. The operation has since rebranded as Everly Farms, adding a restaurant and tasting room. Phone (763) 325-4024.

Anoka

Watertown

LuceLine Orchard on Rose Avenue in Watertown grows about 10,000 apple trees, 10 acres of pumpkins, and 4,500 grapevines. The family started in 2004 with 300 apple trees. Varieties include Honeycrisp, Zestar, SweeTango, Sweet 16, and Fireside, harvested September into mid-October. Weekends bring full service: hayrides, a corn maze, mini donuts, a petting zoo, and a beer garden pouring the orchard's own cider, wine, and beer.