As summer winds down in Rockaway, apple and cider season is getting underway at a cluster of Morris County farms just a short drive from town.
Pick-your-own apple picking across New Jersey typically gets going in late summer and runs deep into the fall, and several long-running farms nearby are already opening their fields.
In Chester, Hacklebarney Farm Cider Mill is a historic cider mill known for apple picking, fresh-pressed cider and its popular cider donuts. A few minutes away, Riamede Farm bills itself as New Jersey’s oldest pick-your-own apple orchard, with roughly 50 apple varieties plus pumpkin picking, weekend hayrides and its own cider donuts. Also in Chester, Alstede Farms runs a cider mill that blends more than 50 apple varieties into cold-pasteurized cider pressed on the farm.
Closer to home, Sun High Orchards in Randolph has welcomed families since 1945 with apple picking, a farm market and farm animals.
The Morris County Tourism Bureau highlights all of these stops in its Fall Farm Guide, and each sits within about a half-hour drive of Rockaway.
Hours, picking availability and which apples are ready shift week to week, so families are encouraged to check each farm’s website before heading out. With the first crisp mornings of fall not far off, the county’s orchards give Rockaway residents an easy way to start the season close to home.
