2 Great Orchards Near New York City for Fall Picking

New York City residents may be astonished to discover just how close they are to Old McDonald. Although the last remaining farm within city limits, Klein Farm in Queens, finally closed a few years ago and is now awaiting development, and the old farm that once supplied Creedmore Psychiatric Center with homegrown vegetables is now the Queens Farm museum www.queensfarm.org/, the city remains ringed with farms in upstate New York and Long Island.

Picking local produce is a terrific way to enjoy the freshest product, get healthy air and exercise, entertain the children, support hard-working farmers, preserve open space and safeguard the agricultural areas that protect our upstate watersheds from pollution and over-development.

The Orchards of Concklin, www.theorchardsofconcklin.com/ just off South Mountain Road in Pomona, NY is just a short distance on scenic route 9W that runs along the Palisades overlooking the Hudson River from New York City. This route contains several gorgeous outlooks with picnic areas, restrooms and panoramic views of the river and skies full of soaring hawks. If you visit the Orchards of Concklin during their peak season of September through early October, be sure to take a brief rest at one of these so that you can also observe the Fall bird migrations.

Try to make several Fall trips at different times so that you can experience the full variety of apples, pears and pumpkins grown by this scenic farm that has been in continuous production for almost 300 years. When the surrounding hills are painted in burnt orange, yellow and red there is no more glorious sight. And the Orchards are also close to several state parks including: High Tor, just down the road, and Montgomery Lake State Park and Bear Mountain just a little farther on.

In addition to the apples, The Orchards of Concklin sells a full array of baked goods, quiches, apple cider and gourmet offerings such as White House Coffee, and Stone Mountain Kitchen jams and preserves. And apple-picking poles are available so the wee ones can get in on the fun too. Some years a maize maze for family fun is planted as well.

For those bereft of automotive options, the Long Island Railroad www.mta.info/lirr/getaways/LongIsland/ offers an Orchard Harvest on September 12th. For under $50.00 you can get in on a day of fun that starts with a hayride to harvest apples at Wickham's Fruit Farm where farmer Wickham will show you the correct way to pick an apple so that you don't damage the tree (gently roll the apple up so that it naturally separates from the spur). You are then driven to Duckwalk Vineyards North for 5 tastings of wine. Shopping in the delightful village of Greenport--Don't forget to ride the restored 1920s carrousel or visit the Rail museum-ends your day.

Wickham's Fruit Farm www.wickhamsfruitfarm.com/ has been in continuous production since 1661 on some of the oldest land cultivated by Europeans in America. The land has now been placed in Suffolk County's Farmland Preservation program so that the 300 acre farm overlooking the Peconic Bay will remain a beautiful treasure for Long Island and the nation for decades to come.