The Ultimate Apple Picking Experience At Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards

I wrote this post on behalf of Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards. Thank you Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards for the behind the scenes and for the ultimate experience. This is not a sponsored review and all views and opinions are of my own and were not influenced in any way.    

 

 Beak & Skiff

 

I am a city girl. Born in Florida and have lived here all my life. While my husband is from Upstate New York. Both of us have grown up in two completely different surroundings. Me the city, him the country. I have seen orange trees while he has seen apple trees. I had never seen a apple tree until a few weeks ago at Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards in New York. 

 

Beak & Skiff started out as a  family owned orchard began in 1911 when George Skiff, an onion farmer on the North Side of Syracuse, and Andrew Beak, a dairy farmer, met at the farmers market and decided it would be fruitful to join forces and enter the emerging apple business. They found that the hillside area along Route 20 provided the perfect conditions for growing apples and began planting that very year. In the 1920’s and 30’s Beak & Skiff began selling apples to grocery stores such as Victory, A&P and other small local grocers. Many years pasted as Beak & Skiff lost crops of apples due to freezes but they kept pushing through and came up with irrigation’s and other methods to remedy this problem. Then in 1975 Beak & Skiff diversified from the strictly wholesale business of past years by opening our pick your own orchard on what has become known as Apple Hill. A few years later we converted an old dairy barn into the Apple Hill Country Store and bake shop. 

 

beak & skiff

 

When we pulled up my jaw dropped because I had never seen so many beautiful apples! Their orchards were full of trees which brightly colored apples. I could not wait for our family to experience apple picking.  

 

beak & skiff

Thankfully my mother-in-law has a dear friend that works there and we got a lesson in apples (which apples to pick and how to pick them).  The kids could not wait to sink their teeth into these beautiful apples. The McIntosh apples we picked were sweet with yet a nice tart taste.  This was an experience my kids jumped at the chance, to get to pick their own apples! I even picked apples with the baby on my back! 

beak & skiff kids collage

 After apple picking we headed over to their wonderful Apple Hill Country Store and Bake Shop. Whether it’s a fresh cider donut (which I have to say are some of the best donuts ever), a warm apple pie or viewing the bee hive Apple Hill has something for everyone. This quaint country store offers a variety of products such as honey, local NY cheddar cheese, pancake and bread mixes, homemade fudge and of course anything apple you can imagine. You can even view the fresh cider being made inside the store.

 

beak & skiff

 

After sample the fudge, watching the bakers bake and purchasing some goodies to leave with we headed over to the Cafe’ and the 1911 Tasting Room.  

 

beak & Skiff 1911

 

The new cafe and wine tasting area is the perfect place to take a rest after your family day of apple picking. My kids and I sampled the apple cider which Beak & Skiff makes on their premises. 

 

beak & Skiff cider tasting

The orchard is now open to the public for apple picking until late October. They have certain times of the Fall season where you can pick different apple varieties.  During apple picking season Beak & Skiff has a big kids area which offers rides and games. If you do not want to apple pick then head over to the apple barn and purchase different varieties of fresh apples and preview their apple sorting machine!

 

beak & skiff

Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards has provided families in Central NY with a place to create wonderful family memories year after year. They succeeded in doing so for our family too! Our family had a wonderful time at Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards. There is so much to do!

 

Follow Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards on Facebook to stay to date on apple picking updates! 

 

Stay tuned for some yummy apple recipes using Beak & Skiff apples! 

I wrote this post on behalf of Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards. Thank you Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards for the behind the scenes and for the ultimate experience. This is not a sponsored review and all views and opinions are of my own and were not influenced in any way.    
 
Mama to 5 Blessings is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.   

Comments

  1. We go apple picking every year and my boys love it. Nothing like fresh apples!

  2. Wow! It’s that time again already?! Where did the summer go? This place looks like such a fun and enjoyable day for the family. I loved apple picking as a kid – some of my best family memories come from those events. – Katy

  3. When I was a kid, we went apple picking all the time. Living in the Midwest, I think it’s a law 😉

  4. As native Central New Yorker I can say we take our apples seriously! My high school was right next to a little cider mill and to this day my favorite smell is the mix of the old wood and crushed apples from the press. It’s awesome that your kids got to experience apple picking so young!

  5. I remember going apple picking with my family in Tennessee when I would visit them when I was a child. This looks like fun. I’ve never taken my kids but I need to!

  6. Sadly, I have never been apple picking. I need to make an effort to introduce my son tho this fun activity.

  7. Wow this orchard is so idyllic! I love apple picking and it’s a lot harder to do it now that I live in GA, but there are some places a few hours away that we frequent!

  8. What a cute little place! I have never been apple picking. We don’t have that down here in South TX. I’d love to do this someday.

  9. I love that you included the history behind Beak and Skiff’s apple orchard. I love success stories like this and it looks like your kids had so much fun picking their own apples.

  10. I love this time of year. I’m not aware of an actual apple orchard in my area, but all of our neighborhood trees are just overflowing with apples right now and I am so excited!

  11. This looks absolutely lovely! I think apple picking is something I should do with my family.

  12. I grew up in upstate New York and miss apple picking! Fortunately, we are going back to NY in Oct, so I am hoping to get some apple and pumpkin picking in!

  13. Amy Desrosiers says:

    That place looks so incredibly amazing! I want to go apple picking right now after seeing your photos!

  14. Gorgeous picks! I love orchards like this.

  15. This looks like it was such a fun time. You pick orchards are a great way to spend quality time with the family.

  16. Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards looks like a great place. Those pictures are beautiful.

  17. Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards looks like a great place. Those pictures are beautiful.

  18. I love you pick farms. They’re really fun. It’s always a good time at a place like Beak & Skiff.

  19. I’d love to take a trip to Beak & Skiff with the family. It looks like a great way to spend some quality time together.

  20. It looks like you all had a great time. I’d love to take my daughter there. She’d love it.

  21. Oh what an awesome orchard! I need to find out if there are any pick your own orchards in our area! I would love to do this!

  22. Kimberly Conover says:

    Those apple orchards are gorgeous! I live in Virginia and I can tell you that apple picking is serious business here. 😉 Aren’t apple cider donuts the best?! I love them!

  23. Your kids are SO cute! Living in New England affords us the opportunity to pick tons of delicious fruit! I’m so excited to take my daughter apple and pumpkin picking in a few weeks!

  24. I’m pretty sure apple picking is the thing I miss most from my days on the east coast.

  25. I’d love to take my kids apple picking! Thanks for the inspiration.

  26. Your kids look so very happy!! I love memories like this from my childhood. We get our delicious apples from the Farmer’s Market.

  27. Your kids are adorable! It looks like they had so much fun apple picking! What a fun day!

  28. Oh wow that looks like such a fun apple orchard. Looks like some tasty apples too! What a fun way to spend the day!

  29. There’s nothing like apple picking in the fall! Those apples look absolutely gorgeous.

  30. We have not gone apple picking yet this year I hope we can find the time.

  31. I’ve always wanted to go to an apple orchard! It looks like you had a great time.

  32. So funny, my hubby and I grew up on Long Island so apple picking was a regular fall event for us. Now we have moved to Florida and started a family but do not have anything like that down here. We are waiting until next year to take them back just for this reason. I want them to have the experiences we did as kids.

  33. We usually pick apples from our own trees, but we have no apples this year! A late frost killed all the buds, so we will have to head to a local orchard. Nothing beat fresh apples though.

  34. What a beautiful place!! My Fall goal is to go apple picking, so I better do that soon, it’s already starting to frost at night!

  35. I have never been apple picking. I can imagine it would be something I would enjoy though.

  36. that is just awesome. Back when I lived on the NE, we would go to pick apples at the orchards this time of year and it was so much fun. Wish we had something like this here

  37. Ann BAcciaglia says:

    I loved picking apples when I was a kid. We used to go every year and I have such fond memories, all these years later.

  38. Beak & Skiff looks like so much fun. This would be a great outing for my family.

  39. Looks like a great place and a fun time! I’m so ready to go apple picking!

  40. This place looks amazing!

  41. Wow! For a city girl, this is really an experience to remember. It’s nice to see the look on the kids faces with apples in hand. Sometimes, there are really better ways to get goodies than to simply buy it from the grocery store. Thanks for sharing your experience!

  42. I’ve gone to apple orchards and farms oodles of times, but I’ve never picked my own. I don’t know why!

  43. This Orchard is beautiful. I love shop in the barn! We have an orchard close to our home that is family owned and I love that so many people in our community shop directly from them. It really is important to support our local growers – especially when they really go above and beyond to provide a great product and experience for the community:)

  44. I love going to apple and pumpkin farms every fall. It is definitely one of my favorite things to do in my favorite season.

  45. I love fall, but don’t necessarily get the same beautiful things that upstate NY and that general Eastern area do. I love looking at your pics and just thinking of all of the yummy apple recipes I can make.

  46. Apple picking seems like such a great time. I have never done it and would like to try it with my children.

  47. This looks like so much fun! I love “you pick” farms.

  48. This place looks awesome. I love apple picking and cannot wait to do this with my daughter.

  49. We are so blessed. We live in a valley full of fruits to pick. My daughter loves to help me pick peaches, pears, plums, apricots, cherries and apples! It is fun and I love getting to eat the fruit fresh off the tree!

  50. Apple Orchards are my favorite. It is a great family memory too.

  51. It is so fun to pick your own fruit; we love to do that as a family. Beak and Skiff looks like they offer a lot more then just that though. My family would love this.

  52. Everything is so green! We have brown here in AZ. This looks so fun and tasty!

  53. That looks like such a fun place! Apple picking is on my to-do list this fall. I hope we can find a place around here that’s as cool as that one!

  54. Autumn, in my opinion is the most beautiful season of them all. There are so many colors and falling leaves and the weather is perfect. It isn’t too hot or too cold. These pictures look great and it looks like you had a wonderful time with the kids

  55. Looks like a fun time. Picking fruit is so much fun. I haven’t done apples with my kids but have done strawberries, blueberries and such. great pics.

  56. I don’t think I’ve ever been apple picking before, but would love to go. Looks like a really nice place to spend an afternoon with the family.

  57. one of my fave parts of living in the northeast is the foliage- that comes along with apple picking. we usually go twice- once for early apples and later for foliage and other apples.

    and random tidbit- one of the first times my husband and i went apple picking together, it poured rain and was super cold. and he proposed that night

  58. They have an area that is similar here called Apple Hill. It is fun to take the family but we haven’t ever got to pick apples, we usually buy them already picked. I love how apple orchards look, so pretty!

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