Where To Go Apple Picking In Chicagoland

Now that September is here and temperatures are back down to the 70s, it’s time to start thinking about your favorite fall activities. One of our favorites is apple picking.

While there are no apple orchards in Chicago, there are plenty within a 1-2 hour drive from the city. Keep reading to find out which apple orchard is best for you and your family or significant other.

County Line Orchard

From Chicago: 40 miles southeast

Head southeast of Chicago and make your way to County Line Orchard. Over forty acres of U-pick apples await you here, but that’s not all. County Line also offers a petting zoo, the Moo Choo, and a corn maze, perfect for the little ones.

To make the experience even sweeter, County Line offers a bakery with plenty of sweet treats and fresh-baked doughnuts. You can even bring your snacks out to the campfire for some s’mores.

Pro tip: Don’t miss the Barnyard Jams on the weekends!

Kuipers Family Farm

From Chicago: 55 miles west

Located in Maple Park, Illinois, Kuipers Family Farm offers a hayride to the apple orchard, where you’ll have the opportunity to fill your basket with over 20 different varieties of apples.

After you’ve chosen your apples, the hayride conveniently drops you off at the general store where you can stock up on caramel apples and fresh-baked doughnuts.

Prairie Sky Orchard

From Chicago: 60 miles northwest

If you’re looking to really stock up on apples, look no further than Prairie Sky Orchard in Union, Illinois. This orchard is open daily and specializes in apples and Asian pears.

You can expect to walk away with at least a 10lb bag of apples, which is the minimum for a group of one to four people.

Honey Hill Orchard

From Chicago: 65 miles west

If you head 65 miles west of Chicago, you’ll find Honey Hill Orchard. This orchard is conveniently located near Shabbona Lake State Park if you’re interested in making a day out of the trip.

Honey Hill offers more than a dozen types of apples to choose from. The apples aren’t the only draw here, as Honey Hill also offers a petting zoo and hay bales for children to climb.

Apple Holler

From Chicago: 65 miles north

The apples are just one of many reasons people flock to this Sturtevant, Wisconsin orchard. Apple Holler has a 74-acre orchard, which features more than 30,000 select dwarf trees so no ladder is required to apple pick.

Aside from the apples, Apple Holler has a Farm Park that features a petting zoo, tractor-pulled wagon rides, a corn maze, pedal carts, and more.

Pro tip: Apple Holler also has a restaurant; you don’t want to miss it.

Royal Oak Farm Orchard

From Chicago: 80 miles northwest

With over 120 beautiful acres of orchard near the Wisconsin state line, Royal Oak Farm Orchard has over 17,000 apple trees and more than 30 varieties of apples to choose from.

Royal Oak also features the country’s first apple tree maze, Amaze N’ Apples, where you can meander through 1.5 miles of trails with 9 varieties of apples.

Did we miss your favorite orchard? Let us know in the comments and be sure to mention why it’s your favorite orchard!