Apple Picking at Orleans Fruit Farm

It’s apple picking season and we headed out to our favourite local apple orchard located right in Orleans.

Orleans Fruit Farm is located at 1399 St. Joseph and the apple orchards are now open on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm for apple picking.

While there are less activities for the kids here than other orchards we have visited (they usually have a barn to play in and a play structure) the location and ease of getting there make it our favourite easy day out for apples.

COVID-19 updates

This year there have been a few changes to how they operate:

• There is no climbing in the trees and all structures and the barn are closed for playing.

• Masks must be worn in areas where you’re close to others.

• You now pick a bag (small is $18 and large is $30) and fill those and there is no weighing the apples as you leave. I’ve heard this is how many orchards have run for a while now so that may be a permanent change.

One of the reasons I love going to the orchard every year is because we’re always able to get great photos of the kids in the trees. This year, while they couldn’t climb the trees, still yielded some fun photos. :)

In these COVID-19 times we haven’t gone out quite as much as usual so it was a fun way to get out and do something outside.

And we got a full family masked selfie too! :)

If you’re wondering what to do with your apples, try out these apple recipes from our archives:

BBQ apples

Apple sauce
Apple crisp

Take your newly made apple sauce and make this breakfast sandwich

Share in the comments - what’s your favourite orchard and what are your favourite apple recipes??

Pick Your Own Apples at Log Cabin Orchards

Nothing says fall like picking apples, and doing so is a long-standing tradition in my family. For as far back as I can remember, my mom, myself and now my daughter, take a weekday off from “real life” and go apple picking. We have picked apples from many Ottawa apple orchards and this year we found what we consider our new favourite spot – Log Cabin Orchard in Osgoode, Ontario.

Although this orchard is not as large as other Ottawa apple orchards, and there is no fancy corn maze, this 33-acre orchard has a lot of character. In addition to the orchard itself, there is a beautiful log cabin to be admired as well as a small petting zoo – with a few friendly pigs (this year there was also piglets), roosters, a donkey and a goat (there were also baby goats this year).  My daughter loved going right into the goats’ pen and feeding them, playing with them and then being followed around by them. It was the highlight of her day!

Once we were able to convince my daughter to actually pick apples instead of playing with her new animal friends, we easily picked a bushel of delicious McIntosh apples. They are the reddest and sweetest macs I have had in a long time. Apparently this year’s sudden onslaught of cool nights helped sweeten the crop.

Depending on the time of year, Log Cabin Orchard grows and offers McIntosh apples, Nova Mac apples, Lobo apples, Paula Red apples and Cortland apples – and around Thanksgiving weekend they also have the mildly-tart Liberty apples (which are great for making apple sauce)!

The staff of Log Cabin Orchard is extremely friendly. They even told my mom and I not to carry the big bushel of apples back to our car once we were done and to instead walk back to the cabin. The staff member picked up the bushel in his truck and brought it to our car.  The Maloney family owns Log Cabin Orchard and from the moment you pull up, you can see the pride in ownership. They warmly greet you and ask if you have visited before and if you have any questions.

Log Cabin Orchard also has a pumpkin patch, which makes it an ideal spot to get two main ingredients for very popular Thanksgiving pies ;) Just like the apples, you can either pick your own pumpkins or choose from the selection of pumpkins picked by their very own “professional pumpkin pickers.”

So, if you’re looking for a friendly family-run orchard that isn’t that far from the city, I encourage you to check out Log Cabin Orchards – it’s a great way to spend a fall day! Between the animals, the apples and the pumpkin patch, Log Cabin Orchards is a one-stop country farm for all things fall. 

Flashback: Apple Picking at Mountain Orchard

Apparently this is THE place to be for apple picking every year! Ali wrote this post several years ago....have you been to Mountain lately?

It's that time of year again. The air is getting crisper and the kids are settling into their school routine. For me, fall always means apple picking. Every fall for the past several years, my girls gather a bunch of friends and we go apple picking.

Mountain Orchard has always been our orchard of choice. It's a great place for families, it's close to Ottawa (only a short 40 minute drive on the 416 toward Kempville) and the majority of the trees there are actually the direct descendants of the original McIntosh tree, first discovered by John McIntosh in Dundela, Ontario, in 1829. I think that's pretty cool.

Mountain Orchard is about more then just apple picking. There are corn maizes, wagon rides, a hay jump and (best of all) the hot fresh apple cider donuts that are made right in front of you. They are the real reason we go back every year. Well, that and the fresh apple cider.

My girls love climbing into the apple trees to get the apples and there are trees for kids of all ages - with ladders for the older kids to climb and low hanging branches for the little ones.

No matter where you go apple picking, it's a great way to spend time with your family and friends and get outside to enjoy the fall weather. All the apple orchard near Ottawa are open now and many, like Mountain Orchard, are open every day until the apple picking season is done (usually by the end of September).

Have you been apple picking yet? We're going again this weekend! 

Flashback: Falling for Fall

This post was originally published on my personal blog - three years ago! We still love the Orleans Fruit Farm, and yes, I still love that kale salad :)

Although we officially have five more days to go, I'm going to jump the gun and call it: Autumn is Here. The nights are cold, the mornings are chilly (and in many parts of this world, frosty!), and the days are clear and bright. As Stuart McLean said on the Vinyl Cafe, the sky is a different kind of blue now than it is in July and August.

What better way to kick off our first fall weekend than with a visit to the local apple orchard:

The sunflowers welcomed us as though we were royalty

Her Highness was all too willing to oblige

The bees were busy this weekend - they know the end is near

A curious little elf hid amongst the towering flowers...

But emerged to bite into every apple she could find - whether they be on the ground or in the trees

"How do you like them apples!?"

 A warm dinner of curried carrot soup - thanks to the sweet roots we had growing in our garden this year

And freshly baked whole wheat bread, with flour from Castor River Farm

To finish off, a salad with garden tomatoes and local purple kale

Tonight I'm hoping for dreams as vivid as the fall colours....

Apple Picking at Mountain Orchard

It's that time of year again. The air is getting crisper and the kids are settling into their school routine. For me, fall always means apple picking. Every fall for the past several years, my girls gather a bunch of friends and we go apple picking. Mountain Orchard has always been our orchard of choice. It's a great place for families, it's close to Ottawa (only a short 40 minute drive on the 416 toward Kempville) and the majority of the trees there are actually the direct descendants of the original McIntosh tree, first discovered by John McIntosh in Dundela, Ontario, in 1829. I think that's pretty cool.

Mountain Orchard is about more then just apple picking. There are corn maizes, wagon rides, a hay jump and (best of all) the hot fresh apple cider donuts that are made right in front of you. They are the real reason we go back every year. Well, that and the fresh apple cider.

My girls love climbing into the apple trees to get the apples and there are trees for kids of all ages - with ladders for the older kids to climb and low hanging branches for the little ones.

No matter where you go apple picking, it's a great way to spend time with your family and friends and get outside to enjoy the fall weather. All the apple orchard near Ottawa are open now and many, like Mountain Orchard, are open every day until the apple picking season is done (usually by the end of September).

Have you been apple picking yet? We're going again this weekend!