Apple U-Pick Orchards Near Fredericton: The 2026 Season, Orchard by Orchard

Why Fredericton is unusually well placed for this

New Brunswick grows apples commercially in two pockets, and one of them is ours: the Saint John River valley from Woodstock down to Gagetown, roughly 200 hectares of orchard that has been in production for more than a century. The Apple Growers of New Brunswick have represented the farms since 1904. That history is why a city of 75,000 has nine u-pick orchards within an hour, several of them run by the fourth generation of the same family, and why the Boyce Farmers Market smells like apples from the third week of August until the snow.

The season, per Tourism New Brunswick, typically opens in September and runs through October. In practice the first Paula Reds and Jersey Macs come off in late August at the warmer river orchards, McIntosh and Cortland hit their stride mid-September, and Honeycrisp, the variety that fills the parking lots, lands from the last week of September into October. A hot, dry summer pushes everything earlier; a wet one delays it. This year's provincial crop was described as in full force by mid-September, so the middle of the season is now.

The rule that saves a wasted drive

The Fredericton Capital Region tourism office puts it plainly in its own orchard roundup: u-picks can sell out quickly, so consult the Facebook page or call ahead for daily updates. Orchards do not run out of apples, they run out of the variety you came for. A farm that opens Saturday with three rows of Honeycrisp can have them picked clean by early afternoon, at which point you are choosing between Cortland and going home. Most of these farms post what is ready that morning on Facebook; a few update a recorded phone message. Ten seconds of checking beats forty minutes of driving.

Two more things worth knowing before you set out. Some orchards supply picking bags in five- and ten-pound sizes and charge by the bag; others weigh what you picked. Bring your own baskets if you want to, and bring cash as a backup even where cards are taken, since a farm's card reader lives at the mercy of rural cell coverage. Wear closed shoes; the ground under a laden tree is a carpet of windfalls and wasps.

Inside the city: Doucette's and Kelly's Fernhill

Doucette's U-Pick, 118 Carlisle Road in Douglas, is the north side's orchard, on the ridge overlooking the river about ten minutes from downtown. Eight apple varieties (reviewers name Cortland and McIntosh among them) plus Bartlett and Clapp's Favourite pears, which almost nobody else nearby offers for picking. Wagon rides run on weekends. It holds a five-star Google rating across dozens of reviews, and the recurring compliments are the prices and how easy the low trees are for small children. Phone 506-453-1582 for hours.

Kelly's Fernhill Farm, 1670 Woodstock Road, is a 400-acre working farm on the west edge of the city that opens its apples to u-pick from mid-September through October, daily from 9 a.m. until sunset. Fernhill also sells apples, maple syrup and garlic at the Boyce Market on Saturdays, so if you would rather someone else climbed the ladder, that is the stall. Phone 506-450-4163.

Fifteen minutes out: Everett Family Orchard

Everett Family Orchard, on Everett Lane in Island View (the farm gives its address as 32 Everett Lane; the tourism listing says 34; you will not miss it), is the closest full-service orchard, a fifteen-minute drive west on Route 102. Ten main varieties across six acres, and the farm's own line is that varieties change weekly, which is another way of saying check first. You can bring your own bags or use the five- and ten-pound picking bags supplied.

It is the orchard built for a family afternoon: a farm wagon tour, four horses you can visit and feed, a play area, pumpkins and squash from late September, picnic space, stroller-friendly ground, and The Apple Basket shop with honey, jams, maple syrup and Coburn fresh cider. Past listings give daily hours of 10 to 6 including holidays, with debit, credit and cash accepted. The farm's website has not been updated in years, so its Facebook page is the live source. Phone 506-459-7406.

Keswick Ridge: River View and Johnny Appleseed

Cross the river and head up Route 616 and you reach the ridge with the two orchards most Frederictonians grew up visiting.

River View Orchard, 251 Route 616, about twenty-five minutes from downtown, has the deepest variety bench close to the city: Paula Red, McIntosh, Cortland, Ginger Gold, Honeycrisp, Gala, Spartan and Empire, plus pears, plums and pumpkins in season. It also has the extras that turn a pick into an outing: wagon rides, a sandbox, and a corn maze. Past hours have run daily 10 to 6, closing at 5 on Sundays. In recent years it has hosted a fall festival and craft show on a late-September weekend with vendors and coffee; watch its page for the 2026 date. Phone 506-238-7537.

Johnny Appleseed U-Pick Orchard, 146 Crock's Point Road, twenty minutes from downtown, has been in the same family since 1954 and is now on its fourth generation. It leans classic: Jersey Mac and Paula Red early, then McIntosh, Cortland and Lobo. Pre-picked apples, squash, pumpkins, straw bales and gourds at the stand; pet-friendly; washrooms; plenty of parking. Open September and October. Make it a loop with a cone at Skinny's Scoop in Keswick on the way back. Phone 506-363-3500.

Scotch Settlement: Laughing Apple Farm

Laughing Apple Farm, 311 Route 615 in Scotch Settlement, roughly half an hour out toward Mactaquac, is the orchard that thinks it is a fairground, and that is a compliment. Eleven acres of Honeycrisp and Ambrosia for u-pick, pumpkins, gourds and cut flowers, and then the attractions: a three-acre corn maze with a seventeen-foot lookout tower in the middle, a giant sandbox, tractor wagon rides, a gourd tunnel the farm bills as the world's longest, photo stops everywhere, food, and proper washrooms. Tourism NB lists it open from mid-September to the end of October, weekends 10 to 6. It has hosted a scare maze in past Octobers; the 2026 dates were not posted when we checked. Phone 506-440-3943, and see our corn maze guide for the rest of the farm.

Down the river: Burton and the Gagetown orchards

Gilbert Farm, 419 Route 102 in Burton, about thirty minutes southeast, is a riverside orchard with resident cows and an old-fashioned variety list: Paula Red, McIntosh, Cortland, Macoun, Honeycrisp, Dudley, Wolf River, Gala, Spartan and McGowan, plus Bosc and Anjou pears, peaches and plums earlier in the season. The farm shop does cookies, apple butter, sauces and jellies. Past hours: 10 to 5 Monday to Saturday, noon to 5 Sunday. Phone 506-357-8634.

Forty minutes down Route 102, Gagetown has two orchards a few hundred metres apart. Charlotte's Family Orchard, 2287 Route 102, claims thirty-five varieties, which is the most in the region: early Paula Red, Melba, Jersey Mac and Yellow Transparent, then Honeycrisp, Cortland, McIntosh, Alexander, Wolf River, Dudley, Brunswicker, Russet, Jonagold, Ginger Gold and Evangeline, with pears, plums, corn and squash alongside. If you want an apple your grandmother would recognize, this is the orchard. Phone 506-488-2630. Cameron's Family Orchard, 2260 Route 102, grows Paula Red, McIntosh, Cortland, crabapples and Russet, with plums and pears, pre-picked produce, jellies and maple syrup, and offers farm tours. Phone 506-488-2895. Pair either with the Gagetown Distilling and Cidery shop on Court House Road (Friday and Saturday, 11 to 4) and the Arcadia scenic drive home.

Cider, the Boyce Market, and what to do with forty pounds of apples

Fresh-pressed cider is easier to find than it used to be. Everett's sells Coburn cider in its shop. Hoyt Orchards in Prince William, three miles west of Kings Landing, installed its own press in 2025 and sells its cider and a dozen varieties (Honeycrisp, Ambrosia, Ginger Gold, Sunrise, Paula Red, Lobo, Cortland, McIntosh, Dudley, Wolf River, Brunswick) at the Boyce Farmers Market on Saturdays from the third week of August through November; it is a market grower rather than a u-pick. Hall's Orchard on Gore Road in Fredericton Junction grows Golden Russet, Cortland, McIntosh and Spartan, and runs cider-making days you can join; past hours Friday and Saturday 10 to 5, Sunday 1 to 5. For the hard stuff, Gagetown Distilling and Cidery is the region's cidery.

As for the forty pounds you picked in a fit of optimism: McIntosh goes soft within weeks and is for sauce and pie now; Cortland browns slowly and is the salad apple; Honeycrisp, Spartan and Empire keep for months in a cold garage or the crisper drawer in a loosely closed bag. Keep them away from the potatoes.