Central PA's Pick-Your-Own Farms Offer Fun and Fruitful Harvest

Here in Lancaster County, agriculture is our No. 1 industry, making our farm markets and orchards great places to get a mouth-watering taste of our biggest business. A number of family-owned farms not far from After Eight Bed and Breakfast give customers a first-hand chance to harvest nature's bounty and pick their own produce. Besides the undeniable fun of wandering through the fields and trees, the produce you pick yourself is fresher, more nutritious and often tastes better than anything you'd find in a grocery store. There's nothing quite as satisfying or delicious as picking your favorite fresh produce straight from the fields and orchards and immediately enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Check out these four farms that offer pick-your-own produce, each just a short drive from our historic inn.

Kauffman Orchards | 3097 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bird-in-Hand, PA
Nothing beats picking your own sun-ripened fruit! At Kauffman Orchards, walking amongst the fruit trees is a beautiful place to slow down and appreciate the pace of nature. Their U-Pick season opens with strawberries in late May, continues in the summer with cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums and pears, and ends in the fall with apples and pumpkins. While you’re there, you can enjoy the picnic area, feed the animals and take a ramble through the wildflower patch. They have a brick-n-mortar market about a half-mile away from the U-Pick orchards, as well as a stand at Lancaster Central Market, where they offer a cornucopia of Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish-style foods.

Cherry Hill Orchards | 400 Long Lane, Lancaster, PA
Lancaster's largest pick-your-own fruit farm and farmers market. On 150 acres, they maintain more than 2,500 fruit trees with over 100 varieties of apples, cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots. Much of each crop is harvested by customers; the rest of the fruit is sold at the farm’s store. Throughout each fruit growing season, Cherry Hill features different pick-your-own adventures for customers. Cherry trees are the first of the fruit trees that will be ready to harvest. Dark and light sweet cherries can be harvested in mid-June, followed by sour cherries, which are the preferred cherries for pie-making and canning. Peaches will be ripe and ready for picking in early August; apples will be harvested from early August through mid-November, depending on the variety.

Masonic Village Farm Market | 310 Eden View Road, Elizabethtown, PA
Throughout the summer and fall months, you can head into the 80-acre orchard and surrounding fields at the Masonic Village Farm Market to pick a plethora of fresh produce, from tart cherries and apricots in early July to pumpkins in October. Right now, peaches are bountiful, and it won't be long before apples are ready to be plucked from the trees — with 60 apple varieties grown here. You can even hand-cut your own sunflowers! Check the harvest schedule to see what Mother Nature has ready for you. Pick-your-own is open Thursdays to Sundays from July through October. In addition to the pick-your-own offerings, the Masonic Village Farm Market features an array of homegrown and local produce, baked and jarred goods, products from specialty vendors, and a seasonal café with hand-dipped ice cream and specialty sandwiches. Don't leave without sampling their award-winning apple cider!

Flinchbaugh's Orchard | 110 Ducktown Road, Hellam, PA
Located just across the Susquehanna River from Lancaster County, the first fruit trees at Flinchbaugh's Orchard in eastern York County were planted in 1951, which today encompasses nearly 420 acres of land and is maintained by three generations of the Flinchbaugh family. Right now, you can cut your own zinnias and sunflowers from their flower fields, then come back in the spring for tulips. As for pick-your-own produce, peaches can be picked on select Saturdays in late July and August, and apples and pumpkins from mid-September to early November. Flinchbaugh's also hosts a number of seasonal festivals and activities, including a popular corn maze that's now in its 12th year.