In season right now ()
Ripe and pickable near you this month — call the farm first to be sure.
Late May – late June
Strawberries
In season nowBest picking: First two weekends of June
The season opener and the easiest pick for toddlers — berries sit low to the ground, right at kid height. The window is short (often just three to four weeks) and the most weather-dependent of the year, so go early in June and call ahead.
- Farms View Wayne · ~30 min
The closest real strawberry u-pick — a genuine 1894 century farm with a scratch bakery and a barn yard. $5/person + by the pound.
- Wightman's Farms Morristown · ~30 min
Family-run since 1922; strawberries in early June, then peaches and apples later. Year-round market with famous cider donuts.
- Ort Farms Long Valley · ~45 min
Wide-open 400-acre farm with June strawberries plus a petting zoo and pony/train rides for the littles.
- Alstede Farms Chester · ~40 min
The do-everything farm — something is pickable here from late May clear through December.
Cherries also ripen for a quick week or two in late June at the Hunterdon farms (Melick's).
Late June – August
Blueberries
In season nowBest picking: July
New Jersey is the birthplace of the cultivated blueberry, and they're the lowest-stress pick of all — no stooping, no thorns, and kids can eat as they go. July is prime.
- Hillview Farms Gillette · ~30 min
Close and quiet — blueberries in July, then peaches in August and apples in September.
- Alstede Farms Chester · ~40 min
Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries all summer alongside the rest of the harvest.
- Snyder's Farm Franklin Twp · ~40 min
Berries from May into fall. Cash only — bring some.
- Phillips Farms Milford · a longer ~50 min
The most varied berry picking around (and the best 'what we're picking this week' page) if you'll make the drive.
Peaches
In season nowBest picking: August
Jersey peaches are a genuinely under-rated pick — the state is a top-five producer and the fruit hangs at a friendly height. Mid-to-late summer, between the berries and the apples.
- Hillview Farms Gillette · ~30 min
August peaches, close to home.
- Wightman's Farms Morristown · ~30 min
Peaches mid-summer, then straight into apple season.
- Alstede Farms Chester · ~40 min
Peaches plus everything else all summer long.
- Melick's Town Farm Oldwick · ~45 min
The largest apple grower in NJ also does summer peaches and a fall cider mill.
Sunflowers & cut flowers
In season nowBest picking: Late summer
Not food, but maybe the best photo of the year. Walk-in fields where kids cut their own bouquet — short bloom windows that the farms announce on social the week they open.
- Stony Hill Farms Chester · ~40 min
Sunflowers in summer, then the area's best corn maze in fall.
- Ort Farms Long Valley · ~45 min
Cut-your-own flowers with rides and animals to round out the visit.
- Alstede Farms Chester · ~40 min
A sunflower trail through the summer into the fall festival.
Late August – early November
Apples
In season nowBest picking: Mid-September – mid-October
The big one. Different varieties ripen across the fall — early Galas and Honeycrisp in September, sweet Fujis and Winesaps into late October — so the farm's 'what's ripe today' board changes week to week. Cider and cider donuts are the reward at the end.
- Sun High Orchard Randolph · ~35 min
Family-run since 1945 and the #1-rated thing to do in Randolph — old-fashioned, affordable, with homemade ice cream and a few farm animals.
- Riamede Farm Chester · ~40 min
One of NJ's oldest u-pick orchards with 50+ varieties and a hand-painted 'What's Ripe Today?' board at the gate. Heirloom apples you won't find in a store.
- Wightman's Farms Morristown · ~30 min
Apple picking plus a weekend 'Farm 'n' Fun' fall festival with hayrides and a corn maze.
- Demarest Farms Hillsdale · ~35 min
Apples, a petting zoo and a play area — the most complete day-out on the Bergen side (reservation-based; book ahead).
- Alstede Farms Chester · ~40 min
Apples, hayrides, animals and a cider mill on one big farm.
Mid-September – end of October
Pumpkins
In season nowBest picking: Early-to-mid October
The full fall-festival package — pumpkins off the vine, hayrides out to the patch, corn mazes, and the farm animals. The single most kid-pleasing outing of the year.
- Fairfield Farms Fairfield · ~15 min
The closest fall outing to West Orange — pumpkins, hayrides, a corn maze and a goat exhibit, all about 15 minutes away.
- Wightman's Farms Morristown · ~30 min
Pumpkins and the weekend 'Farm 'n' Fun' festival with unlimited hayrides and a corn maze.
- Norz Hill Farm Hillsborough · ~40 min
A standout petting zoo (a zonkey, an emu, a peacock) alongside the pumpkin patch and hayrides.
- Stony Hill Farms Chester · ~40 min
Pumpkins plus a 10-acre themed corn maze and a little-kid hay-bale maze.
- Secor Farms Mahwah · ~38 min
Classic pumpkin-and-corn-maze fall day with a petting zoo and cider donuts.
Christmas trees
In season nowBest picking: Early December
The season's last pick: cut your own tree, with hot cider and wreaths to send you into winter. Most farms open the weekend after Thanksgiving.
- Alstede Farms Chester · ~40 min
Cut-your-own trees to close out a year of picking on the same farm.
- Heaven Hill Farm Vernon · a longer ~50 min
Trees, wreaths and a holiday market with a garden center, if you'll make the drive north.
Pick-your-own is the best kind of morning out with little kids — outdoors, hands-on, and you go home with something you grew. The catch is timing: each crop has a short window, and the farms rarely make it easy to tell what's ripe right now. Here's the whole North Jersey season at a glance, with the closest farms for each — most within about a 45-minute drive of West Orange.
Common questions
What can you pick right now near West Orange?
It depends on the month: strawberries late May into June, blueberries and peaches through the summer, sunflowers in late summer, then apples and pumpkins through September and October, and cut-your-own Christmas trees from late November. The banner at the top of this page highlights what's in season today — but always confirm with the farm before you drive out, because picking windows shift a week or two with the weather.
When is strawberry picking season in North Jersey?
Roughly late May through late June, with the peak in the first two weekends of June. It's the shortest and most weather-dependent window of the year, so go early and call ahead — a hot spell or a busy weekend can clear a field fast. Farms View in Wayne is the closest real strawberry u-pick to West Orange.
When is apple picking season?
Late August through early November, with the best picking from mid-September into mid-October. Different varieties ripen at different times across the fall, so the farm's 'what's ripe today' changes week to week — call or check their Facebook for the day's varieties. Sun High Orchard (Randolph) and Riamede Farm (Chester) are local favorites.
Why does this page say to call the farm first?
Because pick-your-own is live agriculture, not a store. What's ripe and whether the field is open changes daily with the weather and the crowds. A quick call or a look at the farm's Facebook the morning of saves you a wasted drive — and it's the one thing almost no farm makes easy to check online. That's exactly the gap Bright & Early is trying to close.