Our summer wouldn’t be complete without a few trips to a local orchard to pick fresh, delicious fruit. Last August our search for “peach picking near me” led us to find Weaver’s Orchard in Morgantown, PA, where we enjoyed picking some of the most delicious freestone peaches we’ve ever had. My two young daughters and I spent an afternoon picking delicious peaches and apples at this impressive orchard. The peach picking experience was high on our list of pick-your-own fruit experiences and we are so glad to support a local family-owned business.
Peach Picking Near Me
When searching for a great place to go peach picking, consider these helpful tips:
- Search for your local area. The website PickYourOwn.org is my go-to resource for this. You can find PYO near home, on vacation, and everywhere in between! Of course, you can also search by Google and Facebook to find places to pick peaches yourself, but I really love this site and I’ve used it for many years to find fun places to take my kids.
- Expand your “peach picking near me” search to include neighboring counties. If you live close enough to the county line, consider checking for pick-your-own opportunities in nearby counties.
- Call ahead. You don’t want to drive 30 or 40 minutes to find out the place is closed or all picked out of peaches! Calling ahead will help you to clear up any questions you have, like where to park, how much it costs, and any policies you might need to know.
- Bring your own container. With covid numbers on the rise, it makes good sense to bring your own picking basket. The farm attendant will likely weigh your basket and subtract the weight from your final purchase price after picking. We use a big red bucket with a dog leash wrapped through twice and clipped to the handle. This isn’t as fancy as some of the options out there, but it lets us pick a ton of fresh fruit!
- Know your plans for the fresh-picked fruit! Picking for fun and snacking is amazing, but knowing your recipes ahead of time will help to make sure you have enough to bake AND snack on. (And also making sure you don’t overdo it, picking more than you can eat during peak freshness.
- Take lots of photos! (And videos, too!) These memories will be so enjoyable for years to come, especially if you’ve got little ones in tow. If you’re a shutterbug like me, you are going to love this serene setting. Of course this year is a little different as masks are required upon check-in, walking to the fields, and anytime you’re within 20 feet of other customers. Glad to see Weaver’s Orchard creating a safe place for family fun despite the circumstances. Even with your masks, make sure to take some photos for your 2020 memory book. (They’ll be sure to last longer than those yummy peaches!)
Weaver’s Orchard, Morgantown, PA
Where we live, we found the best “peach picking near me” experience to be at Weaver’s Orchard in Morgantown, PA. The prices are phenomenal for such a delicious and memorable experience. Bonus – This farm has just about everything you could want when it comes to pick-your-own fruit. It is one of our favorites locally and the drive is about 40 – 45 minutes from Gilbertsville, depending on traffic. There’s a lot for the kids to do at Weaver’s, so I feel the drive is well worth our time.
We also enjoyed the Storytime in the Orchard they did last year. I’m not sure what the status is with that, considering we’re in the middle of a pandemic. I did see they are NOT doing wristbands due to this and also not charging the fee for wristbands. The orchard has a lot of safety measures in place to create a safe picking environment for all their customers. You can find out more about Weaver’s PYO schedule as well as their covid policies on their website’s pick-your-own page.
A Day in the Life – Pick-Your-Own Peaches
Here are some pictures from our peach picking trip last summer.
Weaver’s Orchard PYO Fruits
In our previous visits to Weaver’s Orchard, we’ve also picked their other amazing fruits…
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Apples
- Sugar Plums
- Sweet Red Cherries
- Yellow Rainier Cherries – my favorite!
These are just a few of the many pick-your-owns available here! You can even buy delicious cookies and beverages in their market, foods in the deli, and some plants to take home with you.
This farm gets it done! If you live in Berks County or surrounding areas, like Montgomery County, Lebanon County, to name a few, it’s definitely a must on my list for “peach picking near me” and countless other delicious fruits.
What to Make with Fresh-Picked Peaches
Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a huge bucket of pick-your-own peaches right about now! Here are my favorite things to make with fresh peaches:
- Homemade Southern Peach Cobbler
- Peach Cobbler Scones
- Fresh Peach Oatmeal
We also plan to make peach pancakes, peach pie, and peach pastry — most likely some sort of peach danish. What are your favorite treats or dishes to make with fresh-picked peaches?
