We Went Apple Picking at Alstede Farms and Baby, Bring a Wagon

If apple picking, pumpkin picking, fresh vegetables, tractor rides, animals, mazes, photo ops and letting the kids run themselves TIRED sounds like your kind of fall day, let me put you on. We spent the day at Alstede Farms, located at 1 Alstede Farms Lane in Chester, New Jersey, and this was easily a 10 out of 10 experience for us. Before you decide this is just another place to take the kids apple picking, absolutely not. Families, yes. Couples looking for a fall date, YES. Friends looking for something different to do, absolutely. And if you want to go by yourself, pick some fresh produce and mind your business, I would do that too.

Before You Go, Buy Your Ticket Online

My first recommendation is to purchase your Alstede Farms ticket online before you arrive. The digital line was much shorter during our visit. We simply presented our QR code, received our box and wristbands, and we were ready to go. Parking was also surprisingly simple. We pulled up, parked and had a relatively short walk to the farm. And parking was FREE. We love an activity that does not start nickel and diming you before you even see an apple.

There are also areas of Alstede Farms that you can enjoy without participating in the full paid picking experience. There was food, entertainment, animals and plenty to see, so you can still come out and enjoy some of the atmosphere without purchasing the picking option. We opted for the paid experience because we came to PICK, and pick we did.

This Farm Is MASSIVE

Please understand me when I say Alstede Farms is BIG. The tractor ride around the property alone can take approximately 20 minutes depending on the stops and how many people are getting on and off. Do not wait until five minutes before you are ready to leave to start making your way back. I recommend giving yourself an additional 20 to 25 minutes at the end of your visit just to get around the farm and back to where you need to be.

There is also a lot of walking depending on what you want to see, eat and pick. My solution? I brought a blanket, and at one point I spread that thing right on the grass and LAID DOWN. 😂 Apparently I wasn’t the only genius because several other people had the same idea. The kids were able to run around, explore and bring their discoveries back to me while I enjoyed my little break. Everybody won.

Apple Picking, Pumpkin Picking and So Much More

We originally came to Alstede Farms for apple picking, but one of my favorite things about this farm was how much you could pick during the same visit. Depending on what is in season, you may be able to pick apples, flowers, pumpkins, berries, cilantro, eggplant, cucumbers, squash, sunflowers and other seasonal fruits and vegetables. Being able to go apple picking AND pumpkin picking during the same visit was a huge plus for us. In the warmer months they have peaches and other in season fruits.

Of course, availability changes throughout the season, so check what is currently available before you make your trip. Apple season in particular will not be here forever. And those apples? DELICIOUS. The variety was one of my favorite parts of the experience.

Another thing we learned is that there is not necessarily only one area to pick each fruit or vegetable. We initially thought something like eggplant would be in one designated location, but there were multiple patches throughout the farm. If you arrive at one area and it looks like everybody and their mama got there before you, keep moving. There may be another patch farther along with exactly what you are looking for.

Everything was clearly labeled, and I especially appreciated that the signage incorporated both words and pictures. That makes the experience easier to navigate for people with different communication and learning needs. That type of access forward thinking is something I greatly appreciate.

The Kids Were Learning Without Even Realizing It

Listen, I am 5 foot 4, so some of those apples had me WORKING. 😂 There may have been a little branch assistance involved, respectfully, but I did not damage it. I DID NOT DAMAGE IT. Apple picking was easily one of my favorite parts of the day, but watching the kids enjoy it may have been even better.

They were running through the fields, finding things, picking produce and coming back excited to explain what they had discovered. It became an educational experience without anybody having to announce, "Okay kids, now we are going to learn." They were learning because they were doing. They could see where their food grows, touch it, pick it themselves and eventually see some of it end up on their plate. That is the good stuff.

From Alstede Farms to Our Dinner Table

This is where the experience really came full circle. I brought our bounty home and made an AMAZING eggplant Parmesan with pasta using the eggplant we picked ourselves. Yes, I am including the picture because I need y'all to understand that dinner had a STORY. 😂

Seriously though, there is something incredibly cool, especially for children, about watching food go from growing in a field, to their own hands, to their plate. That is farm to table in the most literal way possible. When you factor in the experience itself, picking your own produce can also be an incredible value compared with simply walking into the grocery store, grabbing your produce and going home. You get the food AND the memory.

There Is Plenty to Do Besides Picking

Picking is definitely not the only thing to do at Alstede Farms. There were animals, activities, stroller parking, photo opportunities and plenty of places for the kids to explore. Then we hit the maze, and it was AMAZING. See what I did there? 😂 There was also a corn maze and plenty of open space for the kids to burn off some serious energy.

This is the kind of place where children can actually run. Not "stop running," "get down from there," "come back over here" every 37 seconds. They had space to explore and enjoy themselves, and mine had an absolute blast freely running through the fields. This is the kind of place where you can take the kids home afterward and everybody can go to bed. Thank me later.

Baby, Bring a Wagon

If you remember nothing else from this blog post, remember this. BRING A WAGON. We saw another family with one and immediately realized they had understood the assignment. Your picking box feels perfectly manageable when it is empty, but after you have loaded it with apples, cucumbers, eggplant, squash and everything else you suddenly decided you needed, the walk back starts feeling very different.

If you are bringing children or planning to leave Alstede Farms with a serious bounty, bring the wagon. Carrying everything back was A LOT, and watching somebody else casually roll their harvest away while we were carrying ours was all the confirmation I needed. Trust me on this one.

A Note About Accessibility

There were two styles of tractors that we encountered during our visit. One opened from the side and required climbing steps, while the other opened from the rear and also required steps. If you or someone in your party has mobility or ambulatory concerns, I strongly recommend contacting Alstede Farms before your visit to ask about accommodations and the easiest way to navigate the property.

The farm is large, and the amount of walking can vary significantly depending on what you want to experience. I did appreciate the clear signage throughout the farm, particularly the use of both words and pictures, but physical access is something I would definitely ask about ahead of time if anyone in your party has difficulty walking long distances or climbing steps.

Give Yourself Extra Travel Time

Here is another tip that has absolutely nothing to do with apples but could save your mood. The road going in and out of the area is one lane. There are other farms and event spaces nearby, and when multiple events are happening, as they were during our visit, traffic can become ANNOYING. I recommend adding approximately 30 extra minutes to your travel plans just in case. I would rather arrive early and have extra time to enjoy myself than spend the beginning of my apple picking day fighting for my life in single lane traffic.

We Did Not Try the Food

We did not try the food, and I am not going to review food I did not eat just because I saw it. 😂 It was purely a time issue. If I went back, I would arrive in the morning and make an entire day of it because there is enough to see, pick, eat, photograph and explore that you really do not need to rush.

The staff we interacted with were friendly and helpful, and even the overall energy among the other visitors was great. People were outside having a GOOD time. Between the animals, picking, mazes, tractor rides, food, entertainment and just being able to relax outside, I could absolutely see arriving in the morning and staying for most of the day.

So, Is Alstede Farms Worth It?

For us, Alstede Farms was a 10 out of 10 experience. For families, it is an easy recommendation because kids can run, explore, interact with animals, learn where food comes from and participate in choosing what eventually lands on their plate. For couples, this is a whole fall date. Put on your matching or complementary fall outfits, take your pictures, pick some apples, grab your pumpkins and go be somebody's seasonal Pinterest board. We saw several couples doing exactly that.

For friends, absolutely. And singles? Listen, I would pull up BY MYSELF, pick my fruits and vegetables, enjoy the scenery and go home to cook my little farm to table dinner in PEACE. The experience does not require a group to be enjoyable, and considering what we were able to take home, I would happily come back just to pick fresh produce.

If you are planning your own visit to Alstede Farms, buy your ticket online, arrive early, wear comfortable shoes, bring a blanket and PLEASE bring a wagon. Check what fruits and vegetables are currently in season before you go, and if one picking area looks picked over, keep exploring because there may be several other patches throughout the farm. Give yourself enough time for the tractor ride at the end of the day and add some cushion to your driving time because that single lane traffic can humble you.

Most importantly, do not rush. There is way too much here to experience. We came home with fresh produce, tired children, great memories and ingredients that literally went from the field to our dinner table. That is a fall day well spent.

And a HUGE thank you to Diana for such an amazing day. ❤️

Now put us on

Have you been to Alstede Farms in Chester, New Jersey, or is there another farm, orchard, fall festival or hidden gem that Shapely needs to experience next? Tell us where we should go next.

For more curated experiences and places actually worth leaving the house for, follow Shapely Events and visit ShapelyEvents.com. Because we are not just looking for somewhere to go. We are looking for experiences worth talking about when we get home.

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