Taft Street Realty: Blog

Upstate New York is an area long-famed for its agricultural riches and diverse range of agricultural products and businesses. From apples, grapes, pumpkins, and berries, to livestock farms with sheep and horses, this area is known for its charming pastures, orchids, barns, and more.

Ulster County is particularly rich in this regard, with extensive rural farming through the Rondout Creek, Wallkill River, and Hudson River valleys.

Many of these farms welcome and host visitors or families to partake in their farming activities, whether picking organic apples, gaining insight into the history of farming in the area, animal sanctuaries, and enjoying the natural surroundings. 

Known generally as “agritourism”, this broad grouping of businesses, activities, and events also include the area’s many farmer’s markets, fairs, and country stores, which in turn supply local accommodations and restaurants for a unique and charming experience. 

Below we have compiled a list of farms to visit with your family. Make sure to check out their websites for more information on times, pricing, and activities on offer. 

Kelder’s Farm

Located around 30 minutes southwest of Kingston, New York, and just east of Kerhonkson along Rondout Creek, Kelder’s Farm is a beautiful facility with many events and activities on offer.

Some of the highlights of Kelder’s Farm include:

• A large playground and jumping pillow

• A corn maze

• Mini-golf

• Fishing

• Apple and pumpkin cannons

• Hayrides

• Various fruit and vegetable U-picks

They also host events and their own farmer’s market, as well as an ice cream store, so check out their website to see what’s on offer and plan a weekend so you can spend the day enjoying everything there is to see and do at Kelder’s Farm. 

Visit their website here: https://keldersfarm.com/

Wilklow Orchards

Wilklow Orchards is a fantastic family-owned farm between New Paltz and Highland in Ulster County.

Surrounded by forests and just across the road from Highland High School, this location has a special atmosphere and offers events and activities all year round.

As they state on their website, they have live music and berry picking events in the summer, apple picking in the fall, and farmers markets all year round. On top of this, they also have an on-site bakery making items from their own stock of berries and fruit and other locally sourced ingredients.

If you’re looking for berry picking specifically, Wilklow has blueberries, raspberries, currants, and gooseberries. Live music in the summer occurs every Friday and Saturday. And, in the fall, there are over 13 varieties of apple to pick, as well as pumpkins. Other fall activities include hayrides, a playground for kids, and various food and drink items on sale.

Wilklow Orchard is really a great place to connect with the local community and support a farm that has been family-owned and operated in the area for generations.

Check out their website for more info: https://www.wilkloworchards.com/

Hurds Family Farm

The Hurds Family Farm near Modena, New York, is another farm geared towards young families with a range of activities for young kids to enjoy. For example, there are pony rides, a corn maze, slide, obstacle course, and hay rides. 

For adults there are regular live music events, farm produce on sale, and a cafe where you can relax with a donut and a beverage. 

The farm is also available for events, birthday parties, and camp visits. 

Apple picking is one of the highlights of the Hurds Family Farm yearly calendar, beginning in August and running for a few months as different apple varieties come and go. What could be better in the fall than picking apples between a hot apple cider and donut? 

Visit their website here: https://www.hurdsfamilyfarm.com/

You can find Hurds Family Farm off New York State Route 32 between Modena and New Paltz in Ulster County, NY.

Westwind Orchard

Westwind Orchard is an historic apple orchard located in New York’s Hudson River Valley in the shadow of the Catskill Mountains.

Westwind Orchard is well known for their delicious ciders, produced in the traditional method using all of the farms own cider apples. Don’t take our word for it - enjoy tasting all the various flavors at The Cidery when you visit!

If cider isn’t your thing, you can visit Westwind’s farm store - where you’ll find a range of fresh vegetables and fruit. Get your hands on a wide range of deliciousness, including farm-made jams, maple syrups, chocolates and honey.

Perhaps the best thing about making a family visit here is that you can all enjoy a wonderful dinner together. ​​Westwind Orchard’s restaurant has an Italian-inspired farm-to-table food menu. They are currently open for indoor and outdoor seating! 

Visit their website here: https://www.westwindorchard.com

Dubois Farms

Dubois Farms has been voted as the Best Pick-Your-Own Farm in the Hudson Valley!

Located in Highland, NY, Dubois Farms allows you to pick your own strawberries, nectarines, plums, apples, peaches, grapes, tomatoes and so much more.

There’s also tons more fun things to do, such as visiting the Farm Market and Café, meeting farm animals, a 2-acre Corn Maze and The Tavern at DuBois Farms - which serves a variety of the best local cider, craft beer and wine.

Admission and parking at Dubois Farms are both FREE!

Visit their website here: https://duboisfarms.com

Arrowood Farms

The beautiful Arrowood Farms is a terroir-driven farm, brewery  and distillery, located between the Catskill and Shawangunk Mountains.

This unique brewery is committed to cultivating, sourcing, and brewing with the freshest ingredients, and is also home to The Apiary + Bar - perhaps the Hudson Valley’s favorite farm-to-table kitchen!

The Farm is complete with lots of outdoor seating, and occasionally there are live music performances. People often bring their own picnic blankets to sit on the grass too - making it an amazing place to hang out with family and friends on a day that’s not too hot but still nice and sunny.

Visit their website here: https://arrowoodfarms.com

Twin Star Orchard

Located just outside New Paltz, Twin Star Orchard has a little something for everyone.

Now that it’s officially apple season, you can swing by and pick your own apples. Once you’re finished, you can visit the pavilion, where you can choose from a selection of wood-fired pizza, cheese plates and more snacks! There’s also live music on Saturdays from 1-4 pm and special events and pig roasts throughout the season.

If you’re thirsty, you can try samples of Twin Star Orchard’s very own ciders - which you can enjoy by the pond, by the glass or by the bottle! You can also do some shopping here, with the farm stand featuring craft ciders, a selection of New York wines, spirits, and craft beer.

You can also browse the tasting room and farm stand for locally sourced specialty products from the Hudson Valley.

Visit their website here: https://www.twinstarorchards.com

Minard's Family Farm

Located in Clintondale, Minard’s Family Farm is an excellent place to spend the day with your family.

There’s a world of activities to enjoy here, whether you want to pick apples and sunflowers, rent a lakeside fire pit or enjoy a tasty meal at Jada's Burger Joint.

More fun activities include Hayride around the orchard, face painting and wandering through a corn maze. All of this makes for a memorable family day out, and also a great place to book your kid’s next birthday party!

Visit their website here: https://www.minardsfamilyfarms.com

Wright’s Farm

Located in Gardner, NY, Wright's Farm is a five generation, family-run farm that produces 100,000 bushels of apples annually!

During the month of October, you can visit to pick your own apples and pumpkins! In addition to apples and pumpkins, Wright’s Farm also grows cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, berries, and much more.

The roadside farm market is open year round, offering a great selection of homemade baked goods, including pies, cookies, fruit breads, and our famous apple cider donuts.

The Wrights are also canning jams, jellies, pickles, and apple sauces with the freshest local ingredients available - so don’t forget to grab some when you swing by and say hello!

Visit their website here: http://www.eatapples.com

Weed Orchards & Winery

Located in Marlboro, NY, Weed Orchards and Winery serves its very own homegrown hard cider, a variety of wines, and excellent New York State beers on tap.

It’s a great place for a family day out, where you can enjoy delicious pizzas, salads, and sandwiches. There’s a playground for kids, and even a dog-friendly area for your four-legged companion.

In the Fall, there's a wide variety of apples, grapes, pumpkins and other veggies that you can pick and carry home - right after you enjoy a hayride and escape the corn maze!

There is no admission fee, you just pay for the fruit and veggies you pick. 

Visit their website here: https://www.weedorchards.com