Have you considered a bargain staycation near a u-pick fruit farm? It's a great way to introduce kids to healthy eating and the wonders of nature. If school has started, plan a daytrip to a local apple orchard and pumpkin patch that celebrates the fall season with festivals and entertainment.

Before you head out, consider what you'll do with the apples that you pick.  The most popular varieties for eating include the Macintosh, Empire, Fuji, Idared, Red Delicious, and the Jonathon. One of our favorites is the large and juicy honeycrisp.  If sauces or pies are in the plan, try the Cortland, the Golden Delicious, the Russet, and the Mutsu.

Visit our picks around Stow, Phillipston and South Natick, with reviews and more information about apple picking around the Boston, Massachusetts metropolitan area.

For a complete guide to apple picking orchards and farms across the country, visit our FTF Directory of Top USA U-Pick Farms.

Apple Picking in the Boston Metro Area

From the Boston Metropolitan area, a few choices for apple picking and farm stand browsing offer excellent day trips for those looking for a pleasant autumn afternoon in Eastern Massachusetts.

Just 20 minutes out of Boston is Belkin Family Lookout Farms, fresh from an update that has brought playground equipment, a bouncy house, train rides, face painting, and more play areas to the farm. The Belkin family offers pear and raspberry picking, as well as apple picking from specially dwarfed trees that allow younger visitors easier reach to the fruit. They also have a petting farm for the kids, and plenty of picnic space for the whole family.

The Red Apple Farm, in Phillipston is just 60 miles from Boston. Because it's at more than 1,200 feet above sea level, this farm's fruit is different (some say better) than the others. They feature a wide selection of pick-your-own berries, pumpkins, apples, and plan special weekend activities for the family including hayrides and barbecues. Kids love the Red Apple's Black Forest maze and activity barn and we love that this place is 100% sun and wind-powered.

At Tougas Family Farm, you can count on weekend wagon rides, a small farmyard petting zoo and excellent cider donuts. Tougas, selected by USA Today as one of the "top 10 places to pick your own" gets super busy in the weeks before Halloween, so if it's apples -- and they grow honeycrisp! -- or pumpkins you want, call ahead before you drive out there.

The oldest pick-your-own orchard in eastern Massachusetts, Shelburne Farm, in Stow offers a field full of peaches, pumpkins, and over fifteen varieties of apples. Their apple shop is stocked with sweet cider, hot apple pies, fresh cider doughnuts, and "almost famous" caramel apples.

Contact Information for Boston Area U-Pick Farms

Belkin Family Lookout Farm, 508/653-0653, 89 Pleasant St. South, South Natick, MA 01760

Red Apple Farm, 800/628-4851 , 455 Highland Ave., Phillipston, MA 01331- 9594

Shelburne Farm, 978/897-9287, 106 West Acton Road, Stow, MA 01775

Russell Orchards, 978/356-5366, 143 Argilla Road, Ipswich, MA 01938

Tougas Family Farm, 508/393-6406, 234 Ball Street, Northboro, MA01532