Take Your Family to Justus Orchard for Fall Fun and Apple Picking

Take Your Family to Justus Orchard for Fun and Apple Picking

Fall is just about here and you’re probably hunting the perfect activity to celebrate the season. Local mom Kristina loves Justus Orchard and is telling us why this is one fall road trip you’re going to make into your new family tradition. After all, Justus Orchard offers tons of fun activities for the kids and tasty treats too!

There are lots of great reasons to visit Justus Orchard in the gorgeous mountains of Hendersonville this fall: the apples are delicious, the scenery is peaceful and picturesque, the family who runs the business is very kind and have been running the orchard for four generations, and the apple cider donuts and slushies are delicious. I don’t even like donuts but put one of those in front of me and I’m not going to say no.

This year, they opened up a full two months ahead of schedule on May 27, 2022 through Memorial Day Weekend and were open every weekend after that until apple season. They are now open daily for the 2022 apple season. They have their delicious apple slushies, apple fritters, apple donuts, fried apple pies, and fruits and vegetables. Their big playground is open as well, plus all the farm activities like animals to visit and a jumping pillow.

If you want to add on other activities in Hendersonville for your day trip, try the free train museum, the Carl Sandburg home, the Fairy Trail at Bullington Gardens, or the Team ECCO aquarium.

I first went to Justus many years ago, only a few months after I first moved to the Upstate. Word was that if you wanted to go apple picking, go to Justus – so I took my then 3-year-old and newborn and went to get me some apples. It’s been one of my family’s favorite apple orchards ever since.

Easy Apple Picking

I think one of the more fun aspects of actually apple picking are the awesome wagons the orchard has where you can put your kids, uh, apples I mean. It makes it easier to cart everything around.

They also have a map for you to find your favorite apple varieties and have those giant sticks with a little cage at the top so you can grab apples from high in the trees. Their Facebook page and their apple ripening calendar are updated with the latest apple varieties that are in season, which makes it helpful for timing your visit.

The orchard also sells tons of just-picked apples so don’t feel you need to do all the hard work alone or with the little ones, who may tire out before you can fill up your basket. I also thought the pricing for the number of apples was very reasonable and inexpensive. Just have a bunch of good apple recipes for when you get home!

Kid-Friendly Activities at Justus Orchard

Justus Orchard seeks to make the experience of apple picking a memorable one for the whole family. They have a giant jumping pillow, a huge playground, a picnic area, animals to feed, cow train, and even apple canons.

Justus Orchard Play space — New playground at the orchard

They have a duck pond at the far end of the orchard where the animals are, which is filled with goats and gentle animals that love to see all the little ones coming to entertain them. There are stations near the zoo and pond where, if you have a few quarters handy, you can buy food to feed the animals.

There’s also an adorable little cow train for the kids (although my 6-foot-plus brother rode it with his son, which was a sight to behold) for $5/child. The fee for unlimited jumping on the jumping pillow is $5/child. And you can shoot 10 apples from the canons at bigfoot, bear, and deer targets for $5

Apple Canon at Justus Orchard — Apple canon targets. Photo courtesy of Justus Orchard.

During the fall, there are a series of events on weekends, which you can learn about by watching their Facebook page.

Picking (and eating) the apples are a fun activity for children and there is lots of open space for them to run around before driving back home.

Apple Cider Donuts, Slushies, Pies & BBQ at Just Orchard

The Bakery House at the orchard sells all kinds of delectable apple goodies that you’ll want to try while you are there. They have, among other things, fried apple pies, apple slushies, caramel apples, apple fritters, apple pies, and even coffee.

They also sell apple peelers and contraptions to core an apple.

On weekends, a BBQ food truck sets up shop at the orchard so if you forget to pack a lunch, you can always chow down on some slow-cooked pork while taking in the mountain air.