A central New York staple, apple season begins in early September and lasts through most of October. Pumpkins can be picked now, but will be most active early next month.

With more than a dozen area sites to pick fresh seasonal fruit, the Syracuse area hosts some of the top locations.

Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards

Katie Reahl | Contributing Photographer

The only New York state apple orchard in the running for USA Today’s “10 Best Readers’ Choice 2017 Award,” Beak & Skiff offers two varieties of U-pick apples with more pre-picked at the orchard’s Apple Barn.

The Apple Hill campus consists of a country store, a bake shop, a light-fare café with daily specials and a wine tasting room. Its general store has prepared foods, mixes, utensils and other local products. Wagon rides take place all day until 5 p.m. This year’s USA Today poll closed Monday. Beak & Skiff placed first in the same contest in 2015.

Location: 2708 Lords Hill Road, LaFayette

Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Sunday

U-Pick apple price: $1.15 per pound

Come here for: Beak & Skiff’s famous 1911 Spirits. Since 2001, Beak & Skiff has made its own alcohol, starting with hard cider and adding hard liquor in 2010. The 1911 Spirits brand was the first in Onondaga County to hold a distillery license and also the first to produce gin, according to Beak and Skiff’s website. At the front of the tasting room store this year is a large display of Pommeau — a mixture of apple brandy and apple juice.

Deer Run Farms

Katie Reahl | Contributing Photographer

Tucked away on Route 11, Deer Run Farms offers six varieties of U-pick apples with others available pre-bagged items like pumpkins, corn and chrysanthemums in store. New this year are tractor drawn hayrides through the orchard from noon to 5 p.m. on weekends. Fritters are made to order from the kitchen in small batches.

Location: 2695 NY-11A, LaFayette

Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Sunday, U-pick and kitchen closes at 6:30 p.m.

U-pick apple price: Pay per bag, estimated at 50-70 cents per pound

Come here for: Organic apple cider. Owner Jennifer Streeter said the cider sold on site is UV-treated, with no added chemicals. After the apples are pressed the cider is exposed to non-thermal UV light to kill any harmful bacteria, as opposed to being pasteurized and heated.

Burrell’s Navarino Orchard

Mackenzie Huber | Contributing Photographer

Right between Skaneateles and LaFayette, Navarino offers three varieties of U-pick apples. The orchard also sells pre-picked pumpkins, Italian and purple plums, strawberries, squash, locally grown sweet corn, grapes, peaches and blueberries. All apple cider and baked goods sold in the store are made on site with the orchard’s own fresh produce, according to a store clerk. Apple fritters are made to order from the stand next to the store.

Location: 3655 Cherry Valley Turnpike, Syracuse

Hours: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends

U-pick apple price: $1 per pound

Come here for: Tomato picking. In addition to apples, vine-ripened tomatoes are available to pick for $3 per quart. Customers are advised to call the orchard at 315-925-4422 to check picking conditions before visiting.

O’Neill’s Orchard

Mackenzie Huber | Contributing Photographer

O’Neill’s offers four varieties of U-pick apples, with more to come next month, and U-pick red raspberries at $3 per level pint until sometime in October, according to its website. Pesticide-free potatoes, corn, and honey are also sold in-store.

Owner Patty O’Neill said the recent hot weather hasn’t affected picking conditions.

“It makes them drop a little faster, but that’s really it,” she said. “They’re already grown.”

Location: 4872 Route 20, LaFayette

Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Sunday

U-pick apple price: $1 per pound, 50 cents per bag

Come here for: A weekend barbecue. In addition to apple cider donuts and the various goods in-store, brisket, chicken, pulled pork, beans and apple coleslaw — a secret O’Neill recipe — are offered on Saturdays and Sundays.

Tim’s Pumpkin Patch

Mackenzie Huber | Contributing Photographer

Located five minutes from the Marcellus location of the Chocolate Pizza Company, which sells its products around Syracuse University, Tim’s offers pumpkins in many sizes, as well as squash, potatoes, donuts and fudge can be found in the bakery or at the outside food stand. Farm animals are also outside for viewing, and tractor wagon rides, corn and hay mazes are offered.

Location: 2901 Rose Hill Road, Marietta

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Sunday

U-pick price per pumpkin: $2-$5, depending on size

Come here for: A less crowded place to taste 1911 products. On Saturdays and Sundays, Tim’s Farm Brewery tasting barn features locally produced craft beer and hard cider, including Beak & Skiff’s 1911 Spirits and Flower Power IPA products. Tim’s own hops are used for other seasonal brews served at the farm. Tastings are available in the bakery on weekdays.

The Pumpkin Hollow

Katie Reahl | Contributing Photographer

Just outside Marcellus, The Pumpkin Hollow offers a variety of regular pumpkins as well as cabbage, kale and chrysanthemums. Other attractions include an ice cream shop, corn maze, hay rides, face painting and a corn shooting range. Food is served during regular business hours.

Henry Cox, whose family owns the establishment, said the unseasonable temperature changes caused some pumpkins to turn orange later than usual because of the cold earlier in the month. The unseasonable heat, Cox said, makes diseases like mildew spread faster among the pumpkin crop.

Location: 3735 W. Seneca Turnpike, Syracuse

Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Sunday

U-pick price per pumpkin: $3-$10, dependent on size

Come here for: Specialty pumpkins and decorations. Several nonconventional pumpkins are for sale next to the pre-picked ones at $5 for a small and $10 for a large. Hand-painted pumpkins are available for $4 each in various sizes, and Halloween decorations are sold in the store.

Published on September 26, 2017 at 10:20 pm

Contact Colleen: [email protected] | @ColleenEFergus2