Ready for apple season? Here are 8 of the best orchards in Georgia for U-pick apples, fresh-baked treats, and fall activities the whole family will love.
Fall in North Georgia means one thing above all else: apples. From late August through October, the mountains around Ellijay and Blue Ridge—proudly self-declared “Apple Capital of Georgia” territory—fill up with families hauling half-bushel bags off the trees, kids racing through corn mazes, and lines forming for fried pies still warm from the fryer.
Whether you’re after a day of carnival-style fun or a quieter afternoon among the apple trees, there’s a farm for that. We’ve rounded up eight of the best orchards in Georgia: some Ellijay institutions that have been drawing crowds for generations, a few small alternatives if you’re looking to skip traffic, and one newer addition worth watching as its orchard matures.
A quick note before you go: U-pick dates and hours shift year to year depending on weather and how the harvest is coming along, so a call or a quick check of an orchard’s social media is always advisable before committing to the drive.
1. Mercier Orchards
Where: 8660 Blue Ridge Dr., Blue Ridge, GA 30513
When: Late August through Oct. 31
Founded in 1943 and now run by the fourth generation of the Mercier family, this 300-acre Blue Ridge farm has spent more than 80 years earning its reputation as one of the largest and most beloved orchards in the Southeast. Its rolling hills are home to more than 40 apple varieties, including Jonagold, Mutzu, and Crimson Crisp, come U-Pick season.
The experience kicks off with a tractor ride out into the orchard, with containers and picking tips provided, before you’re turned loose among the rows of ripe apple trees to fill your bag. Fall hours typically run Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather and availability permitting.
But the real draw comes afterward. Mercier’s market and bakery are stacked with the fruits of that labor: fried apple pies, cider doughnuts, cinnamon apple bread, apple butter, and, for the grown-ups, hard cider and wine pressed and fermented on site. Add a candy kitchen and a lakeside spot to sit with your treats, and it’s easy to while away a whole fall afternoon here.
2. B.J. Reece Orchards
Where: 9131 GA-52, Ellijay, GA 30536
When: Aug. 29-Oct. 31
The basketball court-sized bounce pad and human-sized “hamster wheels” are your first clues that this isn’t your average apple farm. B.J. Reece has built its reputation on going bigger with the fall fun side of things, offering seasonal staples like hayrides, a petting zoo, pony rides, a corn maze, and an apple cannon. The bet pays off—the orchard draws an estimated half-million visitors to Ellijay each year, making it one of Georgia’s busiest agritourism stops. U-pick apples only add to the appeal, typically available from late August through October, seven days a week, across more than 200 acres.
The Apple Barn is equally as enticing. Fried pies—apple, peach, cream cheese, and coconut—have kept people coming back since B.J. planted the farm’s first trees in 1960. Today, his grandson and great-grandson are running things, including a hard cider taproom just across the road that turns the orchard’s apples into small-batch cider. Apple cider doughnuts, fresh apple bread, and a farm market stocked with Georgia Grown produce round out the retail side.
3. Jaemor Farms
Where: 5340 Cornelia Hwy., Alto, GA 30510
When: Sept. 12-Oct. 31
For those who’d rather not get their hands dirty, Jaemor Farms does the apple picking for you, piling them high in the market alongside 350 acres’ worth of North Georgia produce.
What this sixth-generation Alto farm trades U-pick for each fall is scale: this year’s Harvest Celebration opens Sept. 12 with a butterfly release honoring Dolly Parton, kicking off a Dolly-themed corn maze alongside the usual sprawling pumpkin patch and carnival-style extras—apple cannons, a pumpkin train, farm slides, tricycle races—enough to fill a whole Saturday without repetition.
The bakery is the cherry, or apple, on top. Warm apple fritters and fried apple pies are made fresh daily, and the pumpkin whoopie pies are a local favorite. Grab a slushie or a sandwich from The Eatery, load up on hand-dipped ice cream, and don’t leave without a bag of boiled peanuts—a Jaemor tradition that predates the corn maze by decades.
4. Hillcrest Orchards
Where: 9696 GA-52, Ellijay, GA 30536
When: Sept. 1-Nov. 1
At Hillcrest Orchards, pigs really do swim. At the signature “Apple Pickin’ Jubilee,” running every weekend in September and October, swimming pig races are a staple, alongside cow milking (resident Jersey cow Buttercup has her own fan base), cloggers, and live bluegrass music on an outdoor stage.
The orchard itself dates to 1946, when Hayward and Ellen Reece planted the first 15 acres of fruit trees. Four generations later, their descendants still run the orchard, though it’s grown into what they call an “adventure farm,” complete with a Moonshine Museum and Farmhouse Museum tucked among the trees.
Apple picking runs daily through the season, not just on festival weekends, and the orchard uses a handy color-coded flag system so you can spot which varieties are ripe from across the field without hunting tree to tree. Fresh apple fritters and cider doughnuts come out of the bakery all day, best enjoyed, as most visitors will tell you, alongside an apple cider float.
5. R&A Orchards
Where: 5505 GA-52, Ellijay, GA 30536
When: Aug. 29-Nov. 1
Where other orchards lean into carnival games and animal attractions, R&A keeps things a little more low-key. Alongside the apple orchard, this Ellijay farm grows a colorful patch of zinnias, sunflowers, and wildflowers that opens for U-pick on weekends right alongside the fruit, so a trip here doubles as a chance to cut your own fall bouquet.
Beginning Labor Day weekend, visitors get a wagon ride through the orchard before heading out to pick, with admission running just $6 per person (kids two and under free) plus the cost of your U-pick bag. And while the bakery here holds its own with fried apple butter sandwiches, apple cake, and caramel apple soft serve, R&A’s cafe is worth a stop on its own merits, serving up burgers, barbecue, and a spicy fried chicken sandwich, plus fried green tomatoes and Cajun boiled peanuts for something a little more Southern than your average snack bar.
6. Hillside Orchard Farms
Where: 18 Sorghum Mill Dr., Lakemont, Georgia 30552
When: Sept. 5-Nov. 1
Most orchards send you home with a bag of apples. Hillside Orchard Farms stocks you up with a full fall pantry. This Lakemont farm started in 1983 as a small backyard cannery and has since grown into a producer of more than 800 jarred goods, from ciders and relishes to jams and pickles, all sold out of its country store. U-pick apples are a newer addition, launched in 2015 and running Labor Day Weekend through October alongside U-pick muscadines and zinnias.
The rest of the fall lineup leans playful: this year’s corn maze (open through the first of November) is themed as a throwback to the old Tallulah Falls Railway, and a trackless train loops visitors around the farm all weekend for $4 per person. Down at Grandpa’s Barnyard, June Bug the donkey holds court among the goats, peacocks, and rabbits, while the indoor gem mine lets kids dig for fossils and arrowheads with “Miner Jim” as host. The season concludes with Fall Farm Day on Saturday, Oct. 31, with live music and special sales at the Farm Market.
7. Red Apple Barn
Where: 3379 Tails Creek Rd, Ellijay, GA 30540
When: Aug. 23-Dec. 23
Somewhere in Red Apple Barn’s orchard grows an apple you can’t find anywhere else in Georgia. The story goes that a chance seedling took root on W.T. Pritchett’s land back in the 1920s. When a road crew accidentally knocked the original tree over, his grandson grafted its limbs onto a Golden Delicious tree, and the farm has kept regrafting that same lineage ever since. They call it the Pritchett Golden, and it can only be found here.
To keep the mystique alive, the orchard keeps things simple this season with classic games like horseshoes and cornhole, tire swings, and a sweet covered bridge over the creek for photos. U-pick admission ($12.75) includes a tractor ride out to the orchard, one apple to start you off, a stop at the pumpkin patch, and cider and a warm doughnut waiting when you get back.
8. Aaron Family Orchards
Where: 8350 GA-52, Ellijay, GA 30536
When: May-December
Worth keeping on your radar, even if regular U-pick apple dates aren’t quite on the docket just yet. Aaron Family Orchards (formerly Aaron’s Apple House) has been in the same Ellijay family since 1944, when Shafter Aaron started the farm alongside his four sons.
Today, it’s run by fourth-generation owners Joshua and Kaylee Aaron, who took over in 2024. One of their first moves was replanting the orchard on dwarf rootstock specifically for future U-pick use. The trees are still maturing, so rather than a standard September through October U-pick window, apple picking here currently shows up as limited, pop-up dates tied to when the fruit is ready.
The upside is that there’s still plenty to do while you wait for a picking day that lines up with your schedule. Joshua and Kaylee have also added U-cut flowers (available May through October), a petting farm, and a new on-site bakery that give the farm a hands-on feel even without the apple orchard fully in play. The farm store itself runs daily, May through December, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. If apple picking specifically is the goal, call ahead or check their social media before you go for availability.
