6 Nebraska Orchards Where Pie Apples Hang Ready To Pick Through Early October
The sign by the road was small enough to miss, just a hand-painted apple and an arrow pointing down a gravel lane. Twenty minutes later I had a paper sack of Jonathans, sticky fingers from a cider doughnut, and a plan for Sunday pie.
Nebraska hides a surprising number of orchards like that, and the best pie apples hang on the branches right now, only until early October. Here are six places to fill your bag before the trees go bare.
1. Kimmel Orchard & Vineyard In Nebraska City
Since 1925, apples have grown in the rolling hills outside Nebraska City at Kimmel Orchard. Richard and Laurine Kimmel started the farm on a simple idea: grow good food and share it with the neighbors.
That idea still shapes the place almost a century later.
Picture a gravel lot, a breeze off the hills, and rows of trees stretching toward the horizon. U-pick comes with an admission fee, which covers a walk among the branches with your own bag in hand.
Parking is free, and the grounds feel roomy enough that nobody bumps elbows while choosing fruit.
What sets Kimmel apart is the learning. An education center on the property hosts classes on everything from honey production to growing apples, so a pie trip can turn into a lesson on how the fruit got there.
School field trips have been part of the plan since the Kimmels first dreamed it up.
Save time for the store before heading home. Shelves hold apple doughnuts, fresh cider, apple butter, frozen cherries, jams, honey, pies, and caramel apple cookies, plus short-order food for a quick lunch.
A military discount is offered, too, which makes a full bag of baking supplies easier on the wallet.
2. Martin’s Hillside Orchard In Ceresco
Ever ridden a hayrack wagon while someone explains the difference between a Gala and a Somerset? At Martin’s Hillside Orchard, that ride doubles as a crash course in apples, flowers, and pumpkins.
It’s the easiest way to learn which rows to raid for pie.
The farm is family owned and opens each fall for u-pick apples, flowers, and pumpkins. A small entry fee gets you in, and the variety of apple trees runs deep.
Honeycrisp, Gala, and Somerset have all hung ripe for picking here in autumn, and it’s easy to go overboard and head home with more fruit than your kitchen counter can hold.
Kids get their own agenda. There’s a corn box for digging, a kid-sized corn maze, a tire mountain to scramble up, and other play spaces scattered around the grounds.
Parents can pick in peace while the little ones burn off energy nearby.
Pumpkins round out the haul. The patch offers decorative pumpkins, gourds, jack-o-lantern types, and pie pumpkins, so one trip can cover both apple and pumpkin desserts.
Group tours are available by scheduling ahead, a handy option for classrooms and clubs wanting a guided look at a working Nebraska orchard.
3. Apple Acres Orchard In Kearney
Out west of the big Omaha and Lincoln farms, Kearney keeps an orchard of its own. Apple Acres gives central Nebraska a place to pick fruit without a three-hour drive east.
For anyone who grew up near the Platte, that alone makes it special.
The scale is smaller, and that works in its favor. Rows are easy to walk, the trees are approachable, and the apples come off crisp and sweet, ready for slicing into a pie shell.
So many varieties grow here that choosing one becomes the hardest part of the afternoon.
Not up for picking? Bagged apples wait inside the shop, along with delicious cider, popcorn, and honey.
Grabbing a bag of each is a smart way to stock the pantry for a weekend of baking.
A corn maze fills out the fall scene, and pumpkins sit ready for carving or cooking. A small petting zoo adds another stop for younger kids between picking rounds.
Families hunting for an easy outing will find the pace relaxed and the layout simple. Bring a sturdy bag, wear shoes that handle grass, and plan on leaving with more apples than the recipe calls for.
Extra fruit never goes to waste in October.
4. Picnic Hill Orchard
Ice cream at an apple orchard sounds like a detour, yet Picnic Hill Orchard on the southern edge of Lincoln makes it the grand finale. Small-batch ice cream is a signature here, and the apple pie sorbet from the barn tastes like dessert that skipped the oven.
More than 25 varieties of apples grow on the property, alongside cherries and blackberries. Honeycrisp is a popular pick, and a slow walk down the tidy rows can turn up plenty of other baking candidates.
Picking runs seasonally from August through October, so an early October visit still lands in the window.
How does a newer orchard earn a spot on this list? By making the whole outing feel easy.
The grounds are laid out for strolling, parking is free and right on site, and families can spend an unhurried afternoon moving from tree to tree.
Then comes the retail market. Warm donuts, fresh-pressed cider, and apple butter fill the counter, next to that famous scoop of ice cream.
School field trips visit during the season as well.
Lincoln residents get a real perk here. It’s close enough for a quick weeknight-style trip, yet the rows feel far from city traffic once you’re among the branches.
5. Fontanelle Orchard In Nickerson
Open the door of the farm store and the smell hits first: warm apples, caramel, and something baking. Fontanelle Orchard sits along Highway 91 near Nickerson, a family-run spot with a friendly crew and a shop that feels more like a country kitchen than a market.
Pie bakers should head straight for the old-fashioned varieties. Winesap and Jonagold both grow here, two apples with the tart bite and firm texture that hold up beautifully under a lattice crust.
U-pick prices rank among the most affordable in the area, which means filling a big bag won’t strain the budget.
A quick word to the wise. The orchard sells unbaked pies, ready for your own oven, so plan on baking time before taking one to a potluck.
It’s a great shortcut for a fresh-from-the-oven dessert, as long as you know what’s in the box.
Caramel apples round out the counter, glossy and thick enough to make a messy, happy snack on the drive home. The orchard works well for toddlers, too, since the trees are easy to reach and the pace is gentle.
For folks in Fremont or the Elkhorn Valley, this is the closest trip to real pie apples straight off the branch.
6. Union Orchard, a Caramel Pie Stop on Highway 75
Caramel poured so thick it pools around the crust. That’s the apple pie waiting at Union Orchard, a long-standing fruit farm on Highway 75 between Omaha and Nebraska City.
For plenty of southeast Nebraska families, the drive down 75 isn’t complete without a stop here.
King David and Winesap hang on the trees for u-pick, two heirloom-style apples with sharp, spicy flavor that bakes into a deep, rich filling. King David is harder to find in grocery stores, which makes a bag of it a small prize.
Picking on a warm fall day, with the hills rolling out around the orchard, turns an errand into an afternoon.
Prices sit a little higher than some stops on this list. The apples and baked goods justify it, though, especially the caramel pies that sell as fast as the ovens can turn them out.
Think of Union as the final stop on a fall loop. Kimmel is only a short drive south, so both orchards fit into one day with time for lunch in between.
Go before early October slips away. Once the last Winesaps come down, the wait until next year feels awfully long.
