Apple Picking near the Cabins

Apple country starts about 11 road miles from the cabins, at a family orchard just outside Malone, and runs east to the big orchards of the Champlain Valley around Chazy and Peru, an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half away. From late August into October there is picking, fresh cider, cider doughnuts and pumpkins, and the drive to the lake brings the fall color with it. This guide lists the orchards working this fall, nearest first, with what each one sells and how to fit them into a day.

The orchards, nearest first

Four orchards within reach of the cabins are working in 2026. Road miles are from the cabins.

Hours move with the crop and the weather, so check each orchard's own page or call before you set out, and expect a pick-your-own day to depend on what is ripe that week. The days differ too: Prairie's opens Friday to Sunday, Chazy's market Tuesday to Sunday and Rulfs every day, which makes Rulfs the one to plan on for a Monday. The fall foliage guide mentions Prairie's and Chazy in a few lines, and the Plattsburgh guide fits Rulfs and Chazy into a day in the city; this page goes orchard by orchard.

Prairie's Orchard in Malone

The closest apples to the cabins grow on County Route 24, just outside Malone village, about 11 road miles from the cabins: County Route 25 north toward Malone and a few miles of River Road, about 25 minutes. It is a family-run orchard of about 875 trees in seven varieties, and Visit Malone lists its stand as open Friday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., from the day the apples are ready until they run out. Pick-your-own runs on weekends; on the other days, and for anyone short on time, there are bags already picked. The stand also sells homemade candles, local maple syrup and honey.

The 2026 season opened on the weekend of September 5 and 6, and the orchard's Facebook page was still posting in October, when a regional television station's fall series came to film there. The page lists the phone number as 518-319-4110, and it is the place to see whether the trees are still worth a visit late in the season.

In August 2026 the State Liquor Authority issued a farm cidery license at the orchard's address, under the name Mountain Miss Cider Works. A beer-listing site carries a blueberry hard cider from that cidery made at the orchard with New York apples. Ask at the stand whether there is cider for sale when you visit.

Because it is so close, Prairie's fits an arrival day. Groceries in Malone are a few minutes away (groceries and supplies has the stores), so a Friday stop at the stand can be part of the shopping run on the way in.

Kaneb Orchards in Massena

West of the cabins, Kaneb Orchards sits on Highland Road outside Massena, about 44 road miles away: County Route 25 into Malone, then NY 37 west for about 33 miles, a little over an hour. Edward Kaneb Sr. started the orchard in the early 1970s, and the family company has run it as Kaneb Orchards LLC since 2009. Its home page, dated 2026, calls it a boutique orchard and says it is open for the season, with more than 20 varieties of apples, fresh cider and cider doughnuts.

The site posts no hours and does not say whether visitors pick their own, so call 315-769-2880 before you drive. The state's farm directory lists a farm stand, sweet and hard cider and a tasting room.

Kaneb's farm cidery license from the state dates from June 2026, and its hard cider is also sold through its online shop. Massena lies west of Malone, the opposite direction from the Champlain orchards, so Kaneb makes its own half-day with a stop in Massena itself.

Chazy Orchards

Chazy Orchards, at 9486 Route 9 in Chazy, is about 63 road miles from the cabins, about an hour and a quarter: County Route 25 to Malone, US 11 east for about 47 miles through Chateaugay and on toward Champlain, then US 9 south for about seven miles. It calls itself the largest McIntosh orchard in the world.

From a railroad orchard to a family farm

The orchard's story, as its owners told it to Cornell Cooperative Extension in 2018, starts with the Delaware and Hudson Railroad, which planted it in the late 1920s. It then passed to four senators, who hired local people to run it, and later to the Green family: Donald Green Jr. ran it with his sons, Donald Green III and Jeff. In 2010, after health problems, Donald Green III sold the farm to the Giroux family, who bought it to widen their business while staying in agriculture. In 2018 the farm had 800 acres in orchards and a farm manager who had worked there for fifty years. The orchard says some of the trees planted in the 1920s are still growing there.

The Giroux family rebuilt much of the place: new roofs, a six-lane packing line, trellised high-density plantings with irrigation, and hail netting after hail struck in three of six years. The fruit is sold up and down the East Coast through distributors, with some kept for the farm's own market. The family started the farm market and bakery in the farm's original packing house, and in 2018 they ran from September to December.

The market, the bakery and picking

The orchard's site gives the market's hours as 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, and an opening date of September 17 with no year beside it, so call 518-846-7171 to check the current days before you drive. On the shelves: apples in many varieties, cider, honey, cheese, eggs, jams, maple syrup, local products and gift baskets. Everything in the bakery is made in the store, with daily specials; pies and fresh cider doughnuts are the ones pictured. For picking, the orchard's word is that when the time is right you can come and pick apples right off the tree, so ask on the same call whether picking is open that day.

The varieties it names are McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Cortland, Gala, SnapDragon and SweeTango. In June 2026 Chazy Orchards posted for a crew of 198 to sort and pack apples and press cider from September 8 to November 8, and its farm cidery license runs into 2027.

Rulfs Orchard in Peru

Rulfs Orchard, at 531 Bear Swamp Road in Peru, is about 68 road miles from the cabins, about an hour and a half: US 11 east to NY 190, the Military Turnpike, for about 23 miles toward Plattsburgh, then the Northway south for about eight miles to exit 35. The store and bakery are open every day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Pick-your-own apples

Rulfs posts its picking rules in detail. The season starts around early or mid-September and lasts until the first weekend in October, and the picking hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day while it lasts. The first two weeks are usually McIntosh only; by the third weekend other varieties are usually ready, with no guarantees. In early October 2026 its apple page said the season was winding down.

You buy a bag first and fill it. On weekends the bags are sold at a booth by the drive-through; on weekdays, at the bakery counter. The 2026 prices were $6 for a quarter peck, $8 for a half peck, $12 for a peck and $20 for a half bushel. A peck weighs 10 to 14 pounds, enough for a pie, a pot of sauce and a few days of snacks. Pre-picked apples in the store cost $7 for a half peck, $10 for a peck and $22 for a half bushel, with Honeycrisp at $10, $16 and $37.

The Rulfs farm since 1952

Bob Rulfs came to Peru on March 19, 1952, from Valhalla in Westchester County, a new graduate in animal husbandry who wanted a small dairy farm. He bought one with four milk cows, three heifer calves and 12 acres of apple trees. In 1964 the Northway took a large part of the farm, so he bought a second one in West Peru, seven miles away, and ran both with his two young sons. He added a cider mill in 1983 and the bakery in 1987, and in 1988 his eldest son bought the dairy, leaving Bob free for the orchard and the stand. Rulfs still sells produce, berries and apples grown on the farm, and it supplies area grocery stores.

Apple country around Peru

Peru is orchard country. Lake Champlain Bikeways' Acres of Apples route, an easy 32.7-mile loop, passes five orchards around Peru. Its description says the orchards here began as backyard orchards in the late 1890s, that Northern Orchards, the first commercial orchard on the route, started production in 1906, and that McIntosh does well here because it stands up to hard winters and ripens in a short season. Bring your own bikes for it.

Older guidebooks and directories list other orchards around Peru and Plattsburgh. This guide lists only the ones working in 2026, so if a sign by the road says open, stop and see.

Which apples are ready when

Cornell Cooperative Extension's Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Program samples fruit in Peru orchards every week through the harvest and posts a maturity report for growers. The reports judge apples for storage, and Cornell calls them a general guide only. Read together, the 2026 reports make a good calendar for pickers.

For a picker that works out to late August for the first summer apples, the first three weeks of September for McIntosh, Gala and Honeycrisp, late September for Cortland and SnapDragon, early October for Macoun, and mid-October for RubyFrost and the late apples. A pick-your-own orchard opens its own blocks on its own schedule, which is why Rulfs starts with McIntosh and adds the others later. For the widest choice, aim for the middle two weeks of September; for the late keepers, the first half of October.

The varieties you will find

The Champlain Valley grows the old New York apples and the new ones side by side. Here is what the orchards and Cornell say about the names you will see on the bins.

• McIntosh. The valley's apple. Chazy Orchards describes it as red, firm and semi-dense, tart with a hint of sweetness, and good for both eating and cooking.
• Cortland, Macoun and Empire. All three come out of Cornell's apple breeding, which has released more than 65 varieties since the late 1890s, and Cortland and Empire both descend from the McIntosh.
• Honeycrisp. Honey-sweet, juicy and crisp, a little lighter to the bite than a McIntosh, in Chazy's description, and best for snacks and salads.
• SnapDragon. Bred at Cornell by Susan Brown from a Honeycrisp parent, spicy-sweet and very crunchy, with its harvest starting in late September. Growers license it through New York Apple Growers, and the first trees went in during 2011.
• RubyFrost. SnapDragon's sister apple from the same Cornell program, ripening later in the fall and a good keeper.
• SweeTango. A cross of Honeycrisp and Zestar, crunchy and sweet with a touch of citrus, honey and spice; Chazy notes that supplies are limited.
• Gala, Zestar, Paula Red and Ginger Gold. The early apples, ready from late August into September in the 2026 reports.

For baking, Cornell's apple breeder suggests mixing varieties to balance firmness, juiciness and flavor, so a bag with some McIntosh, some Cortland and a late, firm apple makes a better pie than any one of them alone.

The McIntosh and the valley's apple history

The McIntosh began across the St. Lawrence in Ontario. In 1811 John McIntosh found an apple sapling on his land in Matilda Township, at Dundela, and he and his family spread it widely; Canada lists the apple's discovery and development as a national historic event. The apple tasted good, looked good, and suited cold country, and it became one of the most popular varieties grown in Canada and abroad. Cortland, Empire, Lobo and Spartan are among the apples bred from it.

On this side of the border, Chazy Orchards tells the story this way: when the McIntosh was first grown in Clinton County in the 1800s, it was a huge hit in New York City. The Peru orchards on the Acres of Apples route date from the late 1890s, and in the late 1920s the Delaware and Hudson Railroad planted the Chazy orchard, whose banner now reads "almost 100 years of apples." The title of largest McIntosh orchard in the world is the orchard's own claim.

The Farmer Boy country post covers farm life near Malone in the same century, and the Malone history guide covers the town's past.

Cider and cider doughnuts

Three of the four orchards sell sweet cider, Chazy and Kaneb both list cider doughnuts, and the region's tourism office calls the apple cider doughnut a local favorite. New York law requires anyone who makes or sells apple cider to treat it with a process that cuts the harmful germs in it by at least 99.999 percent, so farm-stand cider here is always treated before it is sold.

• Rulfs presses its cider from apples grown on the farm, with nothing added, and treats it with ultraviolet light instead of heat. It sells from late August into May or June: in 2026, $9 a gallon, $6 a half gallon, $5 a quart and $4 a pint. You can also drop off your own container to be filled if you call ahead.
• Chazy Orchards sells cider in the market and fresh cider doughnuts from its bakery.
• Kaneb Orchards lists fresh cider and cider doughnuts as part of its fall season.

The state's license records show three farm cideries among these orchards: Giroux Orchards at the Chazy farm, Kaneb Orchards in Massena, and Mountain Miss Cider Works at the Prairie's address in Malone. Pick a driver before any tasting, since every orchard here is a drive from the cabins; the same goes for the region's breweries, wineries and distilleries.

Pumpkins, corn mazes and fall festivals

Pumpkins and wagon rides at Rulfs

Rulfs opened its 2026 pumpkin patch on Saturday, September 19, and the patch usually runs into late October. Picking and wagon rides run on weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the wagon rides also run on Columbus Day, which is October 12 in 2026. Drive to the berry fields, follow the pumpkin signs and pay at the red trailer: the wagon ride is $1 a person and each pick-your-own pumpkin $12. Pre-picked pumpkins wait on the lawn and in the greenhouse at 75 cents a pound, up to $12. Pick one with a deep, even color and a hard rind, and cut it with three or four inches of stem, since a pumpkin without a stem does not keep; store it somewhere cool and dry, around 50 to 55 degrees.

The corn maze and Flashlight Nights

The Rulfs maze runs from September 12 to October 31, 2026, every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the last tickets sold at 3. This year's theme is the 250th anniversary of the United States. Tickets are $9 for ages 13 and up, $7 for ages 4 to 12, and free for children 3 and under. On Flashlight Nights, October 17 and 24, 2026, the maze stays open from 5 to 9 p.m. with doughnuts, coffee and hot chocolate for sale; it is not a haunted maze, and since 2025 these nights are for adults unless children come with a parent.

Applefest in Peru

St. Augustine's Parish in Peru holds an Applefest on its parish center grounds on a Saturday in September; it is the parish center's main fundraiser, and the 46th was held in 2024. That year brought a parade of just over an hour, carnival games, a craft fair of more than 50 vendors, raffles, apple fritters, fried dough and a chicken barbecue run by the Knights of Columbus. Watch the Plattsburgh-area calendars in late summer for the next date.

Closer to the cabins, Titus Mountain usually holds its Oktoberfest on the first Saturday of October, and the fall foliage guide has the 2026 details. The events calendar covers the rest of the year.

Picking tips

Cornell's apple breeder Susan Brown gives the advice that matters most at the tree: do not pull an apple down. Give it a quick twist and lift it up, and the stem lets go. Pulling down can tear off the short spur the apple grows on, and that spur carries next year's fruit.

• Medium-sized apples are the most consistent. Skip any that feel greasy or slippery; they are overripe and will not keep.
• Russet marks from frost are only skin deep, and small or odd-shaped apples taste as good as the perfect ones.
• Get the apples cold soon. Cornell's advice is to refrigerate them if you can, so a cooler in the car helps on a warm afternoon.
• Wear shoes that can get wet; the grass between the rows holds the morning dew.

Apples back at the cabins

All three cabins have full kitchens: the listings show an oven, a stove, a refrigerator and freezer, a microwave, a toaster, a kettle and the cooking basics, and The Aviator lists a baking sheet. None of them lists a pie plate, so bring one from home, or buy the pie ready-made at the Chazy or Rulfs bakery and warm it in the cabin oven.

Apples keep best as cold as you can get them without freezing, close to 32 degrees, and in a home kitchen that means a plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper. Kept that way, most varieties hold their quality for 30 to 90 days, the late apples longest, so a peck bought in Chazy will last the week and the drive home. Keep them apart from vegetables, which apples make ripen faster, and from other ripening fruit, which shortens the apples' own keeping time; eat any bruised apples first.

A fall evening at the cabins suits a bag of apples: warm a pot of cider on the stove and take the cider doughnuts out to the fire pit. The burning rules are in health and safety, and the season around the cabins is in the fall guide.

Closer to home, Cooks' Country Store at 189 Ragged Lake Road in Owls Head, about four road miles from the cabins, carries Canton Apples applesauce and apple chips, along with Brandy Brook maple syrup, honey, cheese and bread from the Brainardsville Bake House. Its self-checkout kiosk keeps it open around the clock.

Dogs and children at the orchards

Rulfs asks that dogs stay home for pick-your-own, apples and pumpkins both. Prairie's, Kaneb and Chazy post no rule about dogs on their pages, so ask before you walk one into the trees. The cabins take pets for a fee; the dog guide has the details.

For children, Rulfs has the most to do: a petting zoo, a kids' area, the maze and the wagon rides. Rulfs requires a parent with anyone under 18 in the maze. The cabins themselves are set up for adults and for families with children 10 and older; the family page explains the house rules.

A fall day of apples and color

The best orchard day from the cabins pairs Chazy and Peru with the drive over. Leave around 9 a.m. and take US 11 east to Chazy Orchards, about 63 road miles. Chazy's market opens at 6:30 a.m. on its open days, so after a call the day before to confirm it is open, you can pick if the orchard has blocks open, fill a bag at the market and buy a pie before noon. The Alice T. Miner Museum is half a mile up Route 9, shown by guided tour only, with free admission; in 2026 it is marking its 100th year with an exhibit that runs through December.

From Chazy, US 9 and the Northway take you about 24 miles south to Rulfs in about half an hour, for pumpkins, the maze and a cup of cider. Lunch in Plattsburgh fits on the way, at a michigan stand or a restaurant from the Plattsburgh guide, and Ausable Chasm is a little farther south if you have the afternoon. Home from Rulfs by NY 190 and US 11 is about 68 road miles, about an hour and a half.

The scenic way over

For more color, take NY 374 instead of US 11. It leaves US 11 at Chateaugay and runs by the Chateaugay Lakes, the hamlet of Lyon Mountain, Chazy Lake and Dannemora toward Plattsburgh, and it brings you to Chazy Orchards in about 80 road miles, about 16 more than the US 11 route. The low country along Lake Champlain usually peaks later than the higher ground around the cabins, so in mid-October the orchards can still be bright when the hills at home have gone past peak. The fall foliage guide has the timing, and the Chateaugay Lakes guide and the Lyon Mountain guide cover the stops on NY 374.

A shorter day

For a weekend with less driving, go to Prairie's on Saturday morning, cook with the apples that afternoon, and save Kaneb for a day when Massena is on the plan. Book the cabins for late September or early October to catch the most varieties and the color together; the cabins page shows all three.

Questions

Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. Hours, fees and schedules change; confirm before you go.

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