Fishkill Farms

Amazing day at the orchards. Very well organized for being at full capacity because of the Columbus weekend. Huge selection of pumpkins, assorted apples, apple cider donuts and even organic foods from the farm store. A great family day. Went to the farm on Friday the 30^th with the misses and picked up some beautiful pumpkins and even had a great buy one get one free with not a soul in sight just me and the misses. Beautiful farm in my local neighborhood !

Love this place !
So much to do, so much to eat.
Excellent, I mean EXCELLENT pies. Great barbecue. (Yes, they have barbecue there)
Great place to go apple picking or veggie picking.
An great place for the kids with some animals for them to check out.
Overall an excellent place to visit.

We spent a picturesque fall afternoon picking apples at Fishkill Farms last weekend. The breathtaking autumnal foliage during the hour and a half drive to the farm from Manhattan alone made the journey there worth it. We arrived at around 11:30 am, paid the $ 5 parking fee, grabbed a medium and a small bag (flat rate of $ 30 for a large bag, $ 20 for a medium bag, and $ 9 for a small which you pay for at the end) from the parking attendant as we weren’t sure how many apples we wanted to pick and though there were already a lot of people there, we had no trouble finding parking near the macoun apples.
We hadn’t realize how large the farm was and ended up staying in the macoun area for just over an hour, mistakenly thinking that we had picked several varieties of apples. By that time, we had picked all the apples we needed so we hopped on the hayride en route to the pumpkin patch. There wasn’t much of a selection of Manhattan-​apartment-​size-​appropriate pumpkins — which you pay for by the weight — so we made straight for the store and food area. Yes, the lines for food were long and we ended up queuing for about 20 minutes in the donuts/​cider line but save for the cold wind, the experience was rather enjoyable: we people watched and admired the alien non-​concrete landscape surrounding us while the band played rock classics in the background.
The hot cider and warm donuts ($ 1 each or $ 10 for a dozen) were a welcome (and delicious!) respite from the cold. That said, I don’t know if I would go as far as to say that they were the best cider donuts I have ever had — you really can’t go wrong with a donut. We zipped in and out of the crowded market to pay for our apples — we opted for the small $ 9 bag which held about 12 apples — and miniature pumpkins ($ 2 each) that we picked up from the baskets out front.
I really appreciated the experience at Fishkill and am already planning my visit in the summer to pick some berries and vegetables! Should you decide to go, I would highly recommend making a stop on your way back to the city at Cold Spring, NY, which is a quick 30 minutes drive away from the farm. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing two of my favorite things there: antiquing and eating.

Although there were a lot of people, the farm is large and can accommodate big crowds. I thought the system to get in and out were pretty efficient. They do help on the grill and donut lines. Only one cashier on both those lines is a little ridiculous. I would advise to get there early and get out before the NYC crowds get there. lol
TIP, if you’re hungry, theres a smaller grill around some apple orchards, go there, the other grill by the store and main entrance gets pretty crazy. or bring your own food, plenty of places to picnic.

Apple picking, pumpkin picking, apple cider, and apple cider donuts. Mm mm. The lines were ridiculously long today, with it taking 15 minutes to enter, 15 minutes to exit, and 30 minutes to get cider and donuts. That is my only complaint about today.

This is a cool farm, but the cons outweigh the pros here.
We arrived at 12p on a holiday weekend. It was very busy.
How it works: Pay $ 5 for parking and choose what size, and how many, apple bags you want to fill (small, medium, large). You pay for the bags you’ve filled after you’re done picking. Large bag is $ 30 and holds at least 50 apples.
PROS:
–Good apple variety
–Lots of apple trees (some are more picked over, but you can still get what you want)
–Live band
–Sprawling green space, with hay stacks — fun for kids to run around
CONS:
–Parking: LONG wait to get in due to (1) single road (2) slow parking collection gates (3) limited parking near apple picking area. Expect a minimum 30 minute wait if you’re planning to park in the lot near the picking area. $ 5 for parking.
–Food line: RIDICULOUS 1.5 hour wait for the ONLY food option. There is also a smaller food stand near the apple picking area (with shorter lines). In the main food stand there is only ONE cashier; you also have to wait for your food once you’re done waiting to order your food. SKIP THIS LINE for sure. The BBQ is good, but not worth waiting 90 MINUTES.
–Donut line: Minimum 15 minute wait. $ 1 each or $ 10 for a dozen. Plain and cinnamon sugar.
-«Bathrooms»: Port-​O-​Pottys only. Bring your own toilet paper.
TIPS:
–Park in the farmer’s market lot and walk down to the apple picking area (there’s a bus that occasionally comes by giving people rides around the property)
–Pick your apples (or whatever other legumes you want) and get out!

Crazy line to get into the Farm, it was hours long to just get into the parking lot. Turn around now.

You thought you were going to enjoy nature? Ha! Enjoy sitting in the car in traffic. Go home and sit in NYC traffic and eat an apple. It’s the same thing.

If you are imagining a beautiful day in the country, far from the city, picking farm fresh apples and topping off the day with cider donuts and/​or some hot apple cider … well then, this is NOT the place for you!
This orchard is overrun with visitors (mostly from NYC), over picked, and, to make it all the worse, understaffed! There were hoards of people and cars there, and the farm was not prepared. First, the trees barely had any apples. There was more fruit on the ground than on the trees and no ladders available to get to where the remaining apples were. Second, the lines for doughnuts was at least 100 deep. Third, the line for the main grill was nearly as long as the one for the market. With few choices of apples, no donuts, and no lunch, our three families headed out after only an hour or so at the farm. That’s when we hit the most frustrating part of the day: THE LINE OUT OF THE PARKING LOT WAS 40 MINUTES LONG!
The farm has an insane practice of making all apple pickers drive out of the lot at a single checkpoint where (1) you pay for your apples and (2) workers check the car for stolen apples. I’ve never, ever seen anything like it!
FISHKILL FARMS: for next year, you MUST figure out a better system for having people pay for their apples. Maybe have people buy empty bags as they enter the farm and fill each for a set price? No other bags allowed? You ought to also consider posting a statement about the real availability of apples each day. For instance, today’s announcement could have read: «Macouns are 90% picked — only ones left are at the very top of the trees or laying on the ground.»
INTERESTED APPLE PICKERS: If you are hellbent on going to this place (and I suggest you do not), then be sure to park in the Market parking lot. You can still pick apples (if you can find any … I did not pick ONE apple today) but you will avoid the horrendous line out of the place!

If I could give them a negative on stars I would. No organization when directing traffic. They only give 2 shits about what comes in but not about private property. Someone while getting out hit my car and my windows and there was no one on site to ask for help.

I will never frequent this establishment again. I witnessed the owner herself be so rude to someone that it totally turned me off of ever spending my hard earned money again. She was horrid! It’s expensive and although the farm is nice there are much nicer farms in the area with lovely owners that make you feel welcome.

Such a cute farm! We went for Apple picking in mid-​September. It took about an hour and half with no traffic from New York City.
The farm house has a great market and grill (overpriced for the portions but decent food, including Jamaican jerk chicken). The apple cider donuts were warm and amazing! The lines get very long though so prepare to spend time waiting to purchase in the store, order food from the grill, or purchase donuts.
Overall a great day and would definitely return!

Worst farm ever! Beware of this old white lady in this farm! They rip you off big time on their vegetables. We weren’t warned not to pick some veggies from some area, and they acted like we committed a big crime and charged us way too much for them! They also charged us $ 5 for car fee, and didn’t let us stay in the farm for more than 30 minutes! Because they were closing!!! Then why let us in, in the first place?!! OUR FIRST AND LAST TIME THERE!!! Disgusted by that white old lady that works there!!! Wish I knew her name!

I would love to give these guys at least 4 stars. We go every year at least once. It is clean, the service ia good and attentive, BUT– their prices have gotten INSANE! For the privilege of picking your own fruit you get charged at least TWICE what you would be charged at a great fruitstand or market. Their store is INSANELY over priced. I wanted local honey and you would swear it had gold in it or something. $ 17 for a small bottle!
If the prices were more reasonable we would go more often and leave with a lot more fruit. We would also spend more at their store…

We came here for Apple picking 8 years ago and today we came back to pick various berries and veggies. This place has a very family and dog friendly environment.

I wanted to give this place four stars for beauty and cleanliness, but their prices are too out of control for me to do that. It’s a small farm so everything is picked out quickly. Veggies such as eggplant are scarce.
I was basically charged $ 1 per fruit when I did the math. Yes I said $ 1 PER FRUIT. Now that’s some freaking price to pay for the privilege of picking fruit on their land let me tell you. The EXTREME PRICEs extend to their store too. A little bottle of locally sourced honey for more than $ 17 per bottle! It goes on and on.
I definitely liked their staff’s friendliness more so
than Lawrence Farms whose current owners have become jaded and borderline hostile. You also get a free tractor pulled trailer ride with a very friendly gentleman. That was a nice plus.
The real jem here is the food stand staffed by the Jamaican workers. They do a a fantastic Jerk Chicken and burger. The real treat though is the roasted sweet corn. Do yourself a favor and try it. I would come back just for that.
I used my time to grill the staff pretty good and what I came away with is that it’s a very small farm that gets picked out really quickly. So come out a weekday if you hope to get a fair shot at the apple trees which as of today are totally laden. However be prepared to pay $ 1 per fruit.

I had such an awesome time here! I grew up around farms and picking berries through out my summers so I had really nostalgically missed the activity 15 years later. I spent most of my day at the farm picking blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and black currants. The berries tasted amazing!!! I used most of them for smoothies since I had picked so many out of excitement of being there. Their homemade apple cider definitely hit the spot after a long day out in the sun.

I truly love this farm. It’s the perfect getaway from NYC (1.5 hours away from Manhattan) and it’s absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. Go on a day when the clouds are full and fluffy and your photos will look incredible.
I didn’t eat one bad cherry. All the cherries were sweet and they even have the yellowish pink ones, too. The price is reasonable, 7 $ per pound and they have ice cream, baked goods, and other produce available for sale. It’s a great 2 hour excursion with the family and I would highly recommend this farm to anyone.
It’s not too crowded (we went on Father’s day too!) and like I mentioned before, it’s ridiculously beautiful.

nice farm to do a picnic take kids. Have music being played at times. The strawberry run out quick to get there early

Had a great time with the kids apple picking today. It’s very important to walk to the back of the orchard in order to find good apples.
The apple cider donuts are to DIE for!!! Seriously!
The market is rather over priced. I get that it’s organic but the prices really don’t warrant that price point.
I would return, especially since I missed out on the roasted corn.