Barthel Fruit Farm

I’d been here once before and remembered having a positive apple picking experience. This year it was a bit disappointing. The pick-​your-​own apple selection was tiny. On ¹⁰⁄₄ there were only two varieties to choose from (Honeycrisp and Cortland). And although it wasn’t the farm’s fault, much of their crop had been damaged by a hail storm in summer. The Honeycrisp apples were particularly damaged. We had to search high and low just to find a decent amount of mediocre apples. Many of the apples that were damaged had not just bruising, but big gaping holes. We did end up gathering a small bag ($ 10) of adequate apples. The other slightly irritating thing was the huge signs in multiple languages warning customers not to steal. It just seemed a bit overboard and negative. Next year for apple picking we’ll definitely chose another local farm.

Say what you will about those big apple places (Apple Holler, Elegant Farmer), but they’re busy because they know how do to Apple Season.
Our Barthels apples look great, and I appreciated the smaller size and less touristiness nature of the place, but they weren’t very accommodating, with constant reminders that YOU MUST PAY FOR EVERY APPLE PICKED! FAILURE TO PAY FOR AN APPLE CONSTITUTES THEFT! THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! Picking with four kids under five, who are used to being able to snack on an apple while picking really lit a fire under us to get in and out and put a damper on the experience.
We couldn’t find any apple picking extender-​reachy things so we were limited to the lower branches.
Barthels only has portable potties they and make you pay separately for apples and anything else. They told us that if we wanted to park near the shop after picking apples, we’d have to go out, past the shop and open parking spots, and wait in line to come back in and repark. What sense?! There was another small orchard down the road from Barthels, which we’ll give a try next time.

I really enjoyed strawberry picking several times this summer at Barthel Fruit Farm. The staff for the most part is very friendly, and they have EXCELLENT produce. The strawberries I got this summer were amazing. We also did some pea picking, and the fresh snap peas were incredible – we ate them raw and used them in a stir fry. I may be back for apples and pumpkins this fall if I have the time!

When it comes to strawberry picking in the MKE area — I think Barthel’s.
Friendly service. Easy in and out. The price is right as well!
Be sure to call ahead, picking times change due to weather, crop, etc…
This year’s crop was super sweet. The berries seemed a bit smaller in size, so I just had to pick more to get more! :)
Barthel’s also has snap peas, Apples, maybe pumpkins?
Anyway — I highly recommend ‘em for your berry picking needs.

Took the family there. They had a complete blast. We picking the apples and the people were friendly. However watch out for the dog poop. We got in the car and the people were not very helpful getting napkins to clean it. So be watch out. Great place to get apples.

I have made many trips over the years to Barthel’s. Nice people and excellent fruit.
U-​Pick or pre-​picked. Yes you do get your vehicle «searched» if you go out for u-​pick.
Most U-​pick operations have you park in the parking lot and then take you out in the orchard by wagon. Bob let’s you drive out in the comfort of your own vehicle.
The sad point is this allows many to become greedy and not pay for all they pick. This
is theft in any manner of speaking. Bob and his employees need to make a living too.
I was there and have witnessed a car in front of me come out of the orchard only to be searched. The staff found apples hidden around the spare tire well, under the seats
ect. I guess the temptation to steal is too great for some people. Sadly this man even
had his children in the car. Not a nice example to set for their upbringing.
If you understand why the vehicles are searched, then perhaps you will realize the
importance. I do not mind the minimal time it takes.
I will be back for some of those delicious caramel apples, cider and the high quality
fruit. Bob runs a first rate orchard with low use pesticide applications. The applications
are so low that classes have been taught there for other orchard growers to get in on
how to grow apples with such minimal pesticide use. Bob and his family do a great job!
This orchard is a 10 star rating in my book.
Paul S

This was my first time at Barthel’s because I was in the area for Strawberry Fest in Cedarburg. We arrived about 15 minutes before closing and began to pick right away. After about 10 minutes one staffer came over and told us we shouldn’t be picking where we were and to follow directions that we should have known about «where» to be picking in a rather rude way. Others that came after us actually had the rules explained to them in a kinder fashion. The place is also plastered with signs saying that they don’t tolerate theft. Is it OK to eat berries off the plants?! During checkout you have to go thru a military checkpoint with the trunk open and your car is subject to search. Really? On a positive note, the berries were fantastic and they look to grow a variety of other produce. If I was in the area again I’d probably stop back but I won’t go out of my way to come here again. There are many other farms where they treat their customers with more respect.

We drove to Barthel to get some apples and pumpkins for fall.
It was kind of far from us as we live in West Milwaukee, but it was worth it. We would have picked our own apples and pumpkins, but it was really rainy, cold and gross. When we arrived, they had a nice system for parking. Pick your own on the right, everyone else to the left.
We walked into the barn and there were tons of different apples already packed in pecks and other sizes. For each apple there was a description as well as suggestions for how to eat it — pies, sauces, snacking, etc. It was really nice and really helpful in terms of what we should buy for pies and just plain old eating.
In addition to apples, they also had pears. In fact, they had a free pear for visitors, it was the best pear I’ve ever had. It was juicy and soft and I wanted to buy a ton of them, but I wouldn’t have eaten them and the apples.
We ended up buying 2 pecks of apples and 2 pumpkins ($ 4 each!) and picked up some recipes. I used some of the apples to bake mini-​apple pies that tasted great and we ate the others in slices.
I’d recommend going here and next time I hope it’s nice enough that we can pick our own apples. The people are really friendly and helpful and their fruit tastes great.

I’ve been coming here since I was a kid. It really hasn’t changed much for the best. It isn’t touristy and the employees are all very nice. The quality is high – respectable stores such as the Outpost carry their fruit. They are known to use very little pesticides on their fruit which is a plus. There is a wide variety of fruit but they are known for their apples and pumpkins. I highly recommend Barthel’s. The Barthel family work very hard to bring Milwaukee some of the best fruit… especially apples and pears.

We have been going to Bathel’s for well over 10 years, usually making three to five trips a season; this is the first year that I have been very disappointed in my apples. There wasn’t a single apple in the bag that wasn’t bruised or had a place of broken skin. I am not sure what has changed in the picking and sorting but we won’t be returning this season.

There are better options in the Milwaukee area. As you enter, you are informed apple thieves will be prosecuted. In fact you are told this over and over again. Not the vibe I’m looking for with family fun. Prior to leaving, they searched our vehicle to make sure we weren’t stealing. While there are positive attributes to this place, being searched for stolen apples guarantees I will never return.
There were lots of apple varieties available for picking that day. You drive to where the picking is going on. There were some ladders spread in the the orchard. This made the job easier since many of the lower boughs were picked clean.
Bring cash, they don’t take credit cards and there are no atm’s anywhere close.
Have fun there, I won’t.

The apples were delicious, but man, what a beautiful farm. Definitely think of myself as a city kid, but my mom grew up on a small farm in upstate NY. Hiking around, picking apples and simply taking in the breathtaking early-​Autumn colors really brought me back. Everything was very well-​kept, and the employees (and lovable, goofball farm golden retriever!) were very friendly. Although they made no claims of being completely organic, which I would’ve been skeptical of anyways, I was happy to see many examples of thoughtful integrated pest management and polyculture at work at Barthel Fruit Farm. My girlfriend and I had an amazing time, and will definitely be going back!

Apples, apples, apples galore! And more? Yes!!! I was impressed with the amount and quality of fruit available for picking at Barthel. We snagged plenty of apple varieties, including Cortland, Jonathan, Ozark Gold, Spartan, and Fuji and promptly turned those Cortland into the best damn applesauce I’ve ever tasted. The staff were excellent, answered questions with ease, and my wife thought it particularly cute the amount of young’n’s working to distribute bags and direct cars. For $ 10, get an all-​you-​can-​pick and fill bag of autumn goodness.
We will definitely return to Barthel for pumpkins, plums, and pears. It’s about the same time (though a few less miles) to head up here if you’re looking for something different than Elegant Farmer (read: picking only, no deli/​food smörgåsbord).

This is a pretty fabulous self-​pickin’ place. They’re known for strawberry picking, which is well-​organized and reasonably priced. Also good for picking snap peas and apples. They helpfully update their phone line every day so call for picking conditions, and then go go go.

We go back year after year, for plants in the spring, strawberries in early summer and apples (love the Honeycrisp!) in the fall.

Big ups to all the farmers out there because picking strawberries at 7 am on a Sunday morning is whack!!!
This was my first «picking» experience so I don’t have much to compare it to but this farm was great! Parking was easy, the staff was helpful and directed us right to a row to pick from, reasonably priced and best of all: awesome fresh fruit and veggies!!!
Will I go back again? You bet, just this time I won’t have 20 beers the night before!

Great strawberries and my boys had a great time picking and eating. Always pleasant and well maintained. I will return.