Melick Orchards

Have a large orchard in Oldwick (Tewksbury Twsp.) next door to the Tewksbury Inn, a farm stand just a ¼ mile south on Oldwick Rd. and other locations in Califon and Bridgewater just off Rt. 22. The Melick family owns a large part of Tewksbury Twsp. and they are tied in politically so it’s one of those places that’s been family run for a long time and is embedded in the community. The farm market on Oldwick Rd. doesn’t always have the freshest or most attractive produce. The pies bought at the orchard on King St. in Tewksbury are not made by them. They are frozen pies from a manufacturer that they then bake there. But they do have an abundance of fresh apples in the fall. The orchard gets pretty jammed with families apple picking. Overall, stick to the fresh apples… I wonder of anything besides the apples is actually grown by them. Maybe some stuff but definitely not all.

This review is for the orchard in Califon. Not the one on King St. Had a hard time deciding from the website which one to go to.
Got there about 9:15 on a Sunday to avoid the heat predicted for the later in the day and hopefully the crowds. This strategy paid off. We were the third car in the parking lot and the weather was mild. Went to check in and get our baskets. Got a 2 minute inbrief about which apples were being picked and how to look for the orange tags for the ripe rows. Also was told no eating in the orchard and must pay for everything you pick. ?? Ok, not allowed to munch as you pick. This was a first. I thought, well, they don’t want fruit all over the ground to attract wasps maybe? Well there were more apples on the ground than in the trees. And the trees had plenty. We usually go apple picking once a year and part of the experience for me is strolling around the orchard nibbling on a apple I picked right from the tree. This rule was a huge turnoff. It was also obvious that no one followed it. Lots of apples cores all over as well as mound of rotting apples all over. No worse than any other orchard mind you but no other orchard in my memory forbids you to sample an apple. We picked 20 pounds of apples at $ 1.69 lb. I wondered what they would do if they caught us eating an apple? Throw us out of the orchard? Just weird. The apples were delicious. The atmosphere was nice and low key. A couple goats to look at and a mound of hay bales for the kids to climb. The other produce available at the farmstand was unimpressive. Donuts were $ 4.99 for a six pack and were just ok. Can’t buy less than 6. Go here is you want a low key apple picking experience for delicious apples but be prepared to wait till after you pay to try one.

We’ve gone to Melicks once a year for apple picking and every year the experience seems to degrade. The trees this year were just ok, and the staff is cold and grumpy. I don’t see anyone smiling anymore! Melicks has lost its charm over the years. It starts with the staff, so train them to appreciate the customers and greet them with a smile. They seem to be more concerned with the rules and less with providing great customer service.
Will try a different orchard next year.

We went here on a whim and were very pleasantly surprised. They were picking 4 varieties of apples, Asian Pears, and something else that completely escapes me. Staff was very friendly and the farm stand had a nice amount of vegetables and the like to also buy.
GO.you will not be unhappy.
If you are wondering why I gave 4 instead of 5 starts, I’d really give 4 ½. The ½ star is that compared to some other orchards in this area of NJ and PA… the price seemed slightly higher. As of Labor Day weekend…1.99 for Honeycrisp apples (which are usually higher to be fair) and 1.59 for the others. I’ve gone to one in PA that was 99 a lb… and 5 years ago even cheaper.
However…you just watch your budget and you’ll be fine.

SO MANY APPLES!
Seriously, though. This is a huge orchard. It’s nearly 2 hours away from home, but we only go apple picking once a year so it is worth it for us. The price per pound is muuuch cheaper than the grocery store, and the apples do not get fresher. I love being able to taste new kinds of apples without dropping tons of money per pound at the grocery store. I really love Jonagold apples! We spent $ 40 and came home with: 1 gal of fresh apple cider, a package of donuts, a giant jar of honey, enough apples to make 3 pies, 3 loaves of apple bread, 4 dozen mini muffins, and tons of apples to just eat by themselves.
You can either opt to walk walk the giant orchard or wait for the hayride truck to take you up. We took the truck up and walked our way back down, picking apples along the way.
There is not much employee interaction. Bathrooms are small and… rather primitive. There are a few vendor stands.
For a first timer, there was no direction as to where to park, where to start or where to go first. I ended up asking someone how it all works (where the bathrooms are, if the hayride was free, if there was anything inside the barns for us to see, if there was anything else to do but pick apples, etc.).
All in all, we had a great time, it was beautiful, and I can see this becoming a yearly September tradition.

The apples here are fantastic. What’s not to like about this beautiful hillside orchard?!

A perfect fall outing. Tons of varieties of pick your own apples, a hay ride, awesome cider, donuts, and a roast corn stand with chili lime mayo. The trees are little so the kids can reach. It is on a hillside, so it’s scenic and lovely. We will definitely go back.

Melick has been around for a long time. 22 years living in NJ, Our family had always gone to Melick’s Apple Orchard and it is never a disappointment. The Orchard/​farm stand had also grown/​improved over the years. They added a ‘real’ bathroom/​house. cute. Lots of variety of apples. Golden delicious, winesap, mutusa (crispy and sweet with little bit of tartness), golden delicious, jona gold, granny smith, gala. Hayrides are once again free. They had charged folks for going onto the ride a number of years back but now it is free once again. Smart move. They also added a Roast corn station where u can get fresh roasted corn. pricey but worth a try. it’s good. Their apple cider is the best! Cider Donuts are good but I had tasted better elsewhere. Love their pumpkin butter. great on toast and used it in lieu of jelly for my PB&J. Always buy a bottle of honey. mild and not too sweet/​fragrant. Near the farm stand is where they make the fresh apple cider. You can take a look at the old fashion apple press. There is also a kids playground up the hill from the stand and a few picnic tables near the stand.
Yes, I also went to the Peach Orchard of Melick and yes it was a disappointment. My sentiment is in line with the previous reviewers. This year the peach was not so great, small and not so sweet. I am sure the weather has a lot to do with the condition of the peaches and apples… One year is good next year not so good and so on…
Their big farm stand is located on the way to the apple orchard where you can buy apples, pies and other produce. Their apple pies are very good. good amount of apples and not too mushy, not too tart and a good crust to go with it.

Orchards in NJ hold a special place in my heart because they remind me of my childhood. Melick Orchards is set among lush, rolling green hills and quaint houses. I was excited to start picking peaches but the billion rules and the staff’s surly demeanor dampened my spirit. We were told that you can’t bring bags in (who knows you might try to steal peaches), you are warned about eating the fruit in the orchard (they are laced with pesticides and must be washed first). Fair enough, but when we purchased our peaches and asked if we could rinse them so we could enjoy them there — why the sour faces? Then I heard the staff chiding a young girl about her ice cream wrapper (absolutely no littering on the premises) even before she had finished eating. This is just my opinion — but the strange vibe really takes the magic out of the experience. Melick’s could really benefit from treating their customers better.

This is a review of Melick’s pick your own peaches location at: Califon Farm Stand and Orchard, 472 County Line Rd, Califon, NJ:
* Went to pick your own on Sunday 7÷17÷11
* Peaches were awesome!
* Both yellow and white varieties
* Bought white only: there were a good amount of trees with white and the white peaches were fantastic! Plenty available at this time but not for long…
* Excellent price per pound: $ 1.25 (Alstedes Farm in Chester, NJ for pick your own peaches = $ 1.89 per pound)
* Also available in the farm stand: corn (10 for $ 5.00), tomatoes (nice but not new jersey summer perfect yet); zucchini; watermelon; plums; etc
The peaches were perfect and the price was reasonable! If you like white NJ peaches or never had them before, you will think summer when you bite into these and they turn to sweet peach nectar in your mouth and fingers…:)

Is this New Jersey? Acres and Acres of apple trees, gorgeous rolling hills, and a treat of leaf peeping with the first color change of the trees this past weekend. my family and i went and picked apples, sipped cider and noshed cider donuts at this great farm. they have hay rides on weekends and lots of farm fresh goodies (esp. those donuts in cinnamon, powder sugar, and plain flavors), pies, breads, jelly, gourds, pumpkins, holiday corn, and winter squash at a fraction of the price at grocery stores… all the expectations of a fun farm! Right off route 78 on exit 24. an easy drive from NYC. and a great experience

This place has the BEST cider donuts! Not kidding! Growing up as a kid my dad would take me to different places to get cider donuts and they were always good but they never really tasted like cider. Then last year my husband suggested Melick’s for cider donuts and I was absolutely amazed. You can really taste the Apple Cider in the donuts! Now I don’t go anywhere but here for my cider donut fix in the fall!

This place spares no dime in its setup as an overglorified farm stand, and apparently you won’t either for this place. But then again, they’re located in one of the most expensive towns in the state, seriously people live in manors there and hunt foxes on their estates, not normal clustered jersey living. So I’m sure this place gets their share of yups that don’t mind paying $ 6 for a gallon of cider. I might mind too if it wasn’t the best cider I’ve ever had to. All their produce is local jersey fresh (I don’t know about any of that organic bs) so its good, but seriously try the cider.