The Apple Festival is winding up today, and all the major orchards in the area were there with this year’s crop. But visiting the orchards is possible around this area for most of the summer and fall. They are open for apple harvest several months of the year, with fresh apples where you can pick your own or pick up a pack already made for you. For me, these orchards are anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes away, easy pickin’s. One of the most picturesque is Sky Top Orchard at the top of Pinnacle Mountain Road just south of Flat Rock. The views are wonderful, and you can pick your own apples right off the trees.
The views of the mountains behind the apple trees are just stunning.
You can pick your own apples, selecting just the ones you want off the trees. Lots of varieties are available too, including the locally prized Honey Crisp, Jonagold, Gala, Mutsu, and more.
I liked the scene of this tractor with the orchards in the background, and farther back running over the hill. A similar one will be entered today in the State Fair competition for agriculture photography.
There is a pavilion where you can buy fresh apples, already picked for you. Galas and Honey Crisp are available now, but the Honey Crisp will be all gone soon. You know, we eat all we can here.
Gorgeous sweet red and tart green apples are ready for munching, or baking into lovely breads, pies and donuts.
More apples ready to buy. I’m not sure which variety these are, I forgot to write down any notes.
The views from the top of Pinnacle Mountain are worth the trip.
Layers of mountains, smoky blue even on a clear day.
One more view of the orchards with a mountain backdrop.
You can visit the orchard well into fall, in fact some of the varieties are not ‘pickable’ yet, so another visit is in order.
I hope you enjoyed your mountain top orchard visit. I’ll be working at the State Fair this morning doing take-in for the quilt competition. I’ll be entering all my photos and crafts this morning too. I love this time of year! Will bring you more on our Mountain Regional State Fair soon.
How are you spending your Labor Day weekend?
Sharing
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From My Carolina Home 
I moved to North Carolina last fall. I am in the SW corner near Murphy. Where is the State Fair and what are the dates it is open?
The apples look delicious. I’m just starting to see new apples in the market now. I’m not sure if they are local apples or being shipped in from far away. I normally try to buy several bushels of local apples in season, enough to keep us through the winter. Enjoy your local apples. Blessings, Gretchen villacrestfarm@gmail.com
Gorgeous pictures! We have half dozen apple trees on our property each kind a different variety, so I usually skip the apple fest near us and the orchards and just go pick them off my own tree!
Honey Crisps are my favorite! They are always gone much too quickly! I could use a fried apple pie right now! Thanks for sharing!
Oh what a wonderful day especially as apples are just so yummy right now. LOVE the tractor picture….this weekend I visited our grand-guy with Monday as a day just for me at home. 🙂
Best of luck on your entries and enjoy! Love the scenery photos and those bags of apples, ready for purchase, are beautiful. We are entertaining my daughter this weekend, a rare visit from So. CA and having a great time taking her on various tours of the Northwest area where we live.
Sat for our daughter’s puppy so they could go to one of our fairs yesterday. Today I am putting the binding on the “Spin” quilt… Very relaxing.
I can almost smell the apples…mmmm…
Good luck with your Fair entries!
What did we do? We picked up a wood burning furnace on Saturday (day long trip), and hosted a family bbq on Sunday. Busy days go by quickly!
The State Fair must be a wonderful event, all best wishes for your entries. Love that tractor, I grew up driving one a little bigger, it looks like a Fordson? And the blue mountains over the tree tops, a fabulous view.
Your photos are beautiful….I wondered if they have York apples…those are my favorites! I’m stuck this weekend….no sewing, no traveling …no visiting. My husband is “down” in his back…has been in agony all week. We’re waiting for a call from his neurosurgeon to schedule surgery….. 😦
What gorgeous photos! We hosted our neighborhood cookout this Labor Day Monday. Folks brought wonderful dishes, and we all pigged out. The most energetic of our neighbors was going to Cataloochie to see the elk and later to the Labor Day celebration in Canton.
Apples fresh from the orchard always taste so much better than supermarket bought ones. I don’t eat as many apples as I used to as they are generally not as tasty as they ones I remember from childhood. Lovely photos.
The views are absolutely stunning there ! We have a local pick-your-own farm in our area and it is apple picking time there now as well. A friend posted a picture on Facebook a few days ago of watermelon she was having there with orange melon inside….all new to everyone who viewed the photo. She said it looked like watermelon on the outside, the texture of the fruit was the same but that it was sweeter than regular melon.
Such a beautiful place! Thanks for taking us there ♥
Truly beautiful photos. I love this time of year, love the smell of baked apple pies, etc.
Dad’s 1948 blue Ford tractor, sitting right there! beautiful photos. If I could be back East again, I’d head for Shenandoah area and get winesaps! nowhere else in US because they don’t travel. Best eating and the old cider mills up there by Front Royal VA. sigh… I have some apples from a friend’s tree right now, not sure what kind, but they’re going in the crockpot for apple butter. He doesn’t spray so they may have hitchhikers, I’ll soak them in water in the sink for a while! apple butter really only needs coring… I cook it all week in the crockpot on low, only add the spices. On Friday night I will taste and add any sugar it may need, and then can or freeze on Saturday. Cooking all week means it concentrates, and the smell of the spices, oh boy!
We sold Dad’s tractor when he became completely chairbound. My son wanted that so much, but someone had stolen the trailer for it, so no way to transport it from Oregon to Denver. And of course, where would we put it now? lawn ornament? hee hee
Hope your photos do well at the fair, they’re beautiful.
sharon in colo
What a beautiful orchard! It’s been awhile since I have taken my kids apple picking. We really need to do that this year. The honey crisp are my favorites! Thanks for linking up to the party! I always enjoy reading your posts.
Shelley
Gorgeous photos!! Apple picking is such a perfect way to spend a fall day!!