Orchards near Charlottesville, VA

Carter Mountain Orchard sits on a ridge at 1435 Carters Mountain Trail in Charlottesville, Virginia, with pick-your-own peaches in summer and apples in fall. The property pairs the orchard with a country store and bakery, a wine shop, and long views over the valley. From April through September, the Thursday Sunset Series brings live music from 6 to 9 p.m. Groups and field trips can reserve ahead.

North Garden

This tasting room and orchard is the visitor side of Albemarle CiderWorks on Rural Ridge Lane in North Garden, where Virginia heirloom apples are grown and pressed into dry, English-style hard ciders. Guests taste through the current lineup, take orchard-to-bottle tours of the cidery, and browse the on-site Vintage Virginia Apples nursery of heritage apple trees. The room opens Friday through Monday afternoons.

Crozet

Henley's Orchard has been family-owned since 1932, off Holly Hill Farm in Crozet, apple-and-peach country west of Charlottesville. Beyond the fruit orchard, Henley's makes its own ciders and wines and hosts weddings and events at a second venue on Jones Mill Road. Seasonal pick-your-own and a farm store round out the offerings.

Palmyra

Fruit Hill Orchard works more than 2,000 fruit trees on Thomas Jefferson Parkway in Palmyra, in Fluvanna County southeast of Charlottesville. Apples anchor the pick-your-own, and the farm plants thousands of vegetables each year alongside the trees. Cornhole and other yard games make it a family outing rather than a quick stop.

Crozet

Spring Valley Orchard opens for pick-your-own sweet cherries in a valley along Spring Valley Road in Afton, ringed by the Blue Ridge. Run by the Chiles family of Crozet's orchards, it offers a short cherry season that generally starts in late May or early June and wraps by July, weather depending. Call in season for picking conditions before heading out.