Orchards Near Me
Cherry Picking Near Albany: What You Need to Know
The Hudson Valley is one of the East Coast's premier cherry growing regions, with orchards from Albany south through Columbia and Dutchess Counties producing sweet and sour cherries from mid-June through early July. Albany's position at the northern end of the valley gives it convenient access to this cherry-rich corridor, and the orchards here often combine cherry picking in June with their better-known apple programs in fall.
New England and Northeast Cherry Picking
The northeastern states grow both sweet and sour cherry varieties in their orchards, with the best operations concentrated in New York's Hudson Valley, Massachusetts's Connecticut River valley, and the highlands of Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The cherry season in the Northeast runs from mid-June through early July—briefer than apple season but equally rewarding for those who plan for it. The same farms that run large apple picking programs in the fall often run quieter, more intimate cherry picking programs in early summer, offering a chance to experience orchard country when it's less crowded and the landscape is at its early-summer best. Heritage sweet varieties and old-fashioned sour pie cherries coexist at many of these farms, and the fresh-pressed cherry juice available at farm stands is worth seeking out specifically.
Best Time to Go Cherry Picking Near Albany
Mid-June through early July for the Hudson Valley cherry orchards, with the season offering both sweet and sour varieties across a two-to-three week window.
Tips for Your Albany Cherry Picking Trip
Hudson Valley cherry picking in June is a wonderfully under-the-radar experience given how famous the valley's apple season has become. Many orchards that run large apple-picking operations in fall offer quiet, uncrowded cherry picking a few months earlier to visitors who know to look for it. The valley in June is lush and warm without the fall crowds—an excellent time to explore it.