Orchards Near Me
Peach Picking Near Richmond: What You Need to Know
The orchards of the Blue Ridge foothills and the Shenandoah Valley, both within range of Richmond, have grown peaches alongside apples for generations, with the elevation and air drainage of the hill country helping protect the trees from the frost pockets that can damage a crop on the flatter Piedmont. Carter Mountain Orchard near Charlottesville is one of the region's best-known pick-your-own destinations.
Mid-Atlantic Peach Country
The mid-Atlantic has one of the deepest peach-growing traditions in the country, anchored by the historic Delmarva Peninsula peach belt that made Delaware a national leader in the nineteenth century and by New Jersey's Gloucester County, still a major producer today. Pennsylvania's Adams County grows peaches on a serious commercial scale alongside its famous apples, and Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia all contribute their own orchards along the region's river valleys and hill country. The peach season here typically runs from July through August, often overlapping with the blueberry harvest at the same farms.
Best Time to Go Peach Picking Near Richmond
July through August, with both the Blue Ridge foothills and Shenandoah Valley orchards typically ripening around the same time.
Tips for Your Richmond Peach Picking Trip
Both the Blue Ridge foothills and Shenandoah Valley orchards are within range of Richmond and worth checking, since elevation differences mean one area may be riper than the other on a given week. Carter Mountain Orchard near Charlottesville is a popular and reliable choice.