Bookings can be made through the online calendar at the links below.
If you have questions, please email groups@skytoporchard.com or call 828-692-7930.
Sky Top Orchard will open in mid-July with peach picking! (dependent on ripening times)
Stay tuned for updates!
Our Varieties
Please note: Season ripening dates are dependent on weather and
may change from year to year. The dates below are an estimate.
June-July
Sour Cherries
Description: Crisp & juicy
Purpose: snacking, jams & jellies, pies
Season begins: June
Lodi/ Early Transparent
Description: Tart
Purpose: Apple sauce & cooking
Season begins: Late June - Early July
Freestone Peaches
Description: Sweet
Purpose: Eating & cooking
Season begins: Early-Mid July
August
.png)
Ginger Gold
Description: Pale yellow, crisp, sweet-tart
Purpose: Snacking, cooking
Season begins: Early August
Gala
Description: Juicy, sweet, moderately crisp
Purpose: Snacking, pies, and salads
Season begins: Mid-August
.png)
Grapes
Description: Concord Grapes
Purpose: Table grapes, jelly, snacking
Season begins: Late August - Early September
Asian Pear
Description: Crisp & juicy
Purpose: Snacking, salads, desert
Season begins: Early August
Early Mac
Description: Juicy, semi-firm, lightly tart
Purpose: Snacking, apple sauce, and salads
Season begins: Mid-August
Honeycrisp
Description: Juicy, semi-firm, lightly tart
Purpose: Snacking, pies, and salads
Season begins: Mid-August/early September
September
Cortland
.png)
Description: Sweet with a hint of tartness
Purpose: Eating, salads, sauces, pies, baking
Season begins: Mid-Late September
Jonathan
Description: Semi-firm, sweet-tart
Purpose: Dessert, applesauce, baking, cider
Season begins: Mid Sept - Late Sept/early Oct.
Mutsu/ Crispin
.png)
Description: Firm, crisp, juicy, sweet-tart
Purpose: Baking (holds shape well)
Season begins: Mid-Sept- Late Sept/early Oct.
Jonagold
Description: Moderately crisp, sweet-tart
Purpose: Snacking, pies, cider
Season begins: Early September
Macoun
Description: Crisp, juicy
Purpose: Dessert, cider
Season begins: Late Sept/early Oct.
Ida Red
Description: Sweet-tart, juicy, firm
Purpose: Sauces, cooking, baking, pies
Season begins: Late Sept/early Oct.
Stayman/ Winesap
Description: Tart, firm
Purpose: Dessert, pies, apple butter, cider
Season begins: Late Sept/early Oct.
Ambrosia
.png)
Description: Crisp, sweet, mellow
Purpose: Snacking
Season begins: Late Sept/early Oct.
.png)
Golden Delicious
Description: Juicy with a mild, sweet flavor
Purpose: Snacking, pies, and salads
Season begins: Mid-September
Fuji
Description: Crisp, juicy, sweet, semi-firm
Purpose: Eating & Baking
Season begins: Mid Sept- Late Sept/early Oct.
Candy Crisp
Description: Firm, juicy, sweet
Purpose: Snacking, pies, and salads
Season begins: Mid-Sept - Late Sept/early Oct.
.png)
Red Delicious
Description: Sweet, juicy
Purpose: Eating, salads
Season begins: Mid-Sept - Late Sept/early Oct.
Granny Smith
Description: Hard, crisp, tart
Purpose: Eating & Cooking (excellent keeper)
Season begins: Late Sept/early Oct.
.png)
McIntosh
Description: Crisp, tender, subacid to sweet
Purpose: Dessert, baking, cider
Season begins: Late Sept/early Oct.
Cosmic Crisp
Description: Crisp, juicy, sweet-tart
Purpose: Snacking
Season Begins: Late Sept/early Oct.
Blushing Gold
Description: Juicy, sweet, mild crisp, and semi-firm
Purpose: Snacking, pies, and salads
Season begins: Late Sept/early Oct.
October
Cameo
Description: Extra crisp, juicy, slight honey flavor
Purpose: slicing, salads - perfect substitute for Honeycrisp
Season begins: Early October
Pink Lady
Description: Very crisp, sweet-tart
Purpose: Snacking, pies, and salads
Season begins: Mid-Late October
Gold Rush
Description: Rich spicy flavor
Purpose: Dessert, pies, cider
Season begins: Mid-Late October
Evercrisp
Description: Juicy, sweet, mild crisp, and semi-firm
Purpose: Snacking, pies, and salads
Season begins: Early October
Rome
Description: Extra crisp, juicy, slight honey flavor
Purpose: Baking, applesauce
Season begins: Mid-Late October
Arkansas Black
Description: Juicy, sweet, mild crisp, and semi-firm
Purpose: Snacking, pies, and salads
Season begins: Mid-Late Oct.
%20copy%202.png)
Our Varieties
*Please note: Variety ripening dates are estimates based on weather and may change from year to year. We do our best to update availability daily during apple season!
Looking for the best variety to bake a pie, try your hand at pressing cider, or just want to know what's ripe during the time of your visit?
Use our online filter feature (below) to discover that perfect variety!
SweeTango
Early August
Sweet and crunchy early-ripening apple with a lively touch of citrus, honey, and spice.
Pink Lady®
Mid October
Honey-sweet apple. Great for eating as well as cooking and sauce. Long growing season.
Rome
Early October
"Rome Beauty." Best for cooking as its mild flavor is enriched when cooked. Maintains shape when cooked.
Stayman Winesap
Early October
Firm, tart apple with a thick skin. Good for storage. Great all-purpose apple for eating and baking.
Fuji
Late September
Very flavorful and good for eating fresh as well as a dried apple. Can be stored for up to a year.
Macoun
Mid September
Crisp and juicy. Sweet flavor with a hint of berry. Good for eating, charcuterie boards, or fresh salads; flesh browns slowly.
Mutsu/ Crispin
Mid September
Sweet and firm. Maintains shape and flavor when cooked. Great for baking.
Jonagold
Early September
Crisp, juicy apple that is sweet with a hint of tartness. Cross between a Jonathon and Golden Delicious. Great all around apple, good for baking, snacking and cider.
Asian Pear
Late August
Crunchy, sweet fruits that are great for snacking, salads, cheese plates, or desserts. Asian pears are round in shape and have rough, matte skin with greenish-yellow speckles.
Ginger Gold
Mid August
Sweet, tangy, and juicy. Hold shape well when cooked and are recommended for baking. Brown slowly when cut, making them an excellent choice for salads or cheese plates.
Sour Cherries
Late June
Bright red, juicy, and tart. Best use is for baking, and chutneys or jams.
Freestone Peaches
Mid July
Delicious, juicy peach with a firm texture. Pit removes easily from the flesh, making them easy to enjoy!
Ambrosia
Mid October
Soft crunch similar to Golden Delicious. Great for eating or juicing. Skin is slow to brown so a good apple for salads.
Blushing Gold
Early October
Sweet, honey-like flavored apple. Great for snacking with a perfectly balanced sweet-tart flavor. Firm, dense flesh. Crunchy with medium juice.
Granny Smith
Early October
Tart and crisp. Keeps its shape when cooked, great for pies and cider. High in antioxidants. It has a long storage life.
Cameo
Late September
Sweet with a hint of tart. Flesh is firm and crisp. Great for eating, baking, and applesauce.
Red Delicious
Mid September
Bright red color. Sweet in flavor. Keeps well. Best for snacking and salads. Beautiful apples for display and in holiday decoration.
Jonathan
Mid September
Crisp and juicy apple with tart acidic undertones. Great eating and baking apples. Jonathan apples keep their shape when used in pies, crisps, and other desserts.
Cortland
Early September
Derived from the McIntosh. Juicy and slightly sweet. Browns slowly after cutting, making it great for salads. Great for pies and sauce, breaks down when cooked.
Honeycrisp
Mid August
Very juicy crisp refreshing apple. Best for eating and salads. Stores well and retains flavor well when refrigerated.
Early Mac
Early August
Juicy, moderately firm and tangy (sweet-tart) taste. This variety is good for applesauce and snacking. They do not keep well and are best eaten at harvest.
Gold Rush
Mid October
Sweet-tart. Very flavorful all-purpose apple. Holds up well in storage.
Arkansas Black
Mid October
Excellent apple for cooking and cider. Stores well because of its thick skin that darkens with time.
Cosmic Crisp
Early October
Cross of Enterprise and Honeycrisp. Ideal for snacking, cooking, baking, and entertaining. Large, juicy, and red apple that has a balanced flavor and firm texture
EverCrisp
Early October
Hybrid of Honeycrisp and Fuji. Sweet and crunchy. Stores well. Great for cooking and eating, just like its parent apples!
Ida Red
Mid September
Tart and juicy apple with mild flavor. Good for pies and sauces. Great for storage, can last up to 6 months refrigerated.
Candy Crisp
Mid September
Sweet-tart apple similar to the taste and texture of the Honeycrisp. Introduced in 2005, found by chance growing in a red delicious apple orchard.
Golden Delicious
Early September
Great all-purpose apple; good for eating, baking and popular for apple butter and cider, due to high sugar content. Due to sweet flavor, reduce sugar when used in baking. Excellent keeper.
McIntosh
Early September
Great flavor when cooked! It breaks down easily, making it great for applesauce. Can also be used in pies paired with a tart apple that keeps its shape.
Gala
Mid August
Juicy, crisp apple with a sweet taste. Very popular for snacking, baking and applesauce. Keeps well in storage.
Lodi/ Early Transparent
Early August
"Applesauce Queen." These tart apples are regarded as one of the best apples for applesauce and apple butter, as their soft flesh makes them break down easily when mashed.