Orchards Near Me
Apple Picking Near Olympia: What You Need to Know
Olympia sits in the top apple-producing state in the nation, and while the rain-drenched Puget Sound area is more focused on evergreen forests than orchards, the drive east across the Cascades leads into the Yakima Valley and Wenatchee area—together responsible for roughly half of all American apple production. Washington orchards set the national standard for quality and variety selection.
Pacific Coast Apple Country
The Pacific states produce some of the finest apples in the world, with Washington State alone responsible for roughly sixty percent of American commercial apple production. Oregon's Willamette Valley and Hood River, California's high-elevation Sierra Nevada foothills, and even Alaska's sheltered growing sites all contribute to a Pacific apple culture that encompasses everything from industrial-scale commercial orchards to tiny artisan operations growing heirloom varieties for the farmers market trade. The climate along the Pacific coast—particularly in the inland valleys and foothill regions—provides the warm days and cool nights that produce exceptional apple flavor, and the pick-your-own operations that welcome visitors here tend to offer variety selection and quality that is hard to match anywhere else in the country.
Best Time to Go Apple Picking Near Olympia
August through November in the Yakima and Wenatchee areas, with Washington's long season one of the reasons the state produces such a remarkable variety of apples.
Tips for Your Olympia Apple Picking Trip
For residents of Olympia who want to visit Washington's apple country, the drive east through the Cascades via US-12 through White Pass or I-90 through Snoqualmie Pass leads to the Yakima Valley and Central Washington—some of the most productive agricultural land in the world. The scale of Washington's orchards is staggering, and the pick-your-own operations that welcome visitors offer a glimpse into the state's most important agricultural industry.