LynOaken Farms — Local services in Town of Ridgeway

We’re calling this THE APPLE MUSEUM.

My husband grew up in a hot climate and had never been apple picking. For his birthday we checked this off the bucket list.

This was a sleeper orchard for a plant lover! The staking and pruning method keeps the trees at about a max of 10 feet tall with even and easy to reach branches for families with tiny humans. If you grew up with massive old growth apple orchards (like I did) this might be a surprise, but it really did make the harvesting easy and they do indeed have stunning old trees grown in this style that are as old as 200 years! Each breed is clearly labeled with its origin location and year of cultivation.

My FAVORITE part of this spot was the Heritage Apple section which was almost 20 rows off showing off individual trees of various breeds of apple tree with the oldest variety we saw from the 1200s! If you don’t know about apples, let’s nerd out for a moment. Apples produce genetically unique seeds (not unlike humans) SO every Granny Smith apple you’ve ever had is a graft or clone of THE original Granny Smith tree. If you plant every seed from a Granny Smith apple, zero Granny Smith trees will grow. Wild right!? This means that the winter Pearmain from England I the 1200s is genetically identical to that first tree and it has SEEN SOME STUFF! It was thrilling to be able to taste the Balleyfatten apple which would have been growing in Ireland during the time my family was still living there.

We went to another good orchard that had lots of activities, but the apple museum was still our favorite. If you want to taste a massive variety of apples this is the spot. There is a lovely onsite winery and tasting room with local ciders,...

I visit this great winery/store at least 4 times a year. The staff is super friendly as well as helpful in making apple type suggestions according to our taste. I especially love the autumn because you are able to sample the various types of apple as well as fill your bags over the rim. The workers are very courteous and enjoyable while we decide which ones we are going to buy. The gift shop is also enjoyable with everything from soup mixes, to chocolate down to trinkets and figurines. For the wine drinkers, there is sampling done on the western end of the building. The prices are very reasonable and the staff is very generous. The one thing that you do not want to do is wait until a later date to purchase your favorite type of wine. This is because they sell out quickly due to high demand. I found that out the hard way. Oh, I almost forgot that for those who like to pick the fruit fresh from the trees, the staff will take the time to set you up with all of the details you need to have a productive day of gathering apples from the trees. Unfortunately, I am not a picker, but a sorter for the best in the large crates located just behind the winery (during the fall season). If you are not sure of which apples are in season, the staff will provide you with a calendar and description of each apple type. One very good suggestion I received from the staff was to put the apples immediately in the refrigerator to maintain their freshness and that special apple crunch when you...

Super cute and well run orchard and winery. We wanted to get out, enjoy the weather and pick some apples this year. I looked up some reviews and LynOaken was highly recommended and offered a lot of varieties. A huge bonus was that there was a winery next door!

I called in advance to see what the U-pick varieties were for the date I was looking to go because all the varieties are not ready to be picked at once. This year they had an online reservation system set up due to the pandemic. $7 included parking and a small bag of non specialty apples. You could buy more u-pick or prepicked apples on site. When you arrive there is a super cute country store set up with pre picked apples, cider, baked goods, vegetables and other treats. Once you check in there are wagons you can use to lug apples or transport kids which was a nice bonus. The area is large but not too spread out so it’s nice to take a family and kids can’t go too far. The staff is helpful and knows a lot about their products. Delicious and fresh apples and very clean and well run place.

The winery, Leonard Oakes Estates, next door also had outdoor seating. I think there was indoor as well if you wanted. $10 got you 3 generous tastings and an ample choice of charcuterie, nuts, etc. There were a lot of tasty wine and ciders to choose from. Overall a fun day with tons of yummy options to...