Fall is here in Northeast Pennsylvania! Fall in Luzerne County means apple orchards, pumpkin patches, Halloween fun, leaf peeping, and fall festivals.
Here are some of our favorite places to add to your spooky season agenda:
Lakeland Orchard and Cidery
Located about 45 minutes north of downtown Wilkes-Barre, Lakeland Orchard and Cidery is a beautiful apple orchard featuring more than 30 varieties of apples available to pick from any of their 20,000 trees on 17 acres.
Fall at Lakeland features pick-your-own apples, a pumpkin patch, train rides on the Lakeland Express, a carousel, and lawn games for kids and adults. There’s also a cider garden with delicious hard cider, live music, axe throwing, and food like burgers, BBQ, and apple cider donuts. They also have freshly made kettle corn and apple dumplings.
Tickets for this season’s Apple Harvest Festival, which runs through October, are on sale now.
Roba Family Farms
For more than 30 years, the Roba Family Farms has been the ultimate in Halloween farm fun. Located not far from Lakeland Orchard, Roba Family Farms offers fall-themed activities to keep the whole family entertained.
More than 30 attractions await, including slides, big races, face painting, a low ropes course, a regular and mini corn maze, farm animals, a bubble patch, The Marvelous Mutts Dog Show, live entertainment, and delicious farm food. Pumpkin donuts, pumpkin funnel cakes, kettle corn, apple cider slushes, plus a brand new BBQ stand. And don’t forget about their famous pumpkin patch!
Enjoy the fun through the end of October.
The Lands at Hillside Farms
A beautiful, working, historical Victorian dairy farm located in Shavertown, The Lands at Hillside Farms is one of Luzerne County’s biggest treasures. No matter the time of year, Hillside is a picturesque backdrop for your fall fun.
Stop by and shop the Mercantile for fall-themed and other décor – with many things made by local artisans. The attached Dairy Store features farm fresh milk in beautiful glass bottles, artisan cheese, local honey, fresh coffee, homemade baked goods, jams and jellies, seasonal veggies, pasta, and delicious local bread.
Take in the beauty of the season with a walk around the farm, stopping in the barns to visit the animals. Sit on the benches throughout the property and admire the leaves as they hang over the pristine stream that runs through the farm.
No visit to Hillside is complete without some of their amazing fresh-made ice cream!
Brace’s Orchard
In operation since 1828, Brace’s Orchard is amongst the elite in local produce. While their summer fruits are nothing short of delicious, their apples are top notch.
Located in Dallas, Brace’s offers pick-your-own apples, orchard wagon rides, delicious apple pies, their own hard cider (in many flavors – not just apple!), apple cider vinegar, candy apples, caramel apples, homemade fudge, and their famous apple cider donuts.
Fall days at Brace’s are unmatched! Bring your camera and enjoy a beautiful day taking in the scenery. And the donuts. Did we mention the donuts?
Brace’s is open year-round.
Heller Orchards
For more than 100 years, Heller Orchards in Wapwallopen is the perfect place for quaint and charming fall fun. The retail store, which is open year-round, features the delicious varieties of apples (and pears, and peaches, and cherries) that the Heller family grows. They also sell their own apple cider and apple cider slushes.
Every October, Heller Orchards hosts its famous Apple Festival. Guests can buy local crafts, take in exhibits like sauerkraut making, apple butter churning, broom making, and an antique spinning wheel. There are homemade apple dumplings, soup, sausage and peppers, homemade candy, roasted corn – everything you need to truly enjoy a fall day outdoors.
Live music, clogging and square dancing, pumpkin picking, and wagon rides through the orchard truly make for a small-town fall experience.
The apple festival takes place the third full weekend in October.
Whistle Pig Pumpkin Patch
Located in rural Noxen, the Whistle Pig Pumpkin Patch is a haven for fall fun.
Take a free hayride, try and escape the corn maze, pick out the perfect pumpkin, take home decorative cornstalks and haybales, and check out their selection of gourds and, in their own words, “other weird things we grew.”
Depending on when you visit, they may also have for sale other fruits and vegetables grown right there on the farm. They also have make your own scarecrow workshops available throughout the season.
Whistle Pig is a great addition to your fall fun itinerary!