Apple Season at Deardorff Orchards

Apple season is Waconia's biggest fall draw outside the Scarecrow Tour. Deardorff Orchards, a working family farm dating to 1888, opens for pick-your-own apples around Labor Day weekend and runs until the trees are picked out — usually late October. More than 3,000 trees grow Minnesota-bred varieties including SweeTango, Zestar!, Honeycrisp, and Haralson, ripening in roughly that order across September and October. Tractor rides are complimentary when you pick your own apples, and the farm stand adds pumpkins, mums, and local honey as the season turns. Parley Lake Winery pours estate wine on the same farmstead, which makes this the rare orchard trip that works for every generation of the car. Check the orchard's website or social pages before you go — open days and picking availability shift week to week with the crop.

What to Expect

• Pick-your-own SweeTango, Zestar!, Honeycrisp & Haralson apples
• Complimentary tractor rides when you pick
• Pumpkins, mums, and local honey in the farm stand
• Parley Lake Winery tasting room on the same farm
• Opens Labor Day weekend — season ends when the apples run out