OUT OF DODGE: Applewood Orchards & Winery

It’s a brisk, beautiful fall afternoon in the Northeast. Where can we go that has something for everyone, you ask?

Drive up Route 17 into the soft underbelly of New York State, just as the Catskills begin to assert their claim on the landscape. There you’ll find Warwick, New York—home to Applewood Orchards.

As one might guess by the name, there are apples at Applewood Orchard, with the opportunity to walk the substantial grounds and pick your own. As autumn grows even cooler, pumpkin picking is also on the itinerary. Don’t worry, there’s a tractor to help you drag your load back to the orchard HQ—and that’s where the real fun begins.

Enjoy a nice hot apple cider and some doughnuts as you take in live music and games for the kids. Or better yet, try the wine…

Applewood Orchards is also home to Applewood Winery, crafting a wide variety of Chardonnays, Cabernets, fruit wines, dessert wines, applejack and even vodka. Of course hard cider is also on the menu, with Applewood Winery producing the renowned Naked Flock line of ciders (available at Sparrow Wine & Liquor here in Hoboken).

Good news for the designated driver—Warwick and Applewood Orchards are a mere 45-minute drive from Hoboken. Adjacent to the Appalachian Trail, the scenery in and around Warwick offers quite a spectacle as the leaves start to change in those sweeping valleys.

A quick afternoon trip interloping among the apple trees refreshes the soul, highlighting the true natural beauty that surrounds our region. Once you fight the traffic back into town and find parking, put a few handpicked apples on the kitchen table and remind yourself just how close it is.

applewoodorchards.com