Editor’s Note (16 April 2016): we have been informed that the owner of the Summertown apple orchard has retired, so sadly it is no longer open for apple picking until further notice.
See the Apple picking in Summertown Facebook page here for updates.
For an alternative, two apple orchards in the Lenswood area of the Adelaide Hills will be opening their gates for apple picking on the last weekend of the April school holidays, Saturday 30 April & Sunday 1 May 2016, only. See all the details here.
A perfect outdoor family outing for apple lovers, is picking your own juicy apples in the Adelaide Hills.
The picturesque orchard is approximately 16kms and only about a 15-20 minute drive from Adelaide, all the way up Greenhill Road to Summertown.
Just turn into Hollidays Rd in Summertown and the orchard is at the end of that street – you can’t miss it. There is plenty of car parking available.
Buckets for picking apples are supplied but you will need your own bags or baskets to take the apples home in.
There are many varieties available, including favourites like Golden Delicious, Granny Smiths, Fujis, Pink Lady and Jonathans, depending on when you visit.
At only around $1.40 per kg to $2.40 per kg (as of April 2015) it’s a bargain.
Super fun for kids (and apple loving adults) as you can taste all the apples you want. Plus it is a real adventure wandering through the paths between the trees.
What a great way to show little ones where the fruit they eat comes from. Many of the trees are low so they can easily pick the fruit all by themselves. These kids loved it!
You’ll find lots of teeny tiny apples that are perfect for little hands. They are super cute and just as ripe and delicious. Perfect for a little snack. They are the cutest little apples you’ll see. We loved looking for the most perfect tiniest apples we could find. We found ones that were about 2cm high.
It’s a perfect setting to pack a picnic and eat it on the grass under one of the trees. The kids can run around to their heart’s content.
Also look out for some amazing birds while you are there… they may have their eyes on the apples too. We also spotted some kangaroos in the neighbouring fields.
You can buy other fruit and vegetables (in season) there, out of the boxes, at a great price as well.
Also available to purchase are eggs, fresh apple juice, cider, and apple cider vinegar.
Payment is by CASH ONLY.
Another bonus you’ll find is a rope swing at the bottom of the orchard. It’s old fashioned fun – just a basic rope tied to a tall tree. The kids loved having turns swinging as high as they could on this – it’s one you need to stand on and will need someone to push you.
TIP: There are twigs lying around which have sharp thorns. We recommend that you wear jeans or long pants. Otherwise there will be plenty of scratches on legs (we found out the hard way). Also at the bottom of the orchard near the rope swing there are blackberry bushes, also with very sharp thorns. If you are considering picking blackberries, perhaps bring some gloves along.
There is also a playground and toilets just around the corner at Tregarthen Reserve. Coming from the city, it’s on the corner of Greenhill Road & Tregarthen Rd just before Hollidays Rd. There are tennis courts there and a bbq with table & chairs. {Refer to map link below}
Apple picking is available on weekends only during apple season starting early to mid march and some public holidays (excluding Good Friday).
SUMMARY
- Buckets are provided for picking but you will need your own bags to take your apples home.
- Wear long pants/jeans to protect legs from sharp thorns on some bushes or twigs on the paths.
- Take cash for payment as there are no Eftpos facilities.
- There is no entry fee – you just pay the price per kg for the fruit you pick.
- Open on Saturdays & Sundays plus most public holidays (except Good Friday) during the season.
- Always check the Saturday Advertiser to check if they are open – see note below.
The owner always advertises in the ‘What’s On ‘ section of the Advertiser newspaper on Saturday mornings (look in the market section). The season generally finishes in late May to early June but of course varies every year. No advertisement in the paper means the season has finished.
PLEASE NOTE: We do not have any contact details for the orchard.
What: Apple Picking at Summertown
When: Apple Season – begins early/mid March | Open 11am to 5pm Saturday & Sundays
Where: Hollidays Road, Summertown | Map
Who: All Ages
Thanks so much to the Wilczynska-Semets clan for providing some of the wonderful photos and information above for this family review. And a big thank you to the Farrell-Billing crew who told us about this great outing. Thanks to Magda for some of the photos above, other photos are by Play & Go.
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
Sounds like an awesome activity for overseas visitors! May I know if the orchard will be open for apple picking on 9 or 10 June 2013? Thanks!!
Hi Mark
Unfortunately the orchard does not have any building or office so no phone number there to contact. We haven’t been able to find a contact number for the owners.
hi,
I was wondering if Summertown apple picking is open weekdays during the School Holidays?
If not, could you recommend anything else that is available please for fruit picking during the week please.
Kind Regards,
Ben
Apple picking will finish in early-mid May this year as cockies & parrots ruined a lot of the crop in January and it was a lighter crop than usual even before that.
Thanks so much for letting us know Max. We will let our readers know on our Facebook page. Cheers, Linda
Hi Ben, no the apple picking is usually only available on weekends and some public holidays. The apple orchard owner usually puts an ad in the What’s on section of the The Advertiser to advise when he is open so it’s best to check that. Strawberry picking is also an option but you would need to check directly with Beerenberg if there are strawberries still available. See our review post here about it: https://playandgo.com.au/index.php/beerenberg-farm-pick-your-own-strawberries/
Apples have finished a couple of weeks ago due to weather etc. Will start up again sometime in March next year. Look for the “whats on” section of the weekend paper (near the market advertisements). It is always advertised when on.
Hi just wondering when summer town apples picking is open for this year 2015?
Best regards
Jack
Will keep a look out for this and let everyone know. Usually it’s best to wait until the season is under way a bit so there are plenty of ripe apples to pick easily.
will summer town be opening this Saturday 21st of March 2015?
Hi, does anyone know is apple picking open this weekend?
Afrora
Is summer town apple picking open now??
Hi! I’m so glad to see that apples are in season this period of time. I’ll probably be visiting early May. Will apples picking be available during then?
The owner always puts an ad in the Saturday Advertiser to advise if he is open on the weekend.
Yes, it has been open. The owner always puts an ad in the Saturday Advertiser to advise if he is open on the weekend.
The owner always puts an ad in the Saturday Advertiser to advise if he is open on the weekend.
Open on easter Friday and weekend and Monday?
The owner of the orchard always puts an ad in the Saturday Advertiser in the What’s On section to say if they are open that weekend.
It will depend on how the season goes, weatherwise. Best to check closer to the time.
i would like to enjoy apple picking in Summertowj with family. Could anyone pls let me know owner’s contact number or tell me its open now (05-04-15 to 13-04-15).
thanks
We do not have the owner’s contact details. They always put an ad in the Saturday Advertiser in What’s On section to say when they are open. Pretty sure they are open now.
I am the owners brother and help him out at the weekends.He does not have email. As stated in the above article he is open on public holidays except Good Friday,(now past anyway) and Saturdays & Sundays until late June at least. There is always a tiny ad in the weekend papers under ‘Whats on this weekend”.
We provide buckets for you to pick into although having your own bags is an advantage as it means less handling.
The article above is very informative and has almost everything correct. The berries are late season wild blackberries that some people have been enjoying. As stated it is best not to wear thongs but decent strong shoes or sneakers.
The Apple Juice is made by one neighbour in the morning, and the jams are made by another neighbour mainly from their own grown berries.
Hi, i notice there is a message from the owners brother, we were at the orchard today 18 April 2015 we think we have dropped out keys in the car park please could you call me if anyone hand them in 0435877745. Thanks
Juliet
Hi, does anyone know if you can bring your dog along to the orchard?
Thanks
Thank you! We went apple picking today and it was a great experience! We saw kangaroos eating apples straight from the trees. Yummy apples and it’s great to support this man. He told me that the supermarkets don’t pay enough to make it worthwhile picking the apples commercially any more. It feels good to support the farmer directly.
Hi. We’ve just visited the farm today…myself, hubby and kids all had a ball.
Spoke to the man and he is thinking season will probably go to end of June as still heaps of apples on the trees.
omg have never tasted yummier, sweeter apples 😀
Thanks so much for letting us know Trish. That’s great to know the season is going strong (as last year I remember it ended much earlier). 🙂
Hi,
Please don’t go there any more. My family went there last weekend, 3rd April 2016 and they have already closed. They don’t have any contact number for us to call before coming there. Just a waste of a day after we have been traveling a long way to there place. Not good enough.
Thank you for letting us know. They always put an ad in The Advertiser to say if they are open and we have checked and not seen it so was wondering if they were open or not. You’re right, they have no contact details to check with them. This is why we specified in our review to check the paper to see if they are open. What a shame you went there and they were closed.
Unfortunately the owner has retired 🙁 Such a shame as we have been going here for many years now. It was always a lovely day out with the family.
Thanks for letting us know Rebecca. How sad! We love it there too.