The Easiest Apple Orchard to get to from NYC & Tips for Apple Picking with a Baby

One of my favorite traditions we’ve started since moving to NYC is our annual trip to an apple orchard. We’ve now visited 6 or 7 different orchards and I have to admit, the orchard we visited this year was my favorite. And it’s the easiest apple orchard to get to from NYC. Don’t get me wrong, the other orchards were great, but this one was far less crowded. This year we went to Outhouse Orchards. It is located right across the road from the Harvest Moon Orchard, so you can actually visit two different orchards in one day. In my opinion, these are the two easiest apple orchards to get to from NYC.

To get there we simply took the Metro North and took one of the shuttle vans to the orchard. Once you get off the shuttle van, you can either walk into the Harvest Moon Orchard or the Outhouse Orchard. Last year we went to the Harvest Moon Orchard and it was fun. They have a live band, tons of food and drinks, a little pumpkin patch and of course apple trees. But it was also filled with people. This year we planned on going there again, but when we arrived we learned there were no more apples left on the trees. So we walked over to Outhouse Orchard instead. When we arrived we headed straight to the Fiji trees and found we were literally the only ones picking in that area. It was amazing! And there were still so many apples! I’ve always loved apple picking, but apple picking with a baby is SOOO much better than simply apple picking with family and friends. Cayson had never really seen an apple prior to that day and he was completely in awe.

{see our previous apple picking experiences here, here & here}

The first two times we went apple picking we rented a car and the last two times we went apple picking we took the train. After having done both, I decided it would probably be easier for us to take the train with Cayson. We also knew we would end up buying apple cider donuts and picking a bag of apples, so we chose to travel with as few items as possible. So Caleb simply carried Cayson {at 7 months old} in his MilaMily and I carried the Azaria diaper bag. And I’m so glad that’s all we brought. We saw other people with strollers, but many of them were struggling to get around. Cayson napped for a while on the train {we simply laid him down across a couple seats} and he also napped in the MiaMily while Caleb and I strolled around. He was so easy to travel with and I would duplicate our day exactly if we were to do it again.

Now we have so many apples!
What are some of your favorite ways to enjoy an apple?
Any favorite apple recipes?

on me:
sweater Ralph Lauren :: jeans Hudson :: scarf from Paris, similar here :: boots DSW
sunglasses c/o DIFF {discount code CHLOEARNOLD} ::leather jacket Neiman Marcus old, similar here
diaper backpack c/o Azaria

on dad:
sweater Banana Republic :: jeans Banana Republic :: watch c/o Daniel Wellington :: boots DSW :: baby carrier MiaMily

on Cayson:
pants Zara :: shoes Old Navy :: sweater Gap :: jacket Zara