On my way home, I often drive by the apple orchard established by the former owner of our lovely Everett Mansion, the historic Southern Vermont Orchards (you may know them a bit better as The Apple Barn with those ridiculously delicious donuts). Over the past few weeks, though, I have been noticing that the apples have been disappearing from the trees lining Carpenter Hill… all at once it struck me: it’s apple season!

Warm spiced cider, donuts, and crates and crates of apples… it’s practically official: fall is here! Though there will be plenty of opportunities to head to the store to pick up a bag or two of local, freshly-picked apples over the coming months, if you are more into picking your own, there are some great options.

Appleberry Farm in Shaftsbury  is open right now through November 1st, offering pick-your-own apples, as well as an assortment of jams, honey, and maple syrup at their farm stand on West Mountain Rd. In operation since 1975, they can be reached at (802) 442-3203 for more information.

Mad Tom Orchard in E. Dorset, about 6 miles north of Manchester Center, offers a wide selection of apples, including Honeycrisp, Gala, Macintosh, Cortland, Macoun, and Ginger Gold. Apple season was a bit early for them this year, so their apples are ripe for the picking. They are open Tue-Sun from 9:30 to 5 and offer cider and donuts on Sat and Sun. Apples are $1.10 a pound, up to 20 pounds, and discounted down to $0.90 a pound for over 20 pounds. They also offer a $.25 discount to those who bring their own bag.

Mad Tom Orchard is located at 2615 Mad Tom Orchard, East Dorset VT. They can be reached at (802) 366-8107. You can also visit their website, madtomorchard.com for more information.

There you have it: right here in Bennington County there are three orchards with numerous varieties of apples, sure to meet everyone’s taste. So get out there while the weather is nice and the orchards are full, and don’t forget to stop by the Apple Barn to get yourself some freshly made cider donuts while you are at it; they are literally what apple season is all about!