After a 2023 apple crop that several Door County orchard managers described as a bumper crop, followed by a 2024 that they generally called a little below average, the 2025 Door County apple crop appears to be right around where it should be for the number, size and quality of the fruits as residents and visitors from all over head out to the orchards for the bustling pick-your-own apple season.
Orchards that offer pick-your-owns of early ripening apple varieties like Zestar, Ginger Gold and Viking have been open since the end of August, with midseason apples like McIntoshes, Cortlands, Galas and Honeycrisps on tap for mid-September, maybe a week later, followed in October by the late varieties like the well-known Red Delicious.
Weather plays the biggest factor in when the apples are ready, of courses, as well as how big and well are the crops. While orchard managers contacted by the Advocate all said they have crops that are average or maybe a little better for 2025, there was more diversity when it came to whether the apples were on schedule.
The 2025 season saw a cool spring, which slows the pollinators that do their work to help the apple trees grow. That was followed by an unusually hot summer, but unlike 2024’s abnormally dry summer, rain fell when it was needed in the summer of 2025, and a recent cool spell, especially at nights, helped accelerate the ripening process. And most orchard trees were undamaged this year by wind and hail storms, including the heavy Aug. 9 storm that wreaked most of its havoc on northern Door County.
Tracy Robertoy, manager of Hyline Orchards in Fish Creek, said while their cherry trees incurred some damage, the apples seem to have come through pretty well.
A post on the website of Hillside Apples in Casco in neighboring Kewaunee County said, “As you may have noticed, this year’s spring was cold! Not too cold, but cold enough that the pollinators likes bees and butterflies had a slow start. The cold weather kept the flowers on the trees longer but the pollination was slow to begin. As a result, some varieties will be light or may not be available.”
One orchard whose apples are close to being on schedule is Fellner Orchards in Sturgeon Bay, which plans to open for pick-your-own varieties of McIntosh, Honeycrisp and Cortland apples around Sept. 20. Owner Bob Fellner described his crop as “a little bit better than average.”
“The cold spring slowed things a little bit, it took a little longer for everything to develop, but we seem to be right on schedule,” Fellner said. “If it had been a very dry summer like last year, there might’ve been a delay, but the rain kept us on schedule and the cool nights helped move things along.”
On the other hand, Skipp Robertson, owner/manager of Robertson’s Orchards of Door County in rural Sturgeon Bay. said his apples are about two weeks behind their usual schedule. The orchard opened for pick-your-own early apples Aug. 27 instead of mid-August.
However, Robertson said his crop is looking about average for the number of apples and quite well for size. He said with more cool nighttime temperatures, his pick-your-own season could run into November, as it did when he had a huge crop in 2023, instead of ending in late October. He noted his 2024 apple crop amounted to 350 bushels, compared to 2,500 bushels on average.
“We did pretty well this year in comparison to last year,” Robertson said. “Last year was very below average, the year before that was very above average. This year we’re on track for a pretty average year. We got rain at the right times, got warm at the right times.”
An orchard manager who said their apples were a little ahead of what was expected is Debbie Musil of Choice Orchards in Sturgeon Bay, which opened Aug. 30 for its early season varieties. She said the number of apples there is about average for their season and their size is good, not so big that they fall from trees before they can be picked.
“I think it was the heat and the rain, then we had some cool nights,” Musil said. “(The cool) ripens them, gets the sugars flowing.”
Know before you go
Here’s a list of apple orchards holding pick-your-own seasons in Door County, gathered from websites and phone calls. The season usually lasts until the middle to end of October, basically as long as they’re available for picking, but it can end sooner or later depending on how quickly the apples are picked and if they ripen quicker than expected.
Interested pickers should call the orchards or visit their websites, especially their Facebook pages, for the latest information, including open dates and the apple varieties available at a given time; some orchards are not open seven days a week for picking. Dress for the weather. Also, remember that most offer pre-picked fresh apples for sale along with other apple products.
DOOR COUNTY
KEWAUNEE COUNTY
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Picking your own apples in Door County this fall? Here’s how the apple crops are looking
Reporting by Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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