looking for an orchard.

[ashwood]

My mom's coming up in a week, and we want to go to an apple orchard. there's several things we're looking for: -unpasturized cider. that's a must. -a good selection of apples. beyond macs and red del. -pick your own. not necessarily, but prefered. -location: somewhere west, or sw. preferably not more than 45 mins or so out of boston. any help would be welcome!

[kittychow]

LOVE the Nashoba Valley Winery and orchard. I've always had a great visit.

Hollis, NH is about a 45 minute drive and there a couple big orchards out there. It's a beautiful little town. You can also pick pumpkins. The two are Brookdales and Lavoi.
http://www.brookdalefarms.com/

[macca]

Whatever orchard to pick to visit, I would give them a call before you go. If you want to go apple picking, this year has not been the greatest. A lot of the orchards have already stopped the pick your own thing- though you can still get cider, etc. Good luck, and have fun

[mbtabus69]

Going on the suggestions in the post linked by DavisSquare, I went to Russell Orchards in Ipswich and had a blast.

They meet all your criteria (plus a hayride and petting zoo) except they are about 45min. NORTH of the city....But, the tradeoff is you can do a pitstop like we did at the amazing Clam Box right nearby. People say their cider donuts are the best and I concur completely. We were in by 11am and by the time we left at 1pm it was busy, but not crazy.

[DavisSquare]

Lots of suggestions here:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[DavisSquare]

West of the city, our pre-kid favorite was the Nashoba Valley Winery (www.nashobawinery.com/pick.html). It looks like the myriad heirloom apples there are now by appointment only, but if you're looking for an unusual variety, that's a good place. Word of warning: while the apples were great, the fruit wines were really nasty.

[MC Slim JB]

Cider Hill Farms in Amesbury.

I went to Honey Pot Hill on Columbus Day, and it was absolutely insanely overrun with people. I'm choosing another day for my annual excursion next year. Didn't even get a cider donut (lines too long).

[mangorita]

I was there on Columbus Day as well, but I got there at around 9:30 am. So there weren't any lines at that time. But the lines were absolutely crazy when we left at around 11. We were able to pick a good assortment of apples.

[Karl S]

Honey Pot Hill in Stow.

http://www.honeypothill.com/maps/index2.html

Carlson in Harvard.

http://www.carlsonorchards.com/hours....