Scott's Orchard Stops Public Picking October 17. The Apples Keep Coming.
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
"We will be picking apples through October into November, and we have plenty of apples all the way into the new year." Will Scott said that to WHNT in late September, while Scott's Orchard was marking its 125th year on Scott Road in Hazel Green. He also called this year's crop one of the best the family has grown in those 125 years.
Look at the orchard's own calendar, though, and public picking ends on Saturday, October 17. The two dates fit together once you see that Scott's runs two apple seasons. The pick-your-own fields are open on a short, fixed schedule. Behind them is a working farm with a packing line, cold storage, and weekly deliveries to school cafeterias, and that farm keeps going after the public gate closes.
Scott's sets its public season by a rule, not by the crop. Pick-your-own starts on Labor Day "every year and runs through the third Saturday in October." This year the third Saturday falls on October 17, and that is the last pick-your-own date on the 2026 calendar. Apart from an Operations Tour that same morning, nothing else appears on the calendar until March 20, 2027.
So a strong crop doesn't add any public days. What it does is leave more fruit for the rest of the operation once the gate closes. Will Scott's comment about picking into November describes the orchard's own harvest. It isn't a promise that the fields will reopen to visitors.
That is also why this family has lasted. Scott's traces its start to 1901, when Thomas M. Scott Jr. and Viola Scott began farming 233 acres, and the first apple crop came in 1927. Five generations later, the family page lists Larry and Joan Scott in the third generation, Kevin Scott in the fourth, and Will Scott in the fifth. Will runs pick-your-own and coordinates the Farm-to-School program and the orchard's farmers market presence. The same family member handles the public fields, the cafeteria deliveries, and the market stands.
As of October 4, 2026, there are fewer than two weeks of public picking left. Here is how the remaining days fall on the orchard's calendar:
| Date | Listing | Posted hours |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, Oct. 4 | PYO Apples Sunday | Afternoon, from 1:00 p.m. |
| Mon.–Wed., Oct. 5–7 | PYO Apples Fall Break | 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. |
| Thu.–Sat., Oct. 8–10 | PYO Apples Thursday–Saturday | 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. |
| Sunday, Oct. 11 | PYO Apples Sunday | Afternoon, from 1:00 p.m. |
| Monday, Oct. 12 | PYO Apples Columbus Day | 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. |
| Thu.–Sat., Oct. 15–17 | PYO Apples Thursday–Saturday | 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. |
October 13 and 14 aren't on the schedule. The orchard's pages also give slightly different times. The FAQ says picking ends at 4:00 p.m., while the apple-picking page and the individual event listings say 4:30 p.m. Sunday event pages show a 1:20 p.m. start, while the general schedule says 1:00 p.m. Under the newer listing, ticket sales and picking payments stop at 4:30 p.m., and visitors can stay on the grounds until 5:00 p.m. If you're planning a late-afternoon visit, check the current hours on the Scott's Orchard website before you go.
Each Saturday of the season also brings food trucks, and admission covers the play area, bounce pad, bubble station, and story-board trails.
Admission is $7 for everyone school-age and up, whether or not they pick. Picking bags cost extra: $8 for a half-peck, which holds about 12 apples, or $14 for a full peck, about 24. Not everyone in a group needs a bag. For a family of four with school-age kids, that's $28 to get in before any apples. One full peck brings the total to $42.
The orchard supplies the bags at check-in and asks visitors not to bring their own bags or baskets into the fields. You pay for every apple picked, including the ones children pick. Apples that have touched the ground can't be harvested or eaten. Pets and emotional-support animals have to stay out of the farm grounds beyond the parking lot. Trained ADA service animals are allowed.
The orchard runs rain or shine. Fields close during active lightning, and weather problems are handled with a reschedule or a credit rather than a cash refund. Booking ahead is recommended, though walk-ups are allowed.
This fall, Scott's added a way to see the working farm. Its new behind-the-scenes Operations Tours started in September and include a live demonstration of the packing line, a visit to cold storage, and a wagon ride through the trees. A regular picking ticket doesn't include a wagon ride, so the tour is the only way to get one. Tours cost $12 per person and leave at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Saturdays. The last two tour dates on the 2026 calendar are October 10 and October 17.
The packing line and cold storage are the reason the apples outlast the public season. In the same WHNT report, the orchard said it supplies roughly 15 school districts in the area, each getting a fresh delivery of apples every week. Will Scott told the station he thinks it's important for kids to know "the same apples that they're serving at home are also being served at the cafeteria." Plenty of Hazel Green families who never visit an orchard in a given year will still find Scott's apples on a school lunch tray.
After the fields close, you can still buy the fruit in three places listed on the orchard's own pages:
Greene Street Market also has holiday markets on November 15 and December 13, but the sources we found don't say whether Scott's will have a stand at either one. If you want apples in December, the Farm Store is the only option the orchard confirms.
The store sells more than apples. Its pages list apple cider, cider slushies, homemade fried pies, baked goods, ice cream, jams, and jellies. The family page calls Joan Scott's homemade caramel apples an annual autumn treat, though it doesn't say how long they're sold each year. The orchard's June blog post suggests taking home a gallon of cider to warm with cinnamon and cloves once winter arrives.
Scott's says it can't guarantee which varieties will be ripe on any particular visit. It does point out that Pink Lady is a late-season apple that usually isn't ready until at least October. The orchard's variety guide puts Gala in late summer and early fall, Honeycrisp in early autumn, and Fuji in mid-to-late fall. So the last weekend of public picking is likely to lean toward the later apples, and late varieties like Fuji and Pink Lady are what you're likely to find in the store bins after October 17. Since the orchard won't promise a variety on a given day, ask at the Farm Store counter what's in that week.
If you live in Hazel Green, you can pick through October 17 and keep buying from the same trees through the holidays. The fruit just comes from cold storage and the store shelves instead of the branch.
At Marsha Buxton and Team Buxton, we keep track of places like Scott's Orchard because they help define north Madison County for the families we work with. If you're in Hazel Green and wondering what your home is worth this fall, we'd be glad to put together a Free Home Valuation for you.
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