Ridgefield Farm & Orchard

My girlfriend and I rode our motorcycles here from Virginia this weekend, but got held up in traffic and arrived after they had just closed. The owner, Alan, went out of his way to show us around anyway. The farm and orchard is beautiful, and the scarecrows are the most life-​like we have ever seen! 5/​5, would come again.

I purchased the 2 for $ 28 deal on Groupon, which included admission to the corn maze and 1 peck of apples per person.
Note: A peck of apples is about 10 – 12 lbs, according to google, so it was a fair value (The prices they have listed usually are ¼ peck for $ 6, and ½ peck for $ 10 I believe).
I was happy that they were open on Labor Day, and called ahead to see if they would honor the Groupon. It was no problem! They just wrote down the code, and we were off to picking. The girl explained to us that right now, they offer Empire and Gala apples for picking (it’s still super early in the season).
I was a little worried that the apples would taste too sour or too mushy but they were fine when I brought them home. The smaller (empire) apples were crunchy but not too tart!
The only thing I disliked was that there were rotting apples on the ground (and some on the branches), and bugs and birds were flying around; making it hard to grab good apples. The day we went had scattered rainstorms, so you can guess that we got stuck and soaked in the middle of the orchards. However, it still made for a fun memory and we had a good time.
The corn maze wasn’t too hard either, it was my first time doing both activities and Ridgefield was a small, quiet and peaceful farm to experience them.

Picked two pecks of apples here for 30 dollars using a Facebook coupon. The apples all in all were good but not the best I ever had. Small in size it was hard to pick enough ones with out blemishes. Also the rows were labeled at the end with what type of apples were in them, and some had different trees half way through with completely different apples, still good however. My only complaint is the women helping us was not to friendly and informative.

We also got the Certifikid deal for 2 bunches of flowers for $ 10 and I am so glad that we did! We had a very positive experience and probably would not have heard of it if it hadn’t been for Certifikid.
The flower garden is beautiful and full of zinnias, just as is described on the website. We were not expecting a flower farm or roses or orchids or anything fancy; it’s just part of the many pick-​your-​own options like many farms have. It was the experience that counts and the kids had fun, we got some adorable photos, caught some butterflies, and the flowers are lovely. Much more so than something you pick up at the grocery store, because we picked them ourselves and are proud of them. The pirate playground is just beyond the flower beds and has a wooden train to play on, too. My son and his friends spent a solid two hours playing on it and would have kept going if we hadn’t needed to get back home. That was worth the $ 10 right there.
The owner (?) was friendly but seemed a little wary of children which we found a little odd, but then again I bet he sees all types and especially some intense parents with clientele coming from DC and Baltimore so we cut him some slack. Didn’t feel that he was pushy at all.

So I saw this deal on Certifikid, but by the time I went back to purchase, it was gone. Since I had promised my two and seven year old that I would take them flower picking, I decided to go anyway. My 75 year old mom came along with us. First, if you have the MapQuest app on your phone, it will take you to exactly where the owners directions take you, although there was some suggestion that using MapQuest would get you lost. I wish that were true, because I might not have ended up there. This is not a flower farm, it is a bunch of zinnias planted in some beds at the back of a farmhouse. They were the most basic and the colors were pink, purple and dead. I don’t recall being offered butterfly nets for the children, and I did not notice a pirate playground anywhere. (I did not ask about these because it was only once we left and I was looking back at what was advertised that I realized none of this had occurred)
The owner was then extremely pushy about us apple picking. It had started to drizzle and he was insisting. I said I would go and use the port a potty and then if when I was done it was not raining I would take them. I could not bring myself to use the portapotty once I saw the state of it. As badly as I wanted to go, I told the gentleman I would rather drive back to Baltimore than use it. He took it upon himself to tell me it was the customers who left it that way.
I had also earlier asked him about pesticide use. Who wants to bite into pesticide ridden fruit? He said they were better than the ones at Food Lion. I told him I wouldn’t know since I don’t shop at Food Lion. He tried to redeem himself by saying how fortunate we were to live in a place with options, but frankly I think he was just being condescending in the first place.
We were able to salvage the day by going to visit Harper’s Ferry which is quite a lovely place. But all the way home, my mother talked about the fact that the owner was a con artist, and a fraud and that he should be reported to the better business bureau, that she could have gotten better flowers for 20 at TJ’s or Whole Foods (true). Don’t waste your time.

Very nice produce. The Unilocal deal was great!

During the various seasons, Ridgefield Farm & Orchard offers produce at their farm store, flower picking, a huge variety of apples, pumpkins and cutting your own Christmas tree. I paid $ 10 on living social for a half of a bushel of pick-​your-​own apples. I had no idea a half of a bushel was so big. The apples were delicious, tasted better than the ones in the store, seriously! That was $ 10 well spent! I made several batches of apple sauce, which was VERY GOOD, no sugar added (peel and cut apples, add cinnamon and simmer in crockpot). Also, made 2 apple pies and apple dumplings, with plenty left over.
Read all about it in my blog Adventures in Glamping:

Ridgefield was the only farm open so late in the season that allowed dogs, but I’m really glad we made the trip out from D.C. It was kind of a long drive — 1.5 hrs — but it was beautiful. The farm was cute and there were tons of delicious apples — we all had a great time. Worth the trip out especially if you have a dog!

We bought a Capitol Dish deal ($ 20 for 4 people) and despite the 50% discount in entrance fees, it was still a huge disappointment. The pumpkin «patch» is lame with only a handful and the apple picking was even lamer. There were hardly any trees. The prices here are exorbitant, be it the apples, pumpkins, or the stuff they sell in the market. On top of that, there is a $ 10 admission fee. I would not visit this farm again especially since they are others in the area.

This place is great! PumpkinFest was a fun way to get out of the city for the day and spend some time outside. Plus, I left with some delicious apples and a jar of yummy pickled beets!

A lovely short drive from Harper’s Ferry. Beautiful bouquet of wildflowers for $ 5. Fun for a family. Good corn maze. Great pumpkins and cider. Free samples of many preserves. Be sure not to miss the hayride. Helpful and friendly staff. Don’t sit on the apple cart. It will tip over!

This place is probably one of the largest orchards I’ve ever been to. Year round, they offer different options based on the season such as wild flower picking, corn picking, apple picking or just picnicing and enjoying the scenery.
The apples that were available were 3 different varieties, and it was fun to be able to walk through and pick the apples you’d want. You really get the «fall — feeling» with the scenery. They dressed pumpkins up as people too which make a fun photo op.
The only downside about this farm is that the apples are grown on bushes and you can tell they use pesticides. I’m used to being able to climb up a tree and eat apples right off the trees so this was a bit different from my taste.
Around back, you’ll find an adorable shop and a big play ground featuring a large pirate ship-​themed play area which makes taking your family here for some fun.
Not too shabby, but I still prefer organic apple picking and tree climbing =P
One downside though was when I was apple picking, there were A LOT of fallen apples on the ground next to the bushes which ended up attracting bugs, worms and looked completely unattractive. I really wish they wouldve cleared the aisle out before opening it up the the public.

We purchased the LS deal for a ½ bushel of apples. We drive from DC – beautiful drive, beautiful day. Beware that there are two routes to enter RF&O off of 340 and only one of them is signed.
We arrive and present our voucher. The guy who is either the manager and/​or owner goes on and on about how we’d never be able to eat a ½ bushel of apples and how we should get two small bags of apples and pick some wildflowers instead and how our refrigerator would never be able to hold a ½ bushel of apples. And then he goes on about it some more – about how the apples go bad really fast, and we can’t eat apples this fast. This whole time I’m wondering: dude, why are you selling apples if they go bad so quickly and can’t be eaten?
But I don’t want wildflowers. So, after telling us that *maybe* we’d be able to get juice or applesauce out of his apples, the guy lets us go pick apples.
Now, just as an FYI, I didn’t need suggestions for what to do with the apples. I have a brain. And the internet. And plenty of friends who would be happy to eat apples.
Anyway, we go to pick the apples to find that there are thousands of apples on the ground in various states of decay. This makes the ground pretty slippery in some spots. And I am left to wonder, «How come this dude is worried that we are going to waste his apples when he’s wasting his own apples (that at least could be used for animal feed) by letting them rot on the ground/​form an all-​apple Slip-​n-​Slide?»
Question unanswered, we left. With our apples and no wildflowers.

This place is awesome! The location is easy to get to from DC. The farm is beautiful, the staff are friendly and the apples are delicious!!! Definitely a good value. I will be back here for a Christmas tree in a few months! I strongly recommend visiting Ridgefield Farm & Orchard!

Great experience, we went to RF&O after we purchased a LS deal for ½ bushels of apples. We got there on Sunday at a bit before 10 AM, we were the first to arrive. The shop was open. The store had great smells, tastables and the employees were friendly. We had arrived early so that our dog wouldn’t get too hot in the car. We mentioned that to the employee and she said we could take the dog apple picking with us. The apples were delicious and we all enjoyed our time. Highly recommended.

Not impressed. Just to look at their pumpkins and country store will cost you $ 5. The hay ride, which by the way takes you in a ¼ mile square path, will cost you $ 3 more. The corn maze is also another couple bucks. If you want to pick up a small pumpkin expect to shell another $ 8 – 14. Stick with Butler’s or Summer’s Farms.