Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards

This place really is as good as you can dream of for the area! It’s out there, so you have a lovely drive through some rural NY scenery. Complimentary cider (and gin, and vodka!) tastings for their guests, a pretty cool little shop full of gadgets for the kitchen wizz, a yummy bakery, a tractor ride out to the orchards for pick-​your-​own apples where sampling the wares is actually encouraged — a whole lot of fun! I even saw a few children-​friendly attractions there. I really can’t add any more than what the other reviewers already have. Seriously, if you want to hit an apple orchard, get out there!

I grew up down the road from Beak and Skiff and for some reason I never made it to the orchard. My cousin and I were visiting from out of town and we decided it would be a great place to entertain a couple of two year olds.
We started in the 1911 barn and were pleasantly surprised to find out that it held all of their alcohol. Alcohol at an orchard? Oh yes! My husband and I saddled up to the tasting bar and worked our way through the hard cider, apple wine, gin, and vodka. Everything was spectacular and we left with 3 bottles (wish we could have taken more on the plane). The tasting is free, although I’ve paid upwards of $ 20 for a similar tasting at wineries across the country. The bartender was also spectacular. He gave both of the kids a full cup of apple cider so they wouldn’t feel left out. Thank you for that!
We wanted to pick apples, but they informed us the orchard was closed for the day because it was too windy, so we had to buy some from the apple barn. The lady in there was so nice and cleaned a couple apples for the kids to eat, without even charging us for them. Thank you again, that was incredibly sweet.
We took the kids up to the play area for a bit and it was really cool. They have little tractors they can ride, along with 2 giant slides that made our kids squeal with delight. They also had a huge spider web made out of rope that my little one loved. What a fun free play area!
We also enjoyed the little country store. It’s the perfect place to grab anything apple. We grabbed a bag of apple cinnamon pancake mix to take home, but they have sauces and jams and tons of goodies.
Somehow we missed the bakery, but I hear they have excellent fritters. (insert sad face here) The cider was delicious too, they add a hint of cinnamon and spice to it, which really elevates the flavor.
I get why this place is rated the best orchard in the nation, why did I not visit when I lived down the road? This is a must see if you are in Central NY in the fall!

Very cool place set on top of a hill with awesome views! The staff was over the top with their service. We sampled various ciders and well as desserts all made from apples! The gift shop is a great little place to score that one of a kind trinket or that thoughtful gift for a friend! Great place to visit!

Whether you’re visiting the area or are a local, the Beak & Skiff is a must! We had some time to kill before our flight out of town so decided to check out this local orchard. What a fun time!
The attractions are set up like a little village and you can move from one building to the next for cider tastings, the bakery, the apple barn, gift shop, etc. There are also hay rides that take you out to the orchards to pick your own.
We decided to start our time here with the most important part: the wine and hard cider tastings. Did I mention this was free?! We were each able to try up to 5 different types of their own brews of cider, wines, voda and gin. The bartenders there could not have been more knowledgeable and friendly.
I also recommend after a few glasses, taking the short stumble down the hill to the bakery to indulge in warm apple pie or a cider donut.

I’ve been to Beak & Skiff twice now, once last Fall, and again this past weekend. It’s such a great place to go for almost all of your favorite fall activities. I love going to the Tasting Room though, they let you do a tasting of all their hard ciders, liquors and wines for FREE. Yes, it’s just a sip of each, but it’s FREE! After that, each glass of cider is $ 5 and a pitcher is $ 20. Well worth it, IMO, especially since you can try any flavor you like beforehand to get exactly what you want.
In the general store there’s tons of great food items for purchase and in their new «cafeteria-​like» building, you can buy all of the fall baked goods you can imagine (their cider donuts are incredible) and regular food as well. I tried their pulled pork tacos which come with an apple slaw and barbeque sauce. You get two decently sized tacos for $ 5, and they were really delicious. The pork was flavorful, the bbq sauce was savory and sweet, and the apples provided a nice crunch.
I live down on Long Island, but my parents live about 45 minutes away from here, but I love making the trip up every fall to come here. Definitely will be back next year!

Really disappointed. Been visiting Beak & Skiff with my Family several times per year for the past 30 years. Last Sunday we thought that we would make a day of it. Could not believe the changes. $ 5.00 candy apples, U pick apples at $ 1.10 per pound! The biggest disappointment were the apple fritters, terrible! Do you and the public a favor… Don’t double your prices because of your major expansion! And stick to the old recipes.
I will never visit your place again!
Last word of advice… Go to the other orchards on Rt. 80 where the candy apples are still$ 3.00 and the quality is still important to the business owner.

I went for my first time today and had a blast! I did not pick apples but I tried all the samples in the bar area and checked out the general store, I loved seeing how the Apple cider was made! I will be back!

The apple picking is very fun with a group if you enjoy being outdoors. The apples are substantially cheaper than they are in the stores and are not covered in wax which is nice.
I’m giving this place a three because of the stores. I came here expecting a family owned farm filled with things made on the farm. While they had some products, a vast majority of things were produced by large manufacturers that you can find cheaper online. Pretty weird vibe for an apple orchard.
Also, the apple dumpling they have is totally undercooked and not very good. From the first bite my mouth tasted like raw dough.
Would come back for picking and cider and nothing else.

We had a really great time here, and will hopefully be able to make it back before the end of fall. We arrived early and picked apples. They had 3 kinds available, Mcintosh, Gala, and Honeycrisp, all of which were only $ 1.10/lb. After apple picking, we went to the store and the bakery. I had an apple cider donut and was not disappointed. Overall, we had a pleasant experience. It did get very busy by the time we were leaving. I suggest going when it opens, if possible, to help beat the crowd.

What a gorgeous weekend to check this place out! The short drive from Liverpool was nice to see the changing leaves. Once we got into the lot there was a line to park but we were able to park fairly quickly and close to the entrance.
We walked in and were greeted with pure country barn joy. To the left was a smaller enclosed stand for Apple Fritters and Food. The next building was a Café/​restaurant. General store; Apple barn; hard cider wine and liquor tasting barn and finally the entrance for the tractors to take you to the orchards for picking!
We stopped at the Café first and ordered the chicken salad sandwhich which comes on a croissant, garden salad and French fries as well as apple cider and a Mcintosh wine. The servings were healthy especially the salad and the wine!
We made our way over to get in line to head to the orchard– the line moved very quickly as they had several tractors running. This weekend was Mcintosh Gala and Honey Crisp; the only thing was most of the trees where we were dropped off were pretty bare and so we had to walk quite far to get some that were reachable. We saw that they had ladders out but we also noticed that once someone had a ladder they took it around with them so if you are vertically challenged try getting a boost from someone else.
Once we were done with picking we hopped back on the wagon to be shuttled back to the entrance– we passed by a pony ride area and play ground for children! We dropped the apples off in the car and had to make our way around the general store and tasting areas! Even if you aren’t buying anything they have beat things to look at like their see through beehive!!! The alcohol tasting is FREEEEE!!! Whhhhattt!!! We couldn’t say no to that! (Well– I did with a bun in the oven) but my husband thoroughly enjoyed tasting everything!
They also sell baked goods and apples that aren’t picking that week in the Apple barn
The staff is super friendly and we were happy we decided to go here! There’s stuff for kids and adults! New tradition for our family for sure.

This place is apple heaven. Stopped in on a cross country move from Chicago to Boston, and boy howdy am I glad we did.
The staff that morning were very kind and helpful. We even saw the gentleman who helped us in the orchard at Wegmans later that evening, and I know he remembered us because enthusiastically waved us down and introduced us to his family. Awesome.
Excellent layout and very well maintained facilities. The place is a series of red barns all facing a grassy area in the center, so it’s easy to navigate through the barns, which include a café, general store, apple barn, and tasting room with a tavern. If you want to pick apples (duh you do), you take a free tractor ride into the orchard, where you get to pass an amazing amount of apple varieties.
The tasting room was tremendous. When you walk in the main doors, there’s a sales floor, with a tavern to the left (where you can sit for a while and enjoy substantial amounts of cider) and a tasting room to the right (designed for tasting flights of their offerings more than sitting down for specific drinks) The tasting room is a striking space with multiple bars made of a huge single cut of tree trunk. The quality of cider was quite high, and at the time, there were at least half a dozen different ciders, plus two apple wines, apple vodka, and apple gin. We tasted them all and while we liked some more than others, there wasn’t a poorly crafted one in the bunch. The servers were cool and were genuinely curious about which ones you liked and disliked based on your preferences.
Beak and Skiff is also at the top of a steady hill, so you get a pretty stunning panoramic vista of the region as soon as you get out of your car.
Highly recommended.

This place is so special to me… Both because it reminds me of my north country home, and because it was one of the first dates I went on with my boy.
The attention to detail (I’m talking construction/​design wise) in the tasting room is extraordinary. I’ve been rather spoiled by the cider I’ve had in Vermont (I like them especially dry), but 1911 makes a lot of fantastic dry varieties that savor that niche for me. I’m super excited that they now serve bloody marys right at the bar, and the staff went above and beyond to make sure our visit was exceptional. The food is amazing as well. I can’t wait to visit this autumn for apple picking and apple cider donuts!

Great Café, free tasting room with wonderful hard cider selection they make themselves… free tastings, and a killer view… can’t wait for apple picking season as well…

I’ve been here once with my sister and its honesty a great family spot. We had a really great time! Plenty to do!

My husband and I recently visited Beak & Skiff while on an early fall vacation, after spending some time in the Syracuse area. We decided to go apple-​picking, something I haven’t done for years. So, upon our arrival at Beak and Skiff, we jumped on their wagon that is pulled by a tractor and were taken into the orchards. That day, we picked 2 varieties of apples. They provide ladders to get the apples that are up high. We had fun picking apples, tasting them, and getting photo ops! When we came back, we enjoyed cider and apple/​fruit wine tasting. The wines were OK but I really enjoyed the cider. We couldn’t drink much, as we were on a road trip, but we should have bought glasses of cider to take out to the orchards when we were apple picking. Since, we didn’t realize that, we bought a couple bottles of hard cider to take with us. There is a large barn area where you can buy several varieties of apples, but it is more fun to pick your own. We also enjoyed the gift shop area where I bought pumpkin butter, apple jam, and maple sugar candy. Finally, we stopped for lunch in the small cafeteria. The chicken salad sandwiches were excellent, and we finished up with some non-​alcoholic cider. I really enjoyed the experience and definitely recommend it!

Yay!
— Superb apple ciders. I was partial to the blueberry and sweet apple varieties.
— Great proximity to Syracuse.
— Beautiful grounds (sans for the giant parking lot overshadowing the beautiful view of the hills of Onondaga).
— Ideal place for a date and seems like a great place to bring the kids.
— Free cider /​apple wine /​apple vodka and gin tasting.
Nay!
— The wines, vodka, and gin were not bad by any means, but they did not wow me; especially considering the high quality wines along the Fingerlakes and the new distilleries popping up.
— The food was fairly unimpressive. Surprised at the limited amount of apple ingredients on the menu. Though I’ll admit I did not wait in line at the bakery, which seemed to be a huge draw.
— Overcrowded (the stores, bar, and tasting room all had lines and there was limited seating for diners indoors and out). And the kids. My god, the kids. Everywhere on this Sunday afternoon.
— The general store seemed like a way for Beak & Skiff to sell anything and everything. Which is fine, but the first ingredient on the apple maple syrup, for example, was corn syrup. Yikes!
But all and all it was good experience and I plan on returning again in the Fall.

Wishing I hadn’t had such a great time at the wedding the night before (read: I was hungover) because this place was amazing!
We spent some of the afternoon here on the grounds tasting the samples from 1911 and shopping around the property.
I got a sweet shirt in the gift shop and they had some really interesting drinks made from cider.
Bonus: the food was actually quite delicious and reasonably priced.

First off, love the look of this place and the casualness of the tasting room, just walk up, take a seat and get a free tasting of anything they have! There’s not too many places that still offer free tastings.
The Cider here is my favorite of anywhere I’ve ever been, especially the Sweet Apple and their new «unnamed» cider that they use hopps with which hopefully will be bottled for sale soon. Every cider here is great though! The vodka and gin are especially smooth and have a flavor like I’ve never had before. Normally I do not like vodka or gin because they are too much but these are great!
Their «café» is pretty awesome too. You can order pitchers or cups of their cider, sit on the porch, enjoy the view and enjoy a good meal with some great cider. Their burger and fries were phenomenal. I really enjoyed them. The tacos had a bit too much bbq sauce, cut it down a little and they would’ve nailed it.
Overall I’ve been back here 3 times and will keep stopping through every chance I get though now that the local store carries their Sweet Apple Cider I have been visiting less haha.
So stop by, pick some apples if it’s that time of the season, drink some great cider and enjoy yourself, you will not regret it!

Apples are obviously the base of everything here so it’s probably not for those who dislike apple products. There are many different types of cider to try and the samples are free. The small café may have only a limited menu but what they do have is excellent. The pulled pork tacos are delicious.
worth the ride which has lovely scenery.

Growing up in the area trips to Beak & Skiff happened every.single.fall. It wasn’t fall unless you and the fam were driving through the rolling hills of Lafayette ready to pick, eat, and bring home a giant bag of freshly picked apples.
Just a few things you’ll find up at Beak & Skiff:
+ Pick-​Your-​Own Orchard with a rotating lineup of apples: McIntosh/​Cortland/​
Red Delicious/​Fuji/​Golden Delicious/​etc.
+ {Free} Parking
+ Country Store filled with just about any type of apple product you can think of: apple salsa, apple butter, jams/​jellies/​syrups/​honey/​etc as well as baked goods: pie, cookies, dumplings & fudge.
+ Freshly pressed apple cider {in fact they’re showing visitors how they make it right tin the Country Store}
+ Games & activities for the kids including a little petting zoo… and my favorite growing up +the pony rides. I cannot be the only person who remembers taking a trot around the farm on «Buttercup» or «Daisy,» right? I can’t remember if they charged for the rides or not, but I can’t imagine it would be too much.
Oh and I can’t forget to mention that Beak & Skiff is now making WINE right down the street from the orchard. Amazing!
Truly a spot that has a little something for everyone. If you haven’t been yet– you’re really missing out.