The girls bend over awkwardly as toddlers do and occasionally topple over face first into the grass beneath the apple trees as they pick up fallen fruit. Small bees buzz nearby and a light fragrance of fresh apples blows under our noses in a soft breeze. The kids stretch their fingers around the apples that daddy holds them up to and roll downward to gently and smoothly pull fresh apples from trees. Actually, that’s what we tell them to do. Mostly they just pull and pull as we remind them that this will cause more apples to fall than we need.
Jacob talks about apple butter, apple pie, apple strudel and apple sauce, as if I’ll have time to spend all day in the kitchen. I snap photos of 
the girls’ smiles and carry the sacks that are quickly weighing down my arms. Many families, including ours, love ushering in fall or sending off the summer with a visit to an orchard to pick their own fruit. At many orchards you’ll find samples of different varieties of apples, apple products, live entertainment and other fun things for your family to do.
From August to October, families can visit a you pick/u pick orchard and enjoy the experience of farm to table: pick the apples, bring them home and eat them, or prepare them into tasty dishes. Here are some local u pick apple orchards in or near Indianapolis. If you are looking for some great apple recipes, my favorite is the All Recipes website.
Pleasant View Orchard (10721 N. 850 W., Fairland)
U Pick, 40 acres, 20 varieties
Hours: Daily, 9am-6pm
Enjoy delicious apple slushies, caramel apples and other treats daily. On the weekends, don’t miss hot apple treats and other concessions.
We’ve been there!
Stuckey Farm Market (19975 Hamilton Boone County Rd, Sheridan)
U Pick, 27 Varieties
Hours: Monday through Friday, 9am-6pm & Saturday, 9am-5pm
Apple picking, corn maze, small playground, pedal cart track, giant dirt mountain with slides, hayride, country store and YUMMY apple slushies!
We’ve been there!
Anderson Orchard (369 E. Greencastle Rd., Mooresville)
U Pick, 25+ Varieties
Hours: Daily, 8am-6pm
We’ve been there!
Tuttle Orchards
U Pick
Hours: Monday – Wednesday 9am-6pm, Thursday – Saturday 9am-7pm
Apples picking, corn maze, pumpkin patch, sunflower maze, kids play area, petting zoo, bees, farm store, hayrides
We’ve been there!