If you find yourself in the Blue Ridge Mountains, you will have tons of options of things to do. From wineries, to searching for waterfalls, to camping, hiking, fishing, there are many things to keep you busy during your stay. If you are there mid-July through October, I highly recommend stopping by Jeter Mountain Farm.

Jeter Mountain Farm is a first-generation apple orchard and opened in 2020. The farm is spread out over 400 acres of breathtaking landscape within the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The farm is completely family owned and operated and they make the entire experience all about family and a family friendly experience!

They are open mid-July through the last weekend of October.

Thursday & Friday 10a-3p

Saturday & Sunday 10a-5p

It is free to visit the orchards and no reservations are required.

I will say, we went right at 10am in mid-August, and it was reasonably busy but picked up really quickly and was packed by the time we left around 12:30pm.

There are tons of attractions to visit while at the farm, and your stay can range from half an hour to several hours depending on what you want to accomplish during your stay. Continue reading to find out what all they offer.

One of the first things you will see as you walk up, is the indoor play area. It is 6,000 square feet of covered delight for children of all ages. They have slides, a hay mountain, a playhouse, and a tractor tire trampoline!

Just inside the main building is the Market. Here you can purchase apple butters, pickles, Jeter Mountain Farm swag, candles, bagged apples, etc. This is the perfect place to grab a gift or something to enjoy once you get home and finish all the treats you got from your U-Pick experience. There is also a coffee House just up the stairs in the same building serving up your favorite iced or cold caffeinated beverages.

One of the most popular spots is the Cider Barn. Once inside you can watch the apple cider donuts getting made, you can try some of the hard cider, and you can mix and match a 4 pack of the hard ciders to take home to enjoy.

The cider is grown, picked, and pressed on site. The hard cider is all small batch and available for tasting by the pint, or you can actually do a tasting of all of them in a flight.

The options to try in the taproom are:

• Original

• The Granny

• Blackberry

• Pink Lady

• Grape

• Seasonal (Pineapple was in season when we went)

While enjoying your hard cider, you can also grab some BBQ that is smoked for 20 hours from the 1813 Smokehouse food truck. Every weekend from 11am-3pm there is also live Bluegrass music for your listening pleasure.

If you are craving something sweet, you can walk up to the Bakery window and pick up some apple cider donuts (made fresh right in front of you), or an apple hand pie.

Here in the main gathering space, there are bathrooms, and a small garden with a beautiful variety of flowers to admire.

The most popular attraction, and probably the main reason people visit Jeter Mountain Farm, is the U-Pick. If you choose to partake in this activity, you get to tour the whole farm in a wagon pulled by a tractor. Once you get to the field you chose, the driver drops you off to let you pick your item of choice.

Berries are sold by the pint, apples and peaches by the peck, and pumpkins by the pound. There are different offerings on different days and all throughout the season, so make sure you are checking the calendar on their website if there is something specific you want to pick.

You can choose from:

• Peaches-Mid July

• Raspberries-Early August

• Blueberries-Mid July

• Blackberries-Early August

• Elderberries-Late July

• Pumpkins-Early October

• Gourds & Squash-Early September

• Grapes-Late August

• Flowers (Zinnias & Sunflowers)-August

• Over 20 varieties of Apples-

  • August-

    • McIntosh

    • Ginger Gold

    • Premier Honeycrisp

    • Redfree

    • Gale Gala

    • RubyMac

  • September-

    • Melrose

    • Grimes Golden

    • Red Jonaprince

    • WineCrisp

    • Gibson Golden

    • Spartan

    • Red Delicious

    • Mutsu

    • Red Gravenstein

  • October-

    • Rome

    • Winesap

    • Granny Smith

    • Aztec Fuji

    • Enterprise

    • Gold Rush

    • Stayman

    • Pink Lady

    • Arkansas Black

We decided to pick the Zinnias and Sunflowers. We got to enjoy the wagon ride as we passed through acres and acres of apple trees.

Once we got to the flower field, we were dropped off at a large tent with some seating. A staff member reviewed the rules with us and passed out some gardening shears to each participant to use to cut the stems of the flowers.

U-PICK GUIDELINES

Our U-Pick apple orchards, grape vines, elderberries and pumpkins can only be reached via wagon ride. A beautiful, scenic ride through Jeter Mountain Farm is included in your u-pick experience. Our blackberries, raspberries and blueberries can be reached via a short walk from our main facilities. 

U-PICK TIPS

- Watch your step - the ground may be uneven or muddy

- Be kind to the bees - we depend on them to pollinate the fruit

- Protect yourself from the sun exposure and stay hydrated

- To pick fruit, twist and pull

- Wash all fruit before eating

U-PICK DO'S

- Keep children near you at all times

- Only pick what you plan to keep

- Pick only in designated areas

- Pick the fruit - not the leaves or flowers

- Keep the farm beautiful for all to enjoy - place litter in trash cans

U-PICK DON'TS

- Don't climb trees - the limbs will break

- Don't throw or drop fruit on the ground

- Don't bring a pet - GAP regulations don't allow pets where food is grown

- Don't smoke anywhere on the farm

- Don't bring your own picking containers - we will provide them for you

- Don't bring strollers, wagons, or large bags into the orchard

*Taken from www.jetermountainfarm.com

Once we had the rules and supplies, we began our hunt for the perfect flowers! We were allowed to pick a certain number of Zinnias and Sunflowers and I am super picky (hehe) so we spent a lot of time weaving in between the aisles and aisles of beautiful blooms.

There were lots of bees and if you wanted to avoid them, the best course of action was to not go down the aisles (especially the aisles that were super narrow). If a bee did get too close for comfort, the staff member suggested blowing on the bee, rather than swatting at it.

After we made our selections, we went back to the tent and the staff member gave us bags of water to put our stems in to keep our flowers safe for the journey home.

The wagons came to the tents to drop off new eager flower foragers and to pick up finished patrons about every 15 minutes or so. It was so calm and peaceful out in the fields and never felt crowded and no one rushed you to move on or to get onto any specific wagon.

Jeter Mountain Farm was a wonderful way for us to spend an early afternoon as a family. You can really mix and match your experience to make it as full or as quick as you want because there are so many options of activities. No matter what you decide to do, it is definitely worth a visit! Enjoy!