Annual Apple Picking Trip (Pandemic Edition)

This year has been a bit different than my previous years of apple picking. To start, this year’s Annual Apple Picking Trip has, well, new rules due to a global pandemic. Other variances include, amazing weather and going with two of my favorite friends and fellow Seattle bloggers: Natalie and Shanna. To top it all off, I got to the farm at the beginning of apple season for once! #NailedIt

Alright, let’s get into this day trip!

Table of Contents

The Farm

Over the course of my apple picking adventures, I’ve tried a fair few apple orchards. However, last year I had such a great experience at Swan Trail’s Farm that I was compelled to go back again. Why? Well…

I love Honey Crisp Apples
They have hand dipped corndogs 😅

Listen – I don’t eat corndogs frequently, but when I do, it’s homemade batter and handed dipped. This is literally half the reason for my annual apple picking trip. I regret nothing.

Apple Picking with the Girls 2020 // On the Trip Side

Covid Safety Regulations

What I love about the farm at Swan’s Trail is how they’ve created a very safe environment for families to still have a wonderful experience at the farm.

They have sanitation stations around the farm house, covered food areas and even the orchard rows. I felt insanely comfortable, especially because I brought my own hand sanitizer with me and Natalie brought a whole roll of disinfectant wipes with us. We were asked to wear a mask which we kindly wore the whole duration, except to take photos or to eat!

Activities

The only activity that was shut down for the year was the bounce pad for kiddos and the inside eating hall. Luckily, we went on a beautiful day. My favorite pastimes at the farm are:

U-pick apple orchard
Wagon ride back
Food stands
Petting farm animals
Corn Maze (which is limited occupancy so buy a ticket beforehand)
Pumpkin Patch

U Pink Honey Crisp Apples Swan Trail Farm

U-Pick Apples

There are two ways to get to the orchard. You can ride the hay wagon or you can walk the short distance trail to the field rows. We generally walk to the orchard and then take the wagon back.

The Apples

There are two types of apples available this year: Honey Crisp and Gala. My two favorites! They’re both so flavorful and sweet. Every year they get better and better at getting their apple taste perfected before harvesting.

If there is any kind of advice I can provide it is to make sure to listen to the farm guide when you first get to the orchard. They will not only pass out bags for you to use, they will also give you verbal instructions on how to best pick the apples they have grown for the year. I love this annual refresher, I tend to learn about new apple annually.

The Orchard

There are a great number of apples. We found that the first few rows were picked dry except for tippy top branches, that were far to high for me to get to. However, watching parents stack their kids on their shoulder so they could pick those ones were priceless and just adorable.

We found the best produce were in the last five rows from the end. Though it didn’t stop us from taking loads of photos of all the other crops. Make sure to check the whole tree from top to bottom. Many of the bottom apples were grabbed by children, due to their height, but not as many as you would think!

There were also many different types of apple trees, including stand alone trees and crab apple trees!

Paying

Before heading back to the farm, make sure you find the weighing station. Majority of u-pick apple farms are pay by the pound and they differ year to year. Don’t be surprised if this year is higher due to the state of the economy. Remember, you’re paying for the experience and the produce at the same time. I bought 4lbs of apples and I cannot wait to make my apple crisp!

At Swan Trail’s Farm, they take cash, card and apple pay. They also have an ATM machine at front of the farm house by the fresh made donut stand.