Mackintosh Fruit Farm

Go out to the country and pick your own fruit.  Mackintosh Fruit Farm in Berryville, VA is an excellent place for get away from the city.

Mackintosh Fruit Farm (Point B)

THINGS TO DO:

1.  Mackintosh Fruit Farm (70 miles, 1 hour 17 minutes)

• Pick your own berries, peaches, nectarines, pears, apples, flowers, etc.
• Buy fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, peppers, corn, herbs, etc. from the garden
• Buy items from their bakery (fruit pies, cobblers, jams, jellies, homemade ice cream, etc.)
• Eat lunch or an early dinner at their Farmer's Market Kitchen (paninis, wraps, pulled pork, burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, chick salad, BLT, zucchini pizza, etc.)
• Explore the farm by hiking around the gardens and a beautiful pond
• Visit (and feed) the goats, cows, and horses
• Attend one of their fun events

 

THINGS TO KNOW:

Grocery stores are so helpful for our quick pace of life, but sometimes it is just good for the soul to slow down and take a drive out to the country and get our food directly from the source.  It's gratifying to pick your own fruit from the trees and to return home with a bounty to enjoy.  Mackintosh Fruit Farm is  a beautiful place to pick at your own pace and to enjoy the contrast from your day-to-day life. 

We've mapped out the quickest way to get from D.C. to the farm, but if you're in the mood for a more scenic drive, re-route your trip to go from I-66 to US-50 through Gilbert's Corner in Aldie, turn right on Snickersville Pike, and then left on Route 7.  It'll add about 30 minutes to your drive, but it's beautiful and winding.  If you go on the weekends, you might find seafood and BBQ for sale at Gilbert's corner (the intersection of routes 50 and 15), you'll pass a small Civil War Monument commemorating the Battle of Aldie along Snickersville Pike, and enjoy views of mountains and farms as you drive.  

Don't forget to take sunblock and water bottles so you don't wear out before you've collected all that you want to take home.  Once you're at the farm, the first thing you'll want to do is head to the cash registers where you can get a map of the farm.  They'll let you know what's in season for picking, you can pick up some containers (or you can bring your own) and a wagon, and then you're off to pick the produce that you're most interested in.  After you pick, you'll head back to the registers to pay for your produce by the pound.  The prices of each item are listed in the store.  When we went, we found that the peaches were half the cost if you picked 25 pounds or more; that was the best price on peaches anywhere this summer.  If you're new to picking fruit, a general good rule of thumb is that it's ripe when it's fairly easy to pick off the tree/bush.  If you're not interested in doing the manual labor of picking your own produce, you'll find plenty of already picked produce available at the store.

If your family is like ours, everyone will want their chance to do their fair share of picking and, before you know it, you'll have more fruit than you know what to do with.  You might even experience a slight sense of panic as you look at your wagon and wonder what you'll do with it all.  Don't worry, it's easy to preserve fruit.  We peeled, cut and froze several pounds of peaches to use in smoothies.  We're novices to making jams and jellies, but its easier to do than you'd think.  Grab a box of SureJell Pectin from the grocery store and you'll find recipes and instructions inside.  Freezer jam is quick and doesn't require all the supplies that canning does.  If you want to try out canning, here's a helpful website.  For the first time ever, we made some fruit leather after visiting Mackintosh Farm.  We used this website for guidelines and it came out delicious.  We also picked blackberries and made this amazing dessert.

While paying for your fruits and vegetables, check out the many other things for purchase around the cash registers.  We recommend the peach/blackberry frozen yogurt.  There are plenty of picnic tables available for you to enjoy your meal.  We saw others enjoying a picnic near the pond.  Public bathrooms are available near the cash registers.