Virginia
Shenandoah Apple and Wine Trail
About this farm route
Winchester calls itself the apple capital of Virginia and has the history to back it: the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival has run there since 1924, and Frederick and Clarke counties are still full of commercial orchards. This route strings four of them together and then climbs the eastern wall of the valley to finish in Bluemont, where the farms turn into vineyards. That transition is what makes the drive worth doing as one trip rather than two. You spend the first half in flat, open orchard country and the second half climbing switchbacks onto the Blue Ridge, and the vineyards at the top look back west over everything you just drove through.
Winchester apple country east over the Blue Ridge into the Loudoun vineyards at Bluemont.
Highlights
What earns the trip
- Four working orchards in the heart of Virginia apple country
- Finishes on the Blue Ridge with the valley view behind you
- Orchards and vineyards on one route rather than picking between them
- Under ninety minutes from the Washington DC suburbs
Stops
- 1
Marker-Miller Orchards
Winchester. Farm market and pick-your-own on the west side of town.
- 2
La Grange Family Farm
Stephens City. Just south of Winchester off the Valley Pike.
- 3
Mackintosh Fruit Farm
Berryville. Clarke County orchard, the last stop before the ridge.
- 4
Bluemont Vineyard
Bluemont. Up on the Blue Ridge, looking back west over the valley.
- 5
Great Country Farms
Bluemont. Pick-your-own and farm activities next door to the vineyard.
When to go
Best time to go
Late August through October for apples. Bloom in late April and early May is the other reason to come, and the vineyards run year round.
Planner estimate for the mapped line: 2h 56m
Before you go
Know before you go
- The climb to Bluemont is steep and winding. It is fine in any car, but not a road to hurry.
- Loudoun vineyards get very busy on fall weekends and several require a reservation.
- If you are tasting at the end, sort out who is driving before you leave Winchester.
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