alstede farms

I have lived in the area for most of my life. It is hard to be a farmer in New Jersey and God Bless Alstede's for figuring out a way to really make a go of it. The good: best selection of vegetables, non-gmo varieties, good fudge, good ice cream (but very expensive) and really good people. The bad: crazy busy in the fall which makes running in for veggies or apples impossible on the weekends. If you are visiting from outside of the area it really is a fun day for the kids, but do yourself a favor and from September through October ONLY come mid-week. You'll thank me!

I saw some reviews on a different site and was very shocked at the low ratings. Nevertheless the website had me convinced otherwise so I decided to make a trip here while visiting other smaller country stores and farm stands. The store was stock full of jams, jellies, homemade fruit butters, with an abundance of your typical fall favorites like apples and now that it's november, pumpkins and gourds. Plus pies, Apple cider donuts (yum!) and fresh veggies, and other produce. Even saw some wines for sale!I think going mid-week mitigated the issues that came up with over re jeers who complained about the crowds. However it's a beautiful time of year in a very populated place - north/central NJ. So I think its to be expected. Also, an extra star for the cute animals there. I loved the young calves there. Cute goats, chickens, bunnies, geese, donkeys, and even a peacock! All with plenty of space to roam around. Saw little kids feeding them, at least nicely. That was pleasant.

I love apple/vegetable picking here in the fall. They have such great variety, and so many things for families with kids to do. I can't say too much about that though, not have kids... Ha. I always note seeing happy vs, not crying kids though... if that helps. Being originally from NH but living in the NYC area it means a lot to me to be able to drive not too far to be able to sit on top of a hay bale pulled by a tractor. It's good for my city-boy husband to get to have some experiences I'm used to as well. The apples always taste great - and as far as I'm concerned the price is fair for how much I can imagine the farm pay in maintenance. Not a huge fan of their cider donuts (I'm picky about those...) but it's such a pleasant place that I'm happy to overlook.

You name a farm animal, by chance they will have it. For the adults, seasonal fruit and vegetable picking and wine tasting are additional activities beyond shopping for local grown produces.

Chester is great but this place is way too big and touristy for my taste. If you like low-key country type atmosphere you will not find it here...rather more like agro-tourism Disney. Terrible crowds, things quite expensive. Hoi polloi...amazing you'd think these folks had never seen a hotdog and a pumpkin before.

We went there on Sunday to the Pumpkin Pancake Breakfast and Had an Incredible time. The kids and I went here for only the second time and had the run of the place. Yes, it was cold, but wow, it was fun. We rode the hay wagon back to the breakfast, which was great. The we went and did all the kid activities as well. Where can you go and get all of this fun stuff in one place for this cheap. We will be back. One suggestion. Maybe look into doing a fire by the loading are when its cold. I loved the one back at breakfast.

We went here to get mums but they were almost out of anything decent. However, the farm was wild with pumpkin picking and attractions for children. Lots of fast food for hungry children and their cider donuts were delicious. I'm sorry they were out of mums. Perhaps a visit on an earlier weekend would be better for those looking for mums and apples --- they were out of upick your own, as well.

Good handmade ice cream - lots of choices; expensive but tasty. Same goes for the various pies - pecan being my top choice.Place gets very busy during the autumn season with young kids checking out the animals and fruit picking. Heard lots of people carping about the picking experience with respect to cost and availability of fruit.

Please people you have to believe me when i say for me to take the time and post a review it has to be that the place im posting about was either out of this world great OR what i consider the worst of the worst... Unfortunately Alstede Farms is TTTTTTerible so over crowded a big waste of time...And dont get me wrong crowded places aren't necessarily bad but this place was so unorganized and they didn't care about the crowds they had the well deal with it attitude ...Ill sum it up like this when a place knows they attract customers in the high hundreds maybe thousands they should have at least more then 1 combo male and female trailer toilet and 3 female porta pottis.... GET THE POINT.... And on top of that the place is expensive and on top of that They want 2 dollars for a small box that costs them maybe a dime to carry fruit and produce you just bought from them.... AGAIN RUN FOREST RUN and find another place

Hello Farmer Kurt Here,We appreciate Nanapeeps review of our family owned farm and value all customer feedback. We are truly blessed to have a business that appeals to so many families making our beautiful 365 acre permanently preserved farm a very popular place for people in our region to visit. Nanapeeps is quite correct that our farm is a money making machine...and it needs to be. The costs associated with opening up our privately owned land to the general public is huge; especially the insurance, maintenance costs, and cleaning. Not to mention the great team of people that we employ and the wages and salaries that they earn that our admissions pay for. We could not sustain our family business and pay our staff if we weren't making money...and the prices that we charge are a direct reflection of our true costs of operations. Further, most of our customers find our admission prices to be very fair when one considers how much you can do here and how long you can spend here with your family. Compare our value to the costs of going to the movies for instance. I would be most happy to speak to anyone regarding the costs of maintaining and operating a viable agricultural business in New Jersey. I can be reached at 908-879-7189 at any time. Please give me a call and thanks for your support of our family owned farm.Kind Regards, Farmer Kurt

Hello Farmer Kurt here,No one likes lines and traffic and neither do we. We are truly blessed. Our family owned farm has quickly become a very popular destination for families because of the wide variety of crops and activities that we offer on our beautiful permanently preserved farm. This is especially true on beautiful fall weekends. We offer a wide assortment of options that allow for the enjoyment of our farm on weekdays with great savings. This includes PYO and hay wagon rides every day of the week all day long, FREE admission and FREE hay wagon rides every Tuesday and Wednesday morning, children’s activities every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon, and much more. We value customer feedback and always consider everyone’s constructive opinions. Our family remains dedicated to constantly improving our farm business. You are always welcome to contact me personally at 908-879-7189.Kind Regards, Farmer Kurt Alstede

I saw the farm from the website and felt like I needed to go here as we were hunting down for place to go for apple picking. Make sure to go early as this place gets packed! We were there at 10am with the 9am opening. The parking was plentiful but make sure to bring a sneaker that you don't realyl care about. There are muds on some areas that you can't avoid. The ticket for apple picking was $5 which seemed to be reasonable. The selections of apples were pretty good in my opinion. Make sure to go all the way out to the part of the apple picking area that is away from the trailer drop off area. All the apples that is close to the trailer drop off area are pretty much gone by the time you get there (depending on when yo go).They had vegetable, pumpkins, flowers, and etc. Many selections to choose from which will make this place a day trip with some cardio. The market has great fresh items as well. There was so many attractions there that you have to go there to exeprience it.Grea times.

I love this farm!! Alstede's has so many things to do. Please be forewarned - this place is busy on the weekends, its no joke. Go early or go on a weekday if you don't want to deal with the crowds.My husband and I passed by here a few weeks ago during the strawberry festival and turned around and pulled in. That day we did a wine tasting (Tomasello Winery) for $5 dollars, we tasted 5 wines and got a wine glass. We walked out of there with 6 bottles on wine too! We also walked around to see some of the animals and then checked out the farm store and bought a few goods.We just went back again last weekend to do the "pick your own". We had a great time. We got there early before it got really busy. You pay $5 dollars to pick and then you have the option of buying containers or bringing your own. We picked the honeycrisp apples, these are my fave - they are $1.99 per pound, this for me is a great deal considering my local supermarket charges $3.99 per pound. We also walked to the potato crops and picked ourselves some irish and red potatoes - these were $1.00 per pound.They also sell fudge, home made ice cream, vegetables, jellies, donuts, pies and many other goods. You can also have lunch - we didn't eat there, but it looked like there was the basic fare such as burgers and fries.We had a great time and plan on returning soon. Check it out, take a look at their website - www.alstedefarms.com for hours, what pick your own is available, what activities and festivities are going on. You can have a great time here with or without children.

Hello Farmer Kurt Here!Our family and team enjoy and welcome customer feed back of our family owned farm. We have an excellent crop of apples this year as well as pumpkins and more. No one offers a greater variety of crops, a larger farm, a more beautiful farm, as wide a variety of family activities, and more amenities than we do and our prices correspond to the uniqueness and quality of our real working farm. You can always reach us directly at 908-879-7189 if you have any questions regarding our farm. We are always happy to speak to you...and you will always get a real person on the telephone!We look forward to seeing you on our farm soon. Kind Regards, Farmer Kurt

Besides the great pickings for apples and berries, there is a lot for youngsters to do. Hebrides and animals to see and feed. Great family fun! And there's wine tasting for parents and grandpa.