Oct 2026: The April freeze wiped out this year's sour cherry, peach, nectarine and apple crops, so there is no apple picking in fall 2026. Pick-your-own pumpkins, a bountiful crop this year, and the fall hayrides go on, and the Country Store is open as usual.
Battleview Orchards At A Glance...
- Family farmed since 1908, and one of the first farms in New Jersey to offer pick-your-own, in 1972.
- The donut machines can turn out 220 dozen apple cider donuts an hour, made fresh every morning.
- 100 acres of the family's original farm became part of Monmouth Battlefield State Park in 1965.
- Six pick-your-own crops in a normal year, from May strawberries to October pumpkins.
- Todays Sunrise: , Sunset:
- New Jersey Shore Region Monmouth County
About Battleview Orchards
Battleview Orchards is the Applegate family's farm on Wemrock Road in Freehold, around the corner from Monmouth Battlefield State Park. The family has farmed here since 1908 and was one of the first farms in New Jersey to offer pick-your-own, in 1972; the farm calls itself the oldest pick-your-own orchard in the state. It is now run by the fourth and fifth generations.
Pick-your-own runs from spring to fall: strawberries in May, sour cherries, peaches and nectarines in summer, then late peaches, apples and pumpkins in the fall, with hayrides on fall weekends. Bags and buckets are provided in the orchard, and pole pickers can be rented when the fruit hangs high. The picking areas sit along Wemrock Road north of the Country Store, each with its own signed entrance and grass parking, and one picking area has been in Monmouth Battlefield State Park itself.
The Country Store is open all year, with the farm's own fresh-pressed apple cider in season, apple cider donuts made fresh every morning, a full bakery of pies, breads and pastries, fresh fruit and vegetables including the farm's own sweet corn and Jersey tomatoes, fruit and vegetable platters, gift baskets and gourmet foods. Portable restrooms with hand sanitizer are outside the store and at each picking area. The farm is not organic; its own EPA-certified employees apply what is needed to keep the fruit free of pests and disease.
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Amenities:
- Restrooms/Bathrooms
- Parking Lot(s)
Farming:- Apple Picking
- Blueberry Picking
- Farm Market
- Hay Rides
- Pick Your Own
- Pumpkin Picking
- Strawberry Picking
Rules/Regulations:- Dogs Not Permitted
Contact / Location
A Brief History
In 1908 Charles R. and Carrie Applegate bought 130 acres on Wemrock Road for a general farm, deeded as Battleview Farm. Their son Leslie became the first national president of the Future Farmers of America in 1928. After Charles died in 1929, Leslie and his brother C. Richard grew 500 acres of apples around Wemrock Road and sold mostly wholesale; in 1939 Monmouth County ranked second in New Jersey for apples. In 1945 the brothers split the orchards: Leslie ran Battleview Orchards and C. Richard ran Wemrock Orchards.
Retail sales began in 1964 in a barn that dates back to the Revolutionary War and still stands on Wemrock Road. In 1965 the State of New Jersey bought 100 acres of Leslie's farm under the Green Acres program, and that land is now part of Monmouth Battlefield State Park. Leslie's son Norman and his wife Betty Lou took over that year, opened the retail market down the street from the old barn in 1969, added peaches, strawberries, blueberries, sour cherries and pumpkins on land on Kinney Road, and in 1972 made Battleview one of the first farms in New Jersey to offer pick-your-own.
Their son Scott and his wife Lisa bought the business in 1995 and doubled the market. Snow collapsed the roof in 2003 and the building was rebuilt in five months. Strawberries came back in 2002, the farm's own sweet corn in 2006 and Jersey tomatoes in 2011, and a farm in Millstone was added in 2020 for corn, tomatoes and strawberries. The donut machines grew too, to 220 dozen apple cider donuts an hour by 2016. Their son Kyle joined full time in 2015, and in 2024 the family planted blueberries on the home farm and asparagus in Millstone.
Tips and Tricks
Drive to the picking area; you cannot park at the store and walk to the orchard, and a ride service has to drop you at the picking entrance. Bring cash for the orchard, and hand wipes, since the portable restrooms have hand sanitizer but no running water. Dress in layers: the orchard can be hot, windy or muddy depending on the day.
For hot apple cider donuts, come in the morning, when they are made; the hot donut window hours vary on September and October weekends. Strollers are fine in the orchard but not in the store on September and October weekends, when it is busiest; wheelchairs are always welcome. Picnics are not allowed on the farm, so take lunch to Monmouth Battlefield State Park around the corner, which has picnic areas.
Admission & Guidelines
There is no entrance fee for the orchards except in strawberry season, when a per-person fee to enter the patch is credited toward the strawberries you pick. You pay for everything your group picks, and all fruit must be paid for before you eat it. The picking areas take cash only; the Country Store takes cash, Visa and MasterCard, but the hot donut and beverage trailer is cash only. Seniors 62 and older and military service members get 10% off on Mondays and Thursdays, in the store or the orchard; tell the cashier.
Pets are not allowed, including emotional support and therapy animals; only service animals. Backpacks, large purses and large diaper bags are not allowed in the picking areas (bags must be smaller than 12 x 8 x 7 inches and may be checked on the way out), and neither are reusable containers or baskets. Picnics, photo shoots and weddings are not allowed on the property, the farm no longer takes field trips or large picking groups, and buses and large passenger vans are turned away for lack of parking.
Hours / Season of Operation
The Country Store is open all year and closed on Tuesdays: 9 AM to 6 PM from May through December, and 9 AM to 5 PM from January through April. Pick-your-own follows the crops, roughly strawberries in mid-May, sour cherries, peaches and nectarines through the summer, and apples and pumpkins from September through October. The farm posts approximate dates each year on its Pick Your Own Dates page, and they change with the weather and the supply.
For 2026, pumpkin picking runs from September 19 through October, and hayrides started September 19; the farm's fall events page lists hayrides on weekends only. Orchard entrances close 15 minutes before closing time, and the farm asks you to arrive at least 20 minutes before closing to pick. Picking may close in heavy rain, so call 732-462-0756 or check the farm's Facebook page to confirm dates, hours and supply before you drive a distance.
Directions
From Route 9 in Freehold, take Route 33 west for about a mile to the second traffic light and turn right onto Wemrock Road; the Country Store is about a quarter mile up on the right. From the New Jersey Turnpike, take Exit 8 and Route 33 east about 10 miles, take the Route 33 Business ramp toward Freehold, and turn left at the light onto Wemrock Road after about 3/4 to 1 mile.
To the picking areas from the store, turn right out of the store lot. Areas 1 and 1A are a quarter mile up on the left; Areas 2, 2A, 3 and 3A are half a mile up on the left, past the big house; Area 4 is across from the big house on the right. Area 5, when open, is in Monmouth Battlefield State Park: turn left out of the store, go a quarter mile to the Route 33 light, turn right and go a quarter mile to the park on the right. Every entrance is marked with a Pick Your Own sign, and the farm posts which areas are open.
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Nearby Places
Monmouth Battlefield State Park is a few minutes away off Route 33, with miles of hiking and horseback riding trails through a rural 18th-century landscape of farmland and hedgerows. The farm points visitors there for its picnic and bathroom facilities, hiking trails and playground, since picnics are not allowed in the orchards.
Here are 10 places near Battleview Orchards
- Battleview Orchards (~0 miles)
- Monmouth Battlefield State Park (~1 miles)
- Thompson Grove Park (~2 miles)
- Downtown Freehold Farmers Market (~2 miles)
- East Freehold Showgrounds (~3 miles)
- Freehold Skate Park (in Michael J. Tighe Park) (~3 miles)
- Happy Day Farm (~3 miles)
- Michael J. Tighe Park (~4 miles)
- Turkey Swamp Park Campground (~4 miles)
- Maple Leaf Farms (~4 miles)
- Turkey Swamp Park (~5 miles)
- Abate Park (~5 miles)
Freehold, New Jersey 07728