Oct 2026: An April freeze killed most of this year's apple blossoms, so pick-your-own apples are very limited for 2026 and may run out. Pumpkins, flowers, the hayride and the corn maze are open; call 609-223-0051 to hear what is picking today.
Stone Tavern Orchards At A Glance...
- The hayride is your ride to the fields: it carries you out to the orchards, the pumpkin patch, the flower patch and the corn maze.
- Pick pumpkins right off the vine where they grew, and cut fall flowers with clippers the farm hands you.
- Owner Pat O'Connell is an 11th-generation farmer who has won a giant pumpkin contest.
- 16 apple varieties, from Honeycrisp and Pink Lady to GoldRush and Granny Smith.
- Todays Sunrise: , Sunset:
- New Jersey Shore Region Monmouth County
About Stone Tavern Orchards
Stone Tavern Orchards is the O'Connell family's pick-your-own farm on Rues Road in Upper Freehold, in the farm country of western Monmouth County. Pat and Silezia O'Connell bought the farm in 2018, and their daughter Annie manages it. Fall is the season here: from mid-September into November the farm runs its Fall Festivities, with apple, pumpkin and flower picking, a hayride, a corn maze and a corn pit.
Buy a ticket at the ticket stand in the greenhouse, and the hayride carries you out to the orchards, the pumpkin patch, the flower patch, the corn maze and the corn pit; you cannot walk out to the fields. Wagons are provided for hauling, bushel baskets for apples and clippers for flowers, and the pumpkins are still on the vine where they grew. When you are done, the hayride brings you back to the big yellow checkout tent, where you pay for what you picked. A bubble barn is new for 2026.
The orchards hold 16 apple varieties, from Honeycrisp, Autumn Gala and Pink Lady to GoldRush, Jonagold and Granny Smith, ripening at different times through the fall. A petting zoo and pony rides cost extra, and on weekends there is a lunch stand, a Thai food truck and an ice cream truck. The farmstand sells fresh fall vegetables, apples, honey, mums and other fall flowers, plus a small supply of apple cider donuts and pies, and the farm takes firewood orders.
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Amenities:
- Parking Lot(s)
Farming:- Apple Picking
- Corn Maze
- Farm Stand
- Hay Rides
- Pick Your Own
- Pumpkin Picking
Attractions:- Zoo / Aquarium / Petting Zoo / Animals
- Animals
- Petting Zoo
Rules/Regulations:- Entrance Fee Required
- Dogs Not Permitted
Contact / Location
A Brief History
Before 2018 this was AshHurst Farms, owned by F.G. Rue and Sons; the Rue family had tended the land since the 1860s. Pat and Silezia O'Connell bought it in 2018 and renamed it Stone Tavern Orchards. Pat grew up on his family's farm in Middlebush and bought his first farm in 1976, at 18. He grew mostly vegetables back then before pumpkins took over, and he has won a giant pumpkin contest along the way. Silezia grew up on a farm in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The family counts 11 generations of farming in Monmouth and Middlesex counties, and their daughter Annie now manages the farm.
Tips and Tricks
Come early in the day: lines build in the afternoon. Bring cash for the petting zoo and pony rides, since there is no ATM. Wear comfortable shoes you do not mind getting dirty, because the orchards and pumpkin patch cover a lot of ground, and bring reusable bags for checkout. Strollers are welcome, on the hayride too. If you only want to pick apples without the festival, the O'Connells point you to Annie's Orchard, their second location just down the road.
Admission & Guidelines
For 2026, admission is $10 per person, and children 3 and under are free. Tickets are sold only at the farm, at the ticket stand in the greenhouse, and no reservations are needed; a ticket is required to go out to the fields, even just to pick apples. It covers the hayride, the orchards, the pumpkin patch, the flower patch, the corn maze, the corn pit and the bubble barn.
Everything is pay for what you pick: for 2026, apples are $2.29 a pound (supply permitting), pumpkins 89 cents a pound and flowers $1 a stem. The petting zoo is $5 per person, a feed cup $5 and pony rides $15 per person, all cash only. Cash and cards are taken at the checkout tent, but there is no ATM on the farm and the food vendors may be cash only. Dogs, other pets and emotional support animals are not allowed (licensed service dogs are welcome), there is no smoking on the farm, and the farm does not host birthday parties.
Hours / Season of Operation
The Fall Festivities run from mid-September to mid-November: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in September and October, then Saturdays and Sundays in November. The farm opens at 9:30 AM, with last entry at 4:30 PM on Fridays and 5:30 PM on Saturdays and Sundays; last entry moves earlier as the days get shorter. For 2026 the season began Saturday, September 19. Hours depend on the weather and the farm closes in bad weather, so call 609-223-0051 before you leave for the day's phone message.
Parking
Parking is on site, down by the barns, with signs to the designated areas. Coming from Route 526 (Trenton Lakewood Road), the farm is on the right about 0.6 miles down Rues Road; follow the signs for Apple and Pumpkin Picking. Ignore anyone waving you into a lot on the left: that is for Holland Ridge Farms, a separate farm across the street.
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Nearby Places
Rues Road runs through the heart of Upper Freehold farm country. Clayton Park, with miles of rolling singletrack through woods and fields, is under a mile south, and the Horse Park of New Jersey is just across I-195. Bullock Farms, with its own fall corn maze and hayrides, is a short drive away, and Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, with its lakes and trails, is a few miles north.
Here are 10 places near Stone Tavern Orchards
- Stone Tavern Orchards (~0 miles)
- Holland Ridge Farms (~0 miles)
- Clayton Park (~1 miles)
- Horse Park of New Jersey at Stone Tavern, Inc. (~1 miles)
- Bullock Farms (~2 miles)
- Union Transportation Trail (UTT) (~3 miles)
- Assunpink Wildlife Management Area (~3 miles)
- Millstone Park (~3 miles)
- Cream Ridge Winery (~3 miles)
- Prospertown Wildlife Management Area (~3 miles)
- Six Flags Great Adventure Hurricane Harbor (~3 miles)
- Halloween House Freehold (~4 miles)
Cream Ridge, New Jersey 08514