Doud Orchards

One of the oldest orchards in Indiana and reportedly the second-oldest still operating: Brenson Doud planted the first trees in 1894, and the orchard now covers 65 acres with around 9,000 trees carrying over 150 apple varieties. Heavy on heritage and antique apples, many of them rare, and home to a proprietary Zodiac line (Sagittarius, Aquarius, Pisces, Virgo, Aries, Capricorn) crossing Honeycrisp and Fuji that is grown nowhere else. Also hosts experimental trees for Purdue and the Midwest Apple Improvement team. Best known for unpasteurised cider pressed on site from true cider apples, in house and specialty blends; reviewers travelling from Fort Wayne rate it the best in the state. Also u-pick pumpkins, a weekend pastry counter, apple butter, honey, popcorn and a bee display. The shop is a building within a building - an 1883 brick schoolhouse enclosed by a barn built around it in the 1980s, alongside a 1940s tile barn with an apple painted on the roof. Tractor rides through the orchard on peak autumn weekends, and canoe/kayak rentals. Despite the name, the Douds no longer run it — Justin and Sarah Driscoll bought the orchard from Steven and Connie Doud in September 2019, the 125th anniversary year, and continue it as a family operation. Google lists daily 11am-6pm; the farm says hours change seasonally and that some offerings are weekend-only in autumn.