Garwood Orchards

A large working u-pick farm and market west of La Porte, off US-2 between La Porte and Westville, about an hour from Chicago. The land has been in the Garwood family since 1831 as the John Garwood Homestead and they have farmed fruit since the 1920s - now sixth generation. Over 450 acres, roughly 140 of them apples. The farm's own u-pick calendar for 2026 runs 26 May to 31 October: strawberries in June, red raspberries from mid-June, sweet cherries June-July, black raspberries and tart cherries in July, blackberries, Japanese sweet plums and peaches from mid-July, apples from mid-August, and pumpkins from September, alongside u-pick peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, tomatillos and pickling cucumbers. CRITICAL: the market and the u-pick keep different hours. The market is open 9am-6pm daily, but U-PICK IS FRIDAY TO SUNDAY ONLY, 9am-2:30pm, closed Monday to Thursday, with the last wagon out to the fields at 1:45pm. Google shows only the market hours. Both tractor-drawn and horse-drawn wagon rides run out to the rows, with separate stops for the orchard and the vegetable fields. Bake Shoppe, gelato bar and the Garwood Grill in season, plus cider donuts, preserves, meat and cheese and mums. Apple Fest, its 40th year, is 12-13 September 2026, with a $20 u-pick minimum during the event. School and group tours for 20+ run early September to early October and must be booked between May and August. Restrooms are portable toilets. Cider is pasteurized, as Indiana regulations require. 4.5 across 1,326 ratings; reviewers report both quiet Saturdays and hour-long waits for a wagon after strawberry picking.