When You Can Pick Michigan’s Most Popular Apples (2025)

Although it's still summer, once mid-August arrives, my brain automatically shifts into fall mode. Already, my house has Halloween decorations, the autumn-themed pillows are on the couch, and my roommate delighted all of us by making an apple pie with apples she picked at an apple orchard.

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When it comes to apples, Michigan is one of the largest producers in the entire country. The Fruit Ridge, located just a few miles north of Grand Rapids, is a unique area that is perfect for growing apples, making it one of the most profitable apple-growing regions in the nation.

What does that mean? We have lots of apples to pick and plenty of places to pick them.

Why Fruit Ridge Is So Unique

What makes West Michigan such a good spot for apple production? It comes down to its unique geographic location. The "Fruit Ridge" is a twenty-by-eight-mile stretch of land that, according to the Fruit Ridge Market, is a combination of three distinct aspects that create an ideal area for apples to flourish:

• The past glaciers that used to cover much of the state nourished the soil and made it great for plants to grow, its elevation, and its proximity to Lake Michigan (moderate temperatures)

These three attributes make this area ideal for growing apples of all kinds.

READ MORE: Have You Seen Michigan’s Rare “Ghost Apples”?

Everyone has their favorite apple (mine is Honeycrisp); here's when they'll be ripe and ready for picking.