By PlantGraph
The Western New York apple season is longer than most people realize. Thanks to the moderating influence of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, and the region's rich glacial soils, the WNY growing belt produces apples from late July through the end of October — nearly four months of continuous harvest.
Here's how the season unfolds.
The first apples of the season are the Yellow Transparents — pale, almost luminescent fruits that ripen in late July. Don't plan on storing them; they're best eaten standing under the tree or cooked into sauce within days of picking.
Redfree and William's Pride, both disease-resistant varieties bred for early ripening, also appear in July at orchards that have planted them.
August brings a dramatic expansion of variety. Look for:
August apples don't keep long, but they signal the true beginning of fall.
September is the peak month for WNY apple picking. McIntosh, Cortland, Macoun, and Empire all hit their stride:
Honeycrisp peaks in mid-September in WNY — earlier than in many other regions — which means the window is short. Don't wait.
October brings the late keepers — firm, complex apples that need the cooler nights to develop their full character:
The last orchards to close their season in WNY typically do so around Halloween, with the final crops of Fuji and Northern Spy.
The orchard map shows every verified WNY orchard with their current variety availability. The This Weekend page updates every six hours during the season with what's ripe near you.
Dive deeper into any variety using the cultivar index — filter by season to find exactly what's ready to pick.