Nothing like a beautiful day spent outside! My family and I went to pick cherries at Levering Orchard this past weekend. The drive alone is worth it with beautiful mountains and open roads. Levering Farm has various seasons where you can go and pick fruit on their beautiful property. From cherries to peaches to apples, you won't be disappointed. The owner is an absolute gem and his staff are so kind and helpful! The prices are also super cheap and overall it's just a fun thing to do with the family! read more

See all

cherries, peaches and apricots picking, fantastic for families with children, they use to have a affordable price

"And the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of one hundred and fifty days the water decreased. In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat." Genesis 8:3-4 When I was in Ararat today, looked around a bit, but did not find the ark. What I did find, however, was a family owned orchard with cherry trees LOADED with the most beautiful fruit--the best crop they've had in 10 years I was told. They have dozens of varieties, but I was not told which was which. Instead I was told: "Just follow this road up until you can't go no more. The best trees are the ones with the ladders leaned up in 'em". That was the extent of my instruction. Pure country. This place is indeed pure country, staffed by family and locals who are friendly and helpful. It is not fancy or high tech. It is pick-at-your-own-risk with, as I said, ladders leaned up in the trees. They do have pre-picked cherries if climbing ladders is not in your wheelhouse. The pick your own price is less than half of what you will pay in the grocery store. But let me hasten to add that these are not the firm, dark, "bing" type cherries you typically find in the store. These are a bit smaller and softer and thus don't have much of a shelf life. They are very reminiscent of the wild sweet cherries I used to pick in the mountains around Boone when I was a kid. And they make the most delightful pie or turnover or preserves, or... In addition to the wonderful cherries you can find at Levering Orchard, this area is beautiful, with bucolic farms and pastures and scenic mountain vistas. Definitely worth a trip. read more

See all

The place is nice, good for those seeking adventure as some of the trees are high and ladders are provided for those who want to pick for themselves. A good activity for the whole family, kids were enjoying indeed. read more

See all

Timing is everything. Lots of people with slim pickings made it less than ideal. One guy with 3 kids and his wife literally running around from tree to tree. Relax, dude. This isn't a race to pick every cherry. I just want to have fun and pick some good cherry's. The trip would have been a real disappointment had I not found one tree way off on an incline that lazy people are not going to bother with. The tree was unspoiled and absolutely loaded with cherries. Obviously, no greedy humans had yet to even touch this tree. We spent at least an hour and twenty minutes at this tree. Fortune favors the bold, I guess. read more

See all

Bring your four-wheel drive if you've got one! We came after heavy rains, and the one-way dirt road had rocks jutting out and was a little tough to maneuver. Parking is really tight when it's crowded. We arrived mid-day and there were already tons of families and couples spread out on our assigned lot. There are lots of cherry trees and plenty of ladders distributed. Some of the ladders are 20-feet tall. The staff requests you let them position them for you... which makes sense, since they're heavy and a safety liability. But the staff is dressed like everyone else, so it's hard to know who they are and where they are at any given time. When we did locate someone, he was very polite. He got the ladders where we wanted them and tested them himself before giving us the okay. Hang your bucket from a ladder rung or branch, and pick away. I recommend long pants and tennis shoes (there's poison ivy and poison oak throughout the orchard), and more sensible footwear (than the slip-ons I had) will make tree-climbing a lot easier. Check the website and call the hotline listed before going. They update it daily with helpful info about the fruit-picking conditions. Because of recent rains, we learned that most of the cherry crop was split. So... while there were a lot of cherries, unfortunately, finding ones that hadn't burst was a tough task. When you're done, follow the dirt road out and over to the warehouse where the staff will weigh and you'll pay -- cash or check only!. They'll put your pick in a cardboard box or plastic bag (or you can bring your own basket). There are bathrooms in the back left of the warehouse; the women's was clean, but my dad said the men's room was "scary," specifically referencing giant spiders nesting in it. read more

See all

32 acres of different varieties of cherries just a short distance off the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can roam the orchard and climb the ladders in the trees and pick your own or purchase pre-picked cherries at the barn. Cherries are available mainly during the month of June, it's best to check their web site for the schedule of what's ripe and when - or call ahead to see what's available. Read Christina G's review, her review is exactly how it goes down at the Levering Orchard, no need for me to rewrite the same book. read more

See all

My partner and I had been seeing lots of lovely pictures of friends and family apple picking, and decided to try a new orchard at an earlier time than usual. We found Levering Orchard, which was a wonderful time. It is a one way road into the orchard, and you'll definitely want to bring your four wheel drive, as it can be a bit muddy. But it's worth it, the orchard feels very natural and it's easy to social distance once you're there. We ended up taking two buckets of apples, and will definitely be going back before the season ends! The staff is also extremely friendly, and went above and beyond for us. read more

This is a HUGE orchard and from the looks of it, pretty old too. The cherry trees are very mature! They claim to be the largest cherry orchard in the south; wouldn't be surprised! We called before we went to confirm hours and that there was definitely fruit on the trees. Someone answered right away, which was great! The infrastructure is not the best. It's not difficult to find but once you're there, you really should have a truck or SUV. We came after a lot of rain in our minivan. Luckily for us, we had no problems but another minivan was stuck in the mud of the parking area! Leaving the orchard was really confusing, as you have to drive somewhere else entirely to pay. It seemed we drove on a one way road forever, not sure if we were on the right road at all. Better signage would be helpful! The views are beautiful. As such, it's very rough terrain and there are some gravel paths but easy to slip on a muddy day or come into contact with poison ivy. Wear long pants and closed toe shoes! Other reviewers commented on poison oak in the trees but we only saw Carolina creeper. We took our family of 5, with an infant, 2 year old and 5 year old. Next time, I would only take the 5 year old! Even wearing the baby, I was afraid we might slip and I definitely didn't climb the ladders. They weren't sturdy enough for our 2 year old and the ripest cherries were WAY up high but our 5 year old did great with a spotter. Definitely check the ladder before you climb; some were precariously perched under the trees. Do bring water and use the bathroom before you come; they have a port a potty near the picking area but the bathrooms in the pay area are really horrible. The water didn't work in the men's at all. All in all, it was a fun experience and we came away with 3 plus lbs of cherries for under $10. It's $2.79/lb if you pick! read more

Levering Orchard - Beautiful view! - Fruits & Veggies Near Me - Ararat, Virginia

See all

I have been to an apple orchard before so I guess I didn't expect such a primitive apple picking spot. The parking area was tiny and you had to drive down a one way dirt road on the side of a mountain to get to the apple trees that are located in the woods. After you drive about a mile then you get out and walk another mile up the mountain through mud at times. Once we got to the trees there where apples but they were small and didn't seem ready to pick. This could be cause we went at the end of the season. If you are wanting a primitive apple picking spot this is the spot for you! Just use the bathroom before you get there. I asked if they had a restroom he said the water line was busted and told me I could go around the building and use the bathroom no one would see me (I'm female). This experience was enough for me I will stick another orchard! read more

This orchard was a dump. The owners clearly don't take care of their property. The buildings are falling apart, the property is overgrown with weeds (including poison ivy), and the area is littered with junk including dilapidated cars. The public restroom was atrocious - teeming with insects at the end of a long dark warehouse. You have to follow poorly maintained paths to reach the tiny orchards, and then you have to climb through overgrowth to reach the trees. The road down to the orchards was so overgrown and narrow that our vehicle couldn't make it through without scraping against the brush, so of course our vehicle emerged with several scratches. Do not waste your time here. read more

It is important to check the fruit hotline before coming to learn availability dates. The sour cherries are in high demand and can get gone quickly. Come prepared to pick your own sours with the proper shoes and clothes. A vehicle that can handle the road is best. Children and seniors will be able to help pick from the smaller sour cherry trees but the tall ladders needed for the sweets are sketchy. There is some poison ivy around the trees. Recommend bringing water and taking care of bathroom needs before coming. Since the sour trees are easier to pick, hired pickers typically work on the sweet cherries so these are usually available already picked. We weren't told over the phone that if we wanted sours we would have to pick them. Bring cash or a check. This operation could be better organized. Room for improvement in communication and staff training. Cherries taste great! read more

Thanks to the prior reviewer we took our 4 wheel drive. There was a short crop of sweet cherries this year due to a spring freeze. Calling first is a great suggestion since the orchard is not a drive by destination. The roads are narrow and winding getting there and the roads in the orchard are dirt and narrow. The sweet cherry picking season was only about a week. We got there a couple of days after it opened and trees were pretty well stripped. We hiked further away from where folks were picking and found a couple of trees just loaded with cherries. We picked almost 10 pounds of cherries from those 2 trees. The hike back to the car was a tough one since it was all up a steep hill. When we left the orchard we saw that there was more than one place to park. Next time we will bypass the first large lot and stay on the dirt road a little longer to park and pick where less people go. The cherries were wonderful and ladders were available. Keep in mind wherever a ladder is placed in a tree someone has already picked it clean. Further down the trail we picked standing on the ground. Poison oak climbing up the trees and nearly impossible to avoid. We wore heavy socks and hiking boots. Take antibacterial wipes to wipe down your skin after you leave the orchard. Certainly worth the trip. read more