*** Review is during COVID-19 ***
Livesay Orchards may be more well known for their peaches (Porter is the peach capital of Oklahoma, after all!) but that's not all they do - I had lots of fun picking apples there!
They were doing a good job staying on top of Covid precautions. Masks were worn by all employees and were also required for visitors (especially in any inside places). They had us wash our hands before being taken to the apple trees. We had to read/ listen to them go through a short agreement and then sign it (some things involving the pandemic and some not). Socially distancing was encouraged both inside and outside. There are definitely enough trees/ rows of trees to have space to yourself.
While we were there, they had two apple varieties ready to pick: red and golden delicious. Now, I'm not a fan of red delicious apples so I was a bit disappointed at first to hear that these were one of only two varieties available (I especially felt that they should promote what varieties they have, & when, a little more). Luckily, once we got to the trees, we could see that they weren't necessarily the same small, waxy-skinned, bitter red delicious apples we're used to seeing in stores. I actually thought they resembled more of a gala, fuji, or pink lady apple (a few were a deeper rosy/ mauve-y red, some were almost a peach color, and others were that mix of a light red and green color). Needless to say I was glad that they didn't seem to be the red delicious apples I think of them as.
We only filled one bucket, which for us was plenty! For reference, we made two batches of apple turnovers, one apple pie, stovetop cinnamon apples, and still have some left over!!! The one bucket was about $30, and as you can see, we got plenty of use out of that (not to mention the fun of the activity itself of getting to pick your own apples).
I only wish I knew more about what to look for to pick a "good apple", because a few of them ended up being kind of soft, and I like them to be nice and crisp if I'm just eating an apple as-is. The good news is we used most of them for baking purposes anyway, so it didn't really matter that some were already a bit on the softer side.
I'd go back, if not another time this year (they also have a pumpkin patch and hay ride in the fall), then next year, or even for other seasons of the year -- I probably need to try the peaches during the spring/summer season at some point! read more