A hillside orchard with Hudson Valley and Catskill views and an honor-system picking table, growing heirloom varieties like Golden Russet, Baldwin, and Spitzenburg Esopus that most orchards never bothered to keep, alongside the usual Galas and Cortlands.
Heads upSeasonal, typically open weekends during apple season (Sept–Oct). Free parking in two designated areas. No restrooms or concessions on-site; bring water. Call ahead to confirm opening dates and apple availability. Best on weekday mornings for smallest crowds.
Cedar Heights has been family-run for more than 150 years. Arvia Morris, of the third generation, tends the honor-system table where you pay. The orchard sits on a hillside three miles from Rhinebeck village, the kind of place where the Hudson Valley and Catskill views alone make you pause before you've even picked an apple.
The upper orchard grows the varieties most people expect: Gala, Cortland, Jonamac, Empire, Macoun, Red Delicious. The lower orchard has something rarer: Liberty, Golden Russet, Gold Rush, Baldwin, Spitzenburg Esopus, Bramley's Seedling, and other heirloom and old English cooking apples that modern supermarkets have abandoned. You're tasting what an apple tasted like two hundred years ago when you bite into one of these.
Picking runs on the honor system: grab a small or half-bushel bag near the parking area, fill it yourself, and leave payment in the box. Two entrances serve the place, off Route 308 at Pilgrims Progress Road, or off Route 9 at Wey Road, just north of the 9G intersection. There are no restrooms or concessions on-site, so plan around that. Go on a weekday morning if you want the orchard to yourself. It's the only pick-your-own left in Rhinebeck, and it rarely feels crowded.