The pumpkin you want is still attached to its vine, the apples are waiting across the farm, and somebody has already mentioned cider donuts twice. At Riamede Farm in Chester, that sounds like a reasonable start to the day.
You can wander through the orchard, ride a hay wagon toward the pumpkin patch, pick flowers, and see what else is happening before deciding what belongs in the car. There is plenty to do, but the appeal is wonderfully simple: you are spending the day on a working farm, choosing what catches your eye.
Riamede’s old apple trees give the place a sense of history, while weekend music, farm treats, and visiting animals give families a reason to linger. Come with a bag for apples and a little room in the trunk.
The pumpkin decision tends to get bigger once you reach the field.
Riamede Farm Has Been Growing Fall Traditions in Chester for Generations
Long before hay wagons became part of the fall routine, apple trees were growing on this stretch of Oakdale Road. Riamede Farm covers 68 acres in Chester, and the land has been farmed since the late 1700s.
In the 1930s, Lowry and Maria Mead planted seedling apple trees that still stand in part of the orchard today. Some are nearly a century old, with the broad branches and irregular shapes of trees that have had plenty of time to become themselves.
The farm opened its orchard to pickers in 1974, making it one of New Jersey’s early pick-your-own apple farms. That history is more than a date on a sign.
Riamede says visitors now bring their children to the same orchard they remember visiting when they were young. Apple picking has a way of producing that kind of family story: one year you are trying to reach the fruit, and a few decades later you are helping someone else do it.
Chester is a fitting setting for a farm day that can take its time. Once you turn into Riamede at 122 Oakdale Road, the outing revolves around the fields in front of you.
The old trees are still doing their job, and newer seasonal activities fit around the harvest rather than replacing it. Today, owner Ashley Asdal and longtime farm manager Jamie Bourgeois carry that work forward.
Keeping an orchard productive takes considerably more effort than letting its oldest trees look picturesque. Riamede’s appeal comes from being able to walk among them, fill a bag, and take part in a tradition that has lasted for generations.
Riamede Farm’s history gives the day its roots; the apples give everyone something to do with their hands.
Apple Picking Is Still the Heart of the Visit
The first serious decision comes at the trees: which apple looks ready to take home? At Riamede, you can move through the open picking rows at your own pace, comparing fruit, changing your mind, and discovering that a bag fills faster than expected.
The orchard remains the main event even when the rest of the farm is busy with pumpkins and weekend activities. There is no need to arrive with special equipment.
Visitors can bring a reusable bag, and the farm provides paper picking bags at the gate. Apples are purchased separately from admission, so it is worth keeping an eye on your haul if your plans extend beyond a pie or two.
The farm also offers a basket option for anyone who wants to carry apples home in something sturdier. What is ready to pick changes throughout the season.
Riamede opened apple picking in August 2026, but varieties and available rows shift as the harvest moves along. The farm has also reported that a damaging spring frost affected this year’s crop.
There are apples on the trees, though the amount available for picking may change as fall progresses. If you have a particular variety in mind, checking the current picking schedule before you leave home will save you a debate in the parking lot.
Give the orchard enough time to enjoy it. Children can take on the highly important job of spotting promising apples, while adults discover how quickly “just a few” becomes a respectable bag.
Riamede’s last entry for picking is at 4 p.m., even though the farm remains open later. An earlier arrival leaves room to wander the rows and still make it to the pumpkin patch.
A Hay Wagon Takes You Out to Pumpkins on the Vine
By the time the pumpkin field comes into view, anyone who announced they were buying only apples may need to revise that statement. Riamede grows pumpkins that visitors can choose right off the vine.
The hay wagon takes guests out to the patch on fall weekends, turning the trip across the farm into part of the fun. Picking a pumpkin in the field is a different undertaking from choosing one beside a store register.
You can compare a whole row of possibilities: the round one with the sturdy stem, the lopsided one with personality, or the enormous one that seemed manageable until it was time to carry it. Children tend to have firm opinions, often about a pumpkin much larger than the adult assigned to lift it.
The wagon ride also gives tired legs a break after the orchard. From your seat, you get a better sense of how the apple trees, flower fields, and pumpkin patch fit together across Riamede’s acreage.
It is a pleasant change of pace before the serious work of choosing a porch decoration begins. Pumpkin picking opened on September 19 for the farm’s 2026 season, and pumpkins are priced separately from admission.
The farm’s fall schedule lists wagon rides as a weekend activity, so a weekday visit will have a different rhythm. There is something to like about both: a quieter walk through the fields during the week, or a weekend ride with the patch as your destination.
Either way, leave some space in the trunk. Apples pack neatly; pumpkins have their own ideas.
Fall Flowers Add Another Reason to Explore the Fields
You can spot the flower fields before you decide whether you need a bouquet. Sunflowers rise above the rows, with other blooms adding color closer to hand.
After concentrating on apples and pumpkins, this part of the farm invites a slower kind of looking. Riamede offers pick-your-own flowers alongside its fall produce, with availability changing as the season advances.
The farm’s picking updates have listed sunflowers and snapdragons, though blooms depend on weather and what is ready that week. Visitors can purchase a container to fill with flowers, making the bouquet as restrained or as exuberant as their arranging skills allow.
Flowers give mixed-interest groups an easy way to split up for a little while. Someone can continue inspecting apple trees while someone else chooses stems.
A child who has had enough of comparing pumpkin sizes might be delighted to hunt for a sunflower. It is a useful reminder that there is no required route through the farm; you can follow whichever field holds your attention next.
The flower rows are also a reason to look beyond the classic orange-and-red fall picture. Depending on the harvest, Riamede may have vegetables available to pick, too.
Its current offerings have included tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, though field conditions change quickly. A visit that began with an apple bag can end with the ingredients for dinner and flowers for the table.
Like apples and pumpkins, flowers and other crops are paid for separately from entry. Check what is available before setting your heart on a particular bloom.
Then enjoy the pleasant problem of fitting a bouquet into the car without letting a pumpkin roll into it.
Weekend Activities Keep the Adventure Going
A weekend at Riamede can sound different from a weekday visit before you even reach the orchard. Live music may be playing, the concession area is open, and families are deciding whether the apple slingshot deserves one more try.
Picking still anchors the day, but there are more reasons to pause between fields. The slingshot is exactly the sort of diversion that can turn into a friendly competition.
It carries a small additional fee and is cash-only, so keep a few dollars handy if someone in your group is likely to make a challenge of it. Weekend activities also include visiting farm animals and pony rides.
The animals come with outside partners on Saturdays and Sundays, and the lineup can vary. Food helps everyone stay on the farm long enough to enjoy those extras.
The Orchard Grill and Sweet Shed operate on weekends, offering a place to regroup when the apple bag is getting heavy, and lunch is becoming urgent. Cider slushies add another welcome pause, especially on a warm September afternoon that has not quite gotten the message about fall.
For a quieter outing focused on picking, weekdays have their own appeal. Riamede’s 2026 schedule offers a $5 weekday picking pass on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday; the farm is closed on Tuesdays.
Weekend admission and activities follow a different schedule, and what is running can change with the weather or the date. The easiest approach is to decide what kind of day you want.
Come midweek if wandering the fields is enough. Choose a weekend if your group wants music, animals, wagon rides, and snacks woven through the picking.
Riamede’s ticket page has the current lineup and hours, which are especially useful when a promised pony ride has become the main reason someone agreed to get in the car.
Cider Donuts Make the Trip Home Even Sweeter
There is a moment near the end of a farm visit when the bags are packed, the pumpkin has been claimed, and everyone suddenly remembers the donuts. At Riamede, apple cider donuts are part of the fall weekend routine.
Picking is the reason to come; a bag of donuts is a very good reason to linger a little longer. The farm also serves cider slushies and other seasonal treats, so the snack stop can become its own small chapter of the day.
It is a practical one, too. After walking the orchard and pumpkin field, sitting down with something sweet feels less like an indulgence than the natural order of things.
Anyone who intended to save every donut for later may find that plan tested before the car leaves Oakdale Road. Before heading out, take a look inside the farm store.
Alongside the harvest, Riamede stocks its own vegetables, honey, and a selection of local milk, eggs, cheeses, specialty foods, and gifts. It is the place to pick up something you did not gather in the fields, whether that is an extra bag of apples or a jar of honey that caught your eye on the way to checkout.
The timing matters if donuts are high on your list. Riamede’s 2026 visitor information lists its weekend concessions and Sweet Shed as closing at 4:30 p.m.; the store closes at 5:30 p.m. in September and October.
Arriving with time to spare gives you room to pick first, eat second, and browse without rushing. By then, the car may contain apples, a pumpkin, a bouquet, and a bag of donuts with a questionable chance of making it home intact.
That is a full fall outing by any reasonable measure.
Share this story
