maskar orchards

I have been here 3 times this year! With family & friend's. What a great experience. The joy on my childrens face, my grandchildren, priceless! We had such a great day deciding which apples to pick. Eating them along the way! Sampling I should say! Just a really fun day out. Children running around are just as excited as adults to pick these amazing fresh apples. They have rest rooms, nothing fancy, but there there. Small food choir on the wkends. Music on the wkends. And a fun maze for the kids with a small animal area for viewing. Best cider too! Will return!

I visited this orchard early one Saturday morning this October 2014 with a friend.After reading so many yelp reviews about the crowds I insisted that we start out early. We arrived about 10 am and was shocked to see no crowds and the kids ushering us in said that we were early. The staff was very friendly and helpful but mostly very young kids-shockingly. We had our pick of parking spots and many trees to pick from. The majority of the apples available were the red delicious kind which tasted great right off the tree. However, for other types of apples you will have to go to the outer areas of the orchard. Sadly, I discovered that they had no Fuji apples at all.Some people drove through the orchard to pick but we chose to walk. Thankfully, we did because we were able to spot apples that the drivers missed. I was asked repeatedly where'd I get the various types of apples I had in my bag. Honestly, it took a lot of walking, a keen eye and some climbing to get at those apples. The orchard was pretty much picked clean out side of the red delicious apple areas. But I was able to get a few rome, courtlandt and enough granny smith apples to make a delicious pie-yum!But at about 12pm the crowds started to arrive and the amount of people in the orchard steadly grew. That was when we made a stop a the country store then looked around and exited. On a Saturday during picking season, my advise is to get there early and get out when you see the amount of cars increasing.

I visited on Sunday afternoon 10/19. My wife , daughter & grand daughter, all had a wonderful time! It's as close to living on a farm as could be. I was reading some of the other reviews and could not believe what some people were saying! A few stated that it was too expensive. My reply would be that all the orchards for apple picking are about the same. Your paying also for the experience. If you wanted to spend less, take your family to a supermarket and get your apples from the produce section!! You do not have to pay for parking, you get to eat all the apples you want while picking them, they also have a great country store with excellent preserves and fresh apple pie. It was not overcrowded and no real wait to pay and exit. The only bad thing, was that we came to late in the season for a truly good selection. My advice to people, would be to go there at the beginning of the October, or at the end of September, but it all really depends on the weather! In conclusion, It's a great place for a family outing, we had a lot of fun and definitely will be back next year.

We make the annual trek to Warwick NY just to hit up the orchard! The staff is friendly and helpful, and the apples are plentiful! Its a great fun filled day...you could spend anywhere form a few hours to a whole day picnicking! The best part is that it is dog friendly!! so much fun!!! We go back year after year! A fun Family/friend tradition

DO NOT GO HERE!!! VERY disappointed!!This place is SO overcrowded - if you are coming to avoid city crowds forget about it - the city has relocated to Maskers. Trees were all picked over - hardly any apples except the piles on the ground under the trees. Apples are there expensive anyway. No place to park. Traffic insane. The "Family Fun Center" is NOT fun - We spent more time in line than we did having any fun. Employees were rude, uncaring and VERY unhelpful with the exception of 2 nice young adults - everyone else couldn't be bothered to answer a question. Yup - definitely felt like I was back in the city. We will find another place to go next year - I will never return to Maskers!

Forget all the negative reviews. Just visit the orchard and discover for yourself. We're having second thoughts of going there today but we gave it a try. To our surprise, it was one fun-filled day for the family. The apples taste great and the experience was far from horrendous. From the moment we entered the farm up to the exit, we all had a breeze. The kids manning the exits were all helpful. We will go back again next year 'coz we miss the apple cider donuts! :-)Eizumroht I.

had a great time picking apples ! family had a blast.........we picked so many diff types of apples,

Crowded, unorganized and you are held hostage in long car lines before you can leave. Do yourself a favor and stay as far away as possible. Go to Pennings or Warwick Valley Winery instead!

We've been apple picking with the kids for many years now. This place is much bigger, and has better quality apples than most of the others we have been to in the NY area. You can drive your vehicle all over the orchard, which is a good thing, because it's huge. I also like the way the trees have signs that clearly mark the variety of apples, and whether they are ripe. This is the first orchard we have been to that didn't have any poles available for picking, and as it turns out, we really didn't need them. There were so many good apples to choose from, and they were low enough that we could all reach them, or if needed I could lift the kids high enough to reach. There was a country store, and food court area which we basically stayed away from because it was totally mobbed. But the apple picking itself was good enough that the all the extras weren't even necessary. Apple picking is typically not cheap, but I would say the prices here were slightly better than most places we have been to. Upon leaving, it is kind of hectic with many vehicles all merging into a few lanes to be checked for apples and given a bill, which you then pay at the final stop before you exit the farm. Considering the volume of traffic, they handled it fairly smoothly. The only thing I really did not like about the whole afternoon is that the cider we bought on the way out had preservatives in it. Not something I would expect at an apple orchard, and had I known I wouldn't have bought it. We've had fresh cider in Vermont that had no preservatives, and it's awesome, and much more healthy. All in all, a nice fall afternoon with the family, and we would come back again next year.

The orchard was beautiful and it was nice to be able to drive around. Getting out of there was crazy. We went on a weekday. I cannot even imagine what weekends are like. We were on line for over an hour trying to get out. There were cars coming from all directions merging into 2 lanes to get out. We would sit still for 15-20 minutes while other cars were allowed to merge into our line. I expected a bit of a line, but over an hour was insane. If it were better managed, I would have gone back. Since that is they way they do business, I will never go back.

I believe this is the only orchard that you can drive around. We've been going to Maskers for the last nine years. The prices for a bag are a little steep but the apples are very good. If the price of the apples is too much for you then you're not looking at the big picture. We also make a day of our visit. We park in a secluded area pull out the table and chairs and picnic.Pull out the football and play with the kids. It's a good place to get away from it all if you don't go on a weekend or holiday.

For a change, we went on Day 1 of the apple picking season. Not many options as say, late September or October. Prime reds was the only variety available for picking, but whatever the variety is, they taste so good right off the tree. Going so early in the season also meant less people, as the orchard even though very big, can get really crowded during peak season.Having an SUV may be the best bet for driving on the roads within the orchard, as the road is steep and not paved and some of the rocks have sharp edges. You can drive right up to the tree you like and park right there, pluck apples, have a picnic and make merry while enjoying the beautiful views of the countryside. We have seen large groups having fun listening to loud music, etc. so yea it can be a nice family outing.At about $27, a full bag of apples is definitely costlier than what a similar count of apples would cost you in your local grocery store, but the apples do taste so much better than store bought apples. The trees are marked to let you know what apples are in that lane. The bags they give you at the entrance has a map of the orchard and that makes it convenient to locate the varieties we are interested in.This year they had pony rides for kids ($6), which our kid enjoyed very much. They have a snack barn where you get apple pies, donuts, ice cream, etc. and also a store where they sell local honey, jams, etc. Credit card is accepted at all places.At the exit, they ask you whether you want fresh apple cider and while you wait for the cider, there is a strict check of your car to search for 'hidden apples'. The way they search your car makes you feel there are a lot of apple thieves around. Other than this, it is always a fun filled experience.

We enjoy picking apples and making fresh apple pies and applesuce. The kids had a great time helping fill the bags. It can be a bit tough driving along the narrow, pot-hole filled roads especially when a car is going in the opposite direction. Also watch for the poison ivy, it is all over the ground. Don't waer shorts or sandals, even if it is warm enough.

Maskers is a beautiful place in a wonderful location. I went there with wife, daughter and two of my grandchildren. The place is very large with many varieties of apples. The walking was difficult with my younger grandchild who is two, but he held up like a champ. The play are was nice with some farm animals, pony rides, apple maze etc. The bathroom were sufficient and better then some other orchards in the area. They have home made cider, a haunted house area, apple pies etc. in their country store, and the pumpkins were also very nice for the kids. The prices were generally in line with most of the other orchards in the area, about $25 per bag. The only draw back was the amount of cars and parking. Spaces were limited, and cars were driven everywhere. In some places it was difficult to move about because of all the traffic. In all honesty I went on a Saturday in October in leave changing season (which were very beautiful, by the way), but all this traffic took away from the serenity of the place. I think they would be better served by having one or to central parking locations, and giving better directions where each apple grove is located. By the way the town of Warwick was also lovely with many reasonable child friendly restaurants

My boyfriend and I had a lovely time apple picking. It was a beautiful day outside, we ate a picnic lunch, and picked a lot of apples! It was a nice, fun, and relaxing day .At first I was discouraged by the price of a bag of apples, but learned that other orchards are similarly priced. So, I quickly got over it. My only real complaint is that they ran out of apple cider doughnuts, which I was really looking forward to. Otherwise, no complaints. We will be returning next year.