Alstede Farms Review

In all the years
I have been taking friends and family and children to farms both in Massachusetts is now in New Jersey and in New York, this farm is absolutely the best I have ever been to.

I would admit that it is expensive as you pay about $15 per person just to get in onto the property which gives you 1 pint container to pick maybe blueberries or raspberries which retails there for about nine dollars.

Nine dollars for a pint of fruit does seem a bit excessive and the extra six dollars also seems a bit expensive, however, when you see the land and animals and activities for families of children do you understand what kind of overhead they must have to meet his family farm.



Can t finish review. Too many characters. Poor poor customer service is the last part of review. Horrible treatment.
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Nice, but always very crowded and very expensive compared to a lot of other local farms. Touristy. Still fun with lots of good activities though.

Staff always amazing & so knowledgeable. Well worth the extra cost.

Love this place! So many great things for kids and fun fruit & veggie picking.

Nice place to walk outdoors and take a break from civilization

Great fruit and veggies picking. Bring you're own basket (cheaper)

Professional farm for public visit. Lots of activities kids. Kids will enjoy it.

This a great place for the family ,from riding horses and hayrides,to picking apples ,peaches and many diferent kind of activities depending on the season

Very systematic arrangements even when there is crowd

Belong to their CSA program. This is a great family farm run by the Alstede family. They are very committed to the community and sustainable farming. The farm is a great place to visit as well. Alstede's has animals for petting, farm rides and fruit picking that varies with the season. I strongly recommend it!

The rudest staff I've ever experienced. Me and my family paid for the tractor ride and was dropped off by the apple orchards.A staff member accused me my wife and child of coming there to steal their apples because we weren't carrying a box for the apples. This is after we already spent approximately $100 that day so far. It really put a damper on our day. We wound up leaving. I would never go back there and I warn people not to go there. I really hope they go out of business. They don't deserve to have customers.

Great place for family and friends to pick apples. My cousin and I take the boys here once a year to pick apples. Also great food and activities for the kids

Today, 9/8/2020 my family and I visited this place ... I liked ... the adventure, the vegetables and the fruits, all very well, until ... we came up with cutting pumpkin flowers! At the exit they told us that this was not part of the vegetables or fruits. so we had to pay $ 2 for each flower! Which amounts to approximately 80 flowers and there was no option !!!! It is not worth it! because at the entrance and in the guide they only mentioned that the sunflower flowers were worth $ 2 dollars. But they never spoke to us or mentioned the pumpkin flowers ... and they did not mention that if they did not carry the fruit in the designated container at the exit, they were charged by the pound. Be careful when visiting: Alstede farms. Per saw they charge $ 15.99 for each person to enter to cut the products ...

Excellent whole family experience, with a great staff.

Yes, prices are high, maybe unreasonably high. But the place is nice if you're doing weekend visit. Especially with kids. Adorable time feeding and petting those animals. Kids love it.
For weekend PYO goals I'd pick another farm for the prices reason.

4 stars because the covid restrictions weren t as good as I d like. There were large crowds at the entrance & near the animals / food / bathroom areas. Most people wore masks. By the time you got to the pick-your-own there was plenty of space to spread out.

We went on Oct 17 and though it is late in the season, there were plenty of apples left! You just need to follow the signs & walk further into the rows. It also helps to have a tall person with you, since many trees still have apples up top. They also had pumpkins and eggplants available for picking.

Overall - a great experience, delicious apples, a beautiful farm. Would highly recommend, just get there early (before 10am?) to avoid crowds.

This place is over charging people. The produce is good, there is family things to do, but no pick your own place should be charging $5 a person just to enter the fields. You would have to pick several pounds just to come out even.
If just want produce and don't care about feeding goats, go elsewhere.

My family gets the farm share from Alstede and it's great.

The farm itself can get very busy and the entertainment leaves a little something to be desired but the atmosphere is nice, the staff is very friendly, and their events are great.

During a few months of the year, you can pick your own berries, pumpkins, and other fruits. It's a lot of fun, especially for kids.

Other notable things include the sunflower maze, the goats, and their phenomenal apple cider, which is the best I've ever had.

If you get the opportunity, I recommend attending one of the breakfasts that they hold throughout the year. For the most part, they serve their fresh produce and the food is delicious.

Overall, a visit to Alstede Farms is well worth your time.

Too expensive rides. But kids enjoyed well while fruit or vegetable picking.

I had a wonderful experience here. We came here for my three year olds birthday and had a lot of fun. There were many fun activities for children. We went during the week so it wasn't busy and no long lines. Great place to take the family.

Awesome place! fast service great food! Great prices

Great family fun! Lots to do, like apple and veggie picking, feeding animals and entertainment for kids, and a great produce market.

No vegetables left to pick! Super expensive, the lady at the check out is rude and inconsiderate. We paid $30 each and came with this miniature bag. They don t tell people that you have to pay every tiny leaf that you pick! We picked some of the squash flowers and they charged us $2 for each flower. We didn t even have the choice to not take them. Absolute rude lady! The worst farm ever. Not going back there again!

Very good place to pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables in the summer. They have a large variety of fruits and veg, and some of them I never seen before. There is bus around the farm all the time, make use of it because the farm is huge.

If there was a "no star" rating on google, Alstede Farms would get it from me. I used to go to this farm years ago and all was well. However, went back on 10/25/15 and couldn't believe how things have changed. Disappointed and disheartening. First, before you can even get to any pumpkin patch or apple orchard you have to pay an admission fee of $6.99 PER PERSON. This does NOT include a single pumpkin or single apple of any kind. Pumpkins were .69 cents per pound and apples just about $2.00 per pound. For a family of 6, that's $42.00 before you even get out of the car. I think it's disgusting how this farm takes advantage of families that go there. If your children want to do ANYTHING else, you have to pay a fee. So corn maze, corn pit, etc, there is an extra charge in addition to the admission fee. So before you even pay for any produce of any kind, your looking at almost $10 per person. The free admission on Mondays through Thursdays from the hours of 9-12 doesn't do anyone any good, so I'm not impressed. Go to Raimede farms people. Produce is just as good and it's $1 to get in. I ended up paying for 2 of my children to pick pumpkins while the rest of us waited at a picnic table. A huge waste of a beautiful day. Had I known about the admission fee I would have never went there.

Great fun for the family all ages. We make it a chef day for the kids. What we pick we cook as a family and we surprise each other with a cook off.

I visited this farm years ago from the season to pick strawberries until the end of October for the pumpkins I used to go with my children they loved being in contact with the animals and riding on the tractor and picking fruit, now most of the time alone We are my husband and I but we really enjoyed each visit as if it were our first. I recommend it is really rewarding for adults and children.

Awful experience on 10/11/15. This place is not set up properly and should not allow nearly as many cars in their "parking lot" as they apparently do. Case in point- a toddler was killed in a shuttle bus accident here last year. How does that happen?? And more puzzling, how is this place still allowed to operate this absolute nightmare of a "family fun event"? They charge a ridiculous $17 for an "all-inclusive" wristband for the kids, yet what's the point if the lines are 1-2 hrs long for their 3-4 attractions? Absolutely abysmal, avoid at all costs.

Lovely area to enjoy the life! Picking fruits and berries is a great team building, tractor ride is a fun, small farm animals zoo is a joy for kids along with horse ride, bouncing area and mini museum of antique tractors.
Local store is amazing and mmm... delicious astonishing home made ice cream!
We with kids LOVED that spot! And recommend it as must have option for the family rest

Great trip I went with my daughter and also able to pick up some fresh tomatoes and pie.

The place is always packed. It is pricey. So, make sure that you really want what they are selling. You don't need any tickets for the front animal petting zoo. They also offer fastfood, wine tasting and icecream for sale. As well as seasonal plants and flowers. But generally I feel this place is really pricey or may be they are priced as per the neighborhood. You can enjoy with large group or just your own family. They have photo opportunities throughout the front section. Enjoy!!!

Allow picking for variety of fruits and vegetables kids, petting of farm animals, wine tasting . The wagons allow one to cover and explore more areas.

The place was nice up until I was going to start the activities with all the kids. We went in a group of 7 adults and 8 kids. The minute we were heading towards the activities we were stopped and asked if we had bracelets which we didn t so when we went to buy them the prices per person both kids and adults was about $12 something plus tax it was $13 & change. Mind you I called and specifically asked prices on the phone and was told $6.95 for kids 3 & over and then you pay anything extra. So now my problem is why is it that the adults whom are there to supervise children having to pay a full price if they will not be doing the extra activities and why is it that i was misinformed of the prices!??? The place is big it s gorgeous from what I got to see but it saddened me that we were misinformed and the kids could not enjoy it because some could not afford to pay all the extra cash. Just my 1 daughter and I was almost $30 so that was pretty disappointing being I was not going to make any other children feel bad so we did not go in and there was nothing else to do other then feed and pet the animals that didn t require a bracelet. I suggest they adjust their prices specially for the parents that are only their to supervise their kids at least half price and teach the employees to inform callers correctly of the prices not misinform and waste a trip !! Also they should have smaller activities for those whom do not wish to purchase a bracelet. I could have just went to heaven hill farm whigh does not require a bracelet and you can just pay the extra activities which are NOT pricey at all and hay ride is free along with pumpkin picking and corn maze you just pay for your pumpkin on your way out. The place is big and guaranteed that the kids will enjoy it!

Worth visiting.
It was overall good experience, will def recommend visiting alstede farms.
Cons: truck food was not good, its better to plan on your own.
Ice cream was notas expected to be!

It was a good weekend spent with family picking and tasting vegies and fruits.. Went last summer thinking to go this summer as well to pick fresh vegies (egg plants, tomatoes, capsicum, sweet corn) and (apples, peaches). Loved it..

I loved this place. Fresh fruits and veggie available here. I tasted all fruits. Buying product compare with market price like shoprite,Costco little bit costly. But quality is good. Let say apple you will get fresh one. With out wax. Just try once. Week days entry fee $6.99. Weekend 8.99. Big basket $1.5. Apple one bound $3 if you buying.

Available product.
Apple
Tomato
Potato
Egg plant
Raspberry
Blueberry
BlackBerry
Sweet corn
Pear
Sun flower
Usual flower
Egg
Chicken
Milk
Onion
Pumpkin

Above I noticed. May be something else available in other season. I visited in August month.

Definitely my favorite farm to go apple and pumpkin picking. The apple cider is to die for! My kids loved it and we will definitely take the drive every year to make it tradition.

The farm is gorgeous but here is the downfall, no one knows the proper pricing for anything. We purchased a red wristband which I specifically asked "cool! Does this include the maze?" The young boy stated "yea" so I stated "nice, we'll take three of those then" total $35.... picked all our pumpkins, apples and sunflowers. Which came at an added cost, which was fine and expected. Pay for everything, get to the corn maze, there is a girl calmly talking to what appears to be an owner or manager, we overhear her asking him "what does the wristband include?" And he rudely states "not the maze" .... Now several people are all surprised. Long story short rude owner/manager, staff not properly informed and WRISTBANDS DO NOT INCLUDE UNLIMITED EVERYTHING! Don't ask the staff they don't aren't informed of this info and apparently the advertisement isn't accurate! However, the farm is gorgeous!

My favorite Farm. The family always has a great time here. The games, hay rides, events are fun for the whole family. The picking is great too.

I come to this farm 3-4 times a year for the past 5 years and NEVER had an issue until today. I went to visit with my family (my 5year old and 7 year old + 3 other family members) and to start, the admission price had always been about $16 per person including PYO and all included, and you would pay whatever you take at exit. But now because of Covid they have increased the admission tickets to $30 per person + an extra $10 for the pony rides. They also give you a tiny ziplock bag for you to take anything that fits in there with no additional charge (which you can only fit literally not more than 4 apples). Anyway, I told the employee if it was possible I could speak with his manager just to verify if there is any way I could just pay for2 tickets or maybe a cheaper ticket for me since I m there for the kids. The manager came over with a very nasty attitude and told me everybody else pays this amount and no body complaints, what is your big deal I told him Why was he literally yelling at me, and that I just wanted to make sure I have no other options besides buying a ticket that was not necessary for me to buy and was very rude at all times. All he had to say was no, unfortunately there is nothing else we can do and I would of been fine. His name is Bou and thanks to him I would NEVER COME BACK!!! I work with customer service and he evidently doesn t know how to treat visitors going here. His employee who did my transaction was actually more polite and understanding than he was.

Lovely display of fall fruits & vegetables and flowers, entertainment for children, ease of access, & friendly workers

Apple picking, petting zoo, farm store. All really wonderful!

We drove 45 minutes today to go to Alstede Farms. Our kids were super excited! Our first shock came as we paid over $15/kid (ages 2 and 4.5) to go in a bouncy castle, huge corn pile (like a big sensory bin) and pick your own fruit. We paid $5 each. There were supposed to be blueberries, raspberries, gooseberries and currants and peaches. We wanted to pick gooseberries and currants. There was not enough to make it even worth buying the container (yes you also have to pay for that!) because they were all gone and the bushes were so overgrown by weeds! The few random berries we found were super small. You get a $3 coupon on your berry purchase, so we go some peaches since we could not find enough berries. Then the lady charged us completely the wrong price - overcharging us by more than $9 and argued with us even though it was clear that she should charge us much less. In the end it turns out we did not even pick enough to make back our "coupon". And there where signs EVERYWHERE!!! Dont eat the fruit before you pay for it! You have to buy a ticket before you play in the corn! It made us feel really out of place. My 4 year old enjoyed the pony ride - it was her first one ever and that I guess made the drive worth it. otherwise I will not come back and not recommend it. :(

I normally don't give bad reviews but the experience at this farm was not good. It was way too expensive, actually a ripoff. The worst part is that they don't make you feel welcome at all, they just want your money.
Not going back there for sure.

I have been trying to make a reservation for hours and the website is not loading. When I tried to call this morning (twice) to inquire about making a reservation, no one was able to help me. How is this possible? Please at least provide an email where customers can send a note and make a reservation if your website is down. Or perhaps take reservations over the phone? Thank you.

Went yesterday with my boys had a good time. They were hygiene stations everywhere and plenty of restroom and portable ones too.

We were there after the season so most things were not open. Still fun for the girls to play with the animals and sit on the tractor.

Best homemade ice cream ! My family love to spend the summer time here. Will coming back again in Fall for pumpkin picking !

Great place for adults, n kids if u have, petting farm, pick your own, wine tasting, corn maze, wagon rides, garden needs, farm store, ice cream, monthly events.

We went there yesterday and we all had so much fun. We as 4 adults and 2 little kids, kids love the animals on the farm, and they loved to ride on the big tractor to get to the picking field. Yes, I do agree it was a bit pricey for the admission and everything, but we had a great time. Unfortunately we got there so late, didn't get the chance for all the kids activities, to try the ice cream and wine tasting, and we even forgot to stop by the store to pick up some pie and fruit spread. Overall, it is a great place for family with the kids. Definitely will return for the next fruit or crop picking.

$9 to get in and $2 for the box $279 lb for the peaches highway rubbery

I'm gonna be honest here, My Family ADORES apple picking, and much more but we didn't really get any form of enjoyment out of alsteade. Its EXTREAMLY expensive for sheer size of the bag provided, it could be compare to that of a small zip lock. The condition the produce is in is vile and, at most, you have little to no options of picking because of how everything is trampled & destroyed. The ones that werent, were dried to a crisp/dehydrated, For example the tomatoes and eggplants. Thankyou for your time.

Is the value of the produce worth the price to pick it, not really, but the family experience is without comparison. We love to visit, have ice cream and feed the animals. And when money is tight, we can go and spend very little money at all and have a wonderful time.

Expensive if your going just to pick some fruit and veggies but if you go with kids there is a lot to do. Feed ducks, goats, cows ride ponies. There is a hay mountain to climb and walking is good exercise. All around fun day with the family.

Fun place to go. Gets super busy on the weekends. Can get a little pricey.

Great place! Has a lot to offer for everyone. Great for the physically challenged. They have a hay ride that takes you to the apples and pumpkins. They are very helpful and accommodating.

I agree with other reviewers who feel that Alstede is overcharging customers. When did it become right to charge people to go do work (i.e. picking fruit) that they then have to pay for? It's flat-out ridiculous! There are other aspects of their business that also reflect the same kind of "make a killing" attitude. For example, they charge children to let them roll around in a little shack filled with corn kernels! For real! It's one thing to make a living; it's another to make a killing. Yes, life in Jersey is expensive but I'm sure the Alstede family can afford to make their farm a bit more affordable for NJ families.

Kids had lots of fun. A little expensive but not to bad for a 4 hr day

HUGE farm. It is such a beautiful farm. Great atmosphere. Chickens, horses, rabbits, and more pets to see. Kid friendly. Great housemade ice cream. Decent size store to shop that carries many farm grown items. There s also seasonal picking, I usually do strawberry picking but there s also blueberry, peach, and other pickings. Nice farm, check it out.

This was our second year visiting Alstede Farms for apple picking. We had a blast! Very impressed with the precautions in place as well. Highly recommend!

Pretty large farm with a variety of vegetables and fruits to collect yourself from the tree or the plant we wanted to walk all around and it was not possible I missed as many fruits as the plums the corn I'm going back but this time I take the tractor

Great place to take the children....they can see the kids.

This place is terrible. Not a single apple left on the trees, 10,000+ people on a Saturday. Took an hour to get tickets to get to the apple picking without a single apple. Overall a waist of time and money. Find a different place to take your kids.

Is always a great place to spend time with your family.

12.99 per person 2.99 per pound for apples and you get charged for their box