The Peacefield Orchard

This is a beautiful boutique property! I can’t wait to have my wedding here in the apple trees. The restaurant across the street (Jeremy’s on the Hill) is catering it and my family is staying at the local inn. Now to stay off of Pinterest until then…

So, yes, it is someones house, however, how many apples do you really need? We paid our $ 30 and i was a little skeptical, but we filled those 3 bags and i feel i have more than enough to make a few recipes. The husband and wife that work there were super nice to all of us. We spent easily an hour there and it was the perfect amount of time. It was nice not to have all the commercialism here. ie; press your apples, etc etc We cannot wait to go back next year and bring all of our friends.

After having such an great time at Peacefield Orchard this morning I felt the need to write a positive review. We went to Julian this afternoon with our kids, who are 3 and 5 years old. I didn’t really research the orchards before we left from San Diego, actually if I’m being honest, I picked it on the fly from the internet as we left the house. I’m glad I did; some of the larger orchards had huge crowds and terrible parking/​traffic. Peacefield Orchard is run out of a private home by a very nice couple. The orchard isn’t huge, and probably has a 100 trees or so with 5 or 6 varieties of apples. The best part about it was that it wasn’t very busy and we could just stroll thru the orchard with the kids, not feeling rushed or pushed about. The apples are pesticide free and you were welcome to tastes as you went along. The apples are on the smaller side, but they were delicious. We spent probably and hour to an hour and a half picking apples and walking about. It is $ 10 for five and up, so the trip cost us $ 30. I know a lot of people were complaining about the cost, but I didn’t have a problem with it. If I wanted cheap apples I would have bought them at one of the many roadside shops or better yet my local grocery store. What I wanted was a fun and relaxing trip to the country picking apples with my kids. That was exactly what I got! We will certainly be returning next season.

After having a wonderful experience at Peacefield Orchard yesterday, I felt the need to write a positive review contradicting many of the negative reviews below.
First, my disclaimers: I do NOT have children and my wife and I were looking for a relaxing afternoon to pick a few apples and take a few photos — our expectations were low and we did not read the Unilocal reviews before we left.
My wife researched orchards and we were actually on our way to Calico. However, as we approached the orchard there was a huge traffic back-​up and I could already anticipate the hordes of people who were already there. I saw the Peacefield Orchard sign on the corner of the road and made the decision to try it out — and we are so glad that we did.
As others have stated, this is NOT a big, commercial orchard. This is a nice couple who live on the property and have 2 acres of apples trees. Probably about 100 trees (about 5 rows of 20 trees each). When we arrived there were only 2 other people on the entire property. We paid our $ 20, took the two bags, and began casually exploring and picking apples. There were plenty of apples on most of the trees, and many to choose from. They were low, high, middle, etc. (we were there 10/​12/​2013). As we perused the property more people arrived and after about an hour of apple picking, apple eating, and taking photos there were probably about 20 people on the entire property. Thus, it was still very open, relaxed, and easy to find space to ourselves.
We chatted with the owners, relaxed on the swing and benches, and took a few more photos before leaving. In total, we spent about 1.5 hours there, spent $ 20, got 2 bags of great apples, took nice photos, and had a wonderful afternoon. That’s what the trip was all about for us.
To everyone else complaining about this orchard, try to keep in mind what the purpose of your trip is. If you’re complaining about «$ 10 for a small bag» it seems to me you should go to Vons or Ralphs — because apples are much cheaper in the grocery store. And if you’re upset that there were only 100 trees and not 1,000 trees — then go ahead to Calico and fight the traffic and the crowds to find the one remaining apple on the branch (we went to Calico a few years ago and it was completely picked over). But if you’re looking for a relaxing hour without any hassle — this is your spot. As we drove away and passed Calico there were people, cars, and traffic everywhere and we knew we made the right decision.

Terrible. First you pull up to their house and the guy looks like your bothering them. I accidentally parked in the wrong «spot» and he came over and basically looked at me like I was an idiot and told me to park elsewhere so others could park, this is a driveway with trees all over… where do I park!!! Than inside their garage the lady gets you to sign a release of liability form and tells you it’s $ 10 a person age 5 and over. Hold the phone… we went with 8 people 7 being over 5. Needless to say we did NOT pay $ 70 for 3 bags of apples. And she was like «well we have tractors for pictures and an old tree». How about no. Never.

Our whole family went (6 adults and 1 child) so my niece can go pick some apples. They wanted to charge us 10 $ a person even though we only wanted one bag for her. The lady was super rude and said no one can go inside the orchard unless you pay 10 dollars. All we wanted was for my 3 year old niece to experience some nature and get some yummy apples. So we ended up paying 20 $ so I can take her and we got 2 small paper bags to fill up. The rest if the family had to stay out of the orchards. We were done in 15 min. If you go here with many people it’s like paying for a trip to Disneyland. Not going here again!

My family and I arrived here early September for an apple picking outting. We had originally planned to go to another orchard, only to find the other orchard was not yet open (side note: CALL the orchard of your choice before going, don’t rely on websites). So a few doors down, we came across Peacefield Orchard.
Their greeting area is a residence, and you’re basically pulling into their driveway. We were met by two very nice people, the woman in the cute apple apron told us all we needed to know. Contrary to a prior review, they offer four or five varietals of apples, including Granny Smith (ideal for baking) apples. They also have a few pear and plum trees.
We paid $ 10 per adult (people over the age of four) and were provided two paper bags. At first the bags appeared small, but we were actually able to fit a good amount of fruit inside! Their grounds are not overwhelmingly big, just the right size for us and our almost-​two year old to meander around for about a half-​hour. They also have a nice area to sit down and have a picnic.
After we picked our apples, we headed into Julian, which was about a 7 minute drive.
This orchard was great for our family outting, and I would recommend them for others!

If there was an option of giving no stars… I would. F this place.
My friend’s review below sums it up pretty well, but I need to reiterate how horrible the owner here was. He was condescending toward me and I will NEVER return.
The Julian Chamber of Commerce would be right in removing this man’s business license. Ugh.

Absolute worst consumer experience I’ve ever had. We were basically attacked and bullied here.
My friend and I enjoyed a nice day in Julian and wanted to end the day with apple picking. We only came to Peacefield because it was the only orchard still open this season. DO NOT GO HERE.
An older man, who I assume is the owner, directed us to park between a row of trees and after scolded us for our parking job. Once out of the car, we were told they only accept cash and were directed to a place where we could get cash. As we were leaving to do so, we tried to drive around the back as not to disturb other people picking apples. The owner chased us down, punched my friend’s car and screamed at us. He then continued to condescendingly direct us out of his orchard while bulling and alienating us in front of all of the other customers. He directed us into a fence and into trees that scratched the side of the car and said «it’s OK, your car’s already scratched.»
I’ve never had such a horrible customer experience ever and I am so beyond happy that I did not give any money to that man. He soiled our otherwise wonderful day and I will most definitely contact the Julian Chamber of Commerce to seek reprimand.

i was a little hesitant to go here after reading the negative reviews. but, it was the only u-​pick orchard open for the rest of the season. so, we went yesterday and it was packed. not a whole lot of apples left, but we still were able to pick quite a bit. they taste pretty good. the staff was friendly. a little pricey at $ 10 per person. overall, we had a good experience.

I really love apple picking, and honestly, I haven’t found a place around San Diego that’s actually great — but Peacefield is ok.
It’s tiny and expensive, yes and yes. $ 10 per person and lunchbag sized bag to fill apples. Seems ridiculously small but I really felt like I left with way more apples than I needed. The grounds sound big («2.5 acres, 500 trees») but it really does feel like you’re walking around someone’s backyard.
Maybe it’s because of the time we came here, but the apples on the trees were plagued with wormholes and rot, the air smelled like apple cider vinegar from the rotting apples (which I actually kinda liked) and thousands and thousands of bees swarmed every apple on the ground. In the orchard, we exclusively found granny smith apples, and two extremely miniaturized red apples and it took over an hour to fill both our bags (which was fine/​fun, but is a statement on the slim pickings as at a bountiful orchard, we could have filled the tiny bag we were given in minutes).
If you have a family with kids, this is probably not the orchard for you which you have probably figured out based on the price scheme alone. However, for a quick dip into some childhood nostalgia of apple picking as an adult, this place was okay because it was relatively uncrowded, we weren’t rushed, and it got the job done. Staff was super friendly, apples were tasty, and I really liked how they handed us a card that said «you are important to the world»!

Not so great, kinda expensive.
We were excited to do our apple picking experience in Julian. It was past season so we had *low* expectations. (Various illnesses kept us away from the regular season.)
The women at the front of the house were quite friendly. We were shocked, however, reading that the picking was $ 10 a person over 3 years old. What??? Anyway, my little ones were younger so we just paid $ 20 for two little bags.
The trees are of the blended variety so that was great. Many were still hanging low for my toddler to get to.
Not a ton of shade, so husband and baby stayed at a bench with a cool breeze.
We were there for 30 minutes max because it’s kinda small.
I heard at the other orchards that it’s $ 10 per bag. This would have been a better deal here! Anyway, I don’t think we’ll go back to this place but we did take some cute photos of the kids and the apples were super yummy.

«It is all about the experience.» Remember this phrase.
We drove up through Wynola Junction the first weekend in October, which this year, was «Apple Days» in the greater Julian area. Lots of traffic. Lots of business. (Maybe this was a bad weekend to go anywhere near Julian??? That may have been part of the problem.)
We stopped off at Peacefield Orchards with four other families for a fine afternoon of apple picking. When we arrived we were informed that «the experience» of apple picking was $ 10 per person. When I mentioned that not everyone in the group necessarily needed to pick apples, we were told that it wasn’t about how many apples were picked, but rather «the experience.» Yup. The experience. In fact, the exact quote was: «It’s like Disneyland. You pay to come through the gate… for the experience.» Well… Disneyland this was not, but if your whole family wanted the experience it was practically the cost of one entry to Disneyland!
It was $ 10 for every single person who wanted to walk onto the property, except for children under 3. (…and they hassled us about our daughter who had just turned two. They wanted to be sure we weren’t smuggling in an almost-​three-​year old without paying.) So for a family of five, two adults and three children you got to pay $ 50 for «the experience» of picking apples. Each person got a «½ peck bag» which sounds great until you see the bag… it is about the size of those Starbucks bags they put your sandwich and parfait in. In other words, small.
We decided some members of the families would apple pick and some would not. We were told that those that don’t pay, have to «stay in the car.» If you don’t pay the $ 10, you weren’t even allowed to get out of the car. (The logic being that you might sneak into the orchard without paying.)
The brochure we got said that we’d get a history of the orchard. Nope. They were busy. We were also supposed to get an «introduction to (the) oldest Gravenstein apple tree» in their orchard which was 110 years old. Nope. They were busy. (In this case… painting the front of the house.) The brochure also said were would be «given free rein to experience the art of picking (our) own apples…» Nope.
In general, a big thumbs down. No history. No ancient tree. No free rein. …and worst of all $ 20 for preschoolers to go apple picking when they can’t even reach the apples.

Peacefield was recommended to us by a local merchant, as a family-​owned smaller apple picking place. There seemed to be pros and cons. Pros are that it is more quaint and less of a large orchard. There were indeed 5 types of apples, as the owners indicated, red delicious, jonathan, macintosh, oops can’t remember the others, granny smith, green ones? The ones left on the trees and within picking distance were not so big, but they were definitely yummy. It is on Wynola Rd very close to the turnoff from the Old Julian Highway (SR ⁷⁸⁄₇₉). Some cons, as the reviewer from last year noted, the place is small, and there seem to be a higher than usual percentage of apples with worms in them. I suppose, perhaps that is good that the trees are not sprayed too much. But, on the other hand, there seemed to be lots more drops than other places i remember. The price $ 10/​bag seemed the going rate; it was the same at Raven Hill Orchard (we swung by to see it), although we ended up with more than needed since each person, including each of the kids, was required to have a bag — the owners said the price is in part for «the experience».

Completely lied to and offended by this «orchard» and it’s owner.
I took our family on opening day on 9÷18÷2010, expecting the pickings to be great. It would’ve been our first time to Julian after hearing so many stories on how great Julian is during this time. But we’ve had the worst time!
First it costs $ 10 per person for a small-​handbag-​size liimit. They say it’s 6 – 8 pounds.
Second, they say they have 500 some trees (it’s not) of a few varieties of apples (only 2). This is a complete lie!
When they told us over the phone the orchard is 2 acres, the light should’ve gone off. This is NOT a REAL orchard & farm. It’s a home property that has a few trees! ¹⁄₃ of the trees are barely surviving or only a few feet tall. ¹⁄₃ are infested with some disease. And the last ¹⁄₃ seems decent, but after 4 hours of opening on Saturday, they must be all gone because only tiny apples with ALL of them having some bug or pest brown marks!
Lastly and what makes me most livid, is that the owner, Mr. Turner is rude and racist! My grandmother, who doesn’t speak english, was rummaging amongst the fallen apples to find any decent ones. Mr. Turner walks to her and FIRST thing he says to her is, «It’s not nice to STEAL.» EXCUSE ME??? If he didn’t she her bag, did he ask, «Oh, did you sign in yet?», maybe «Do you have a bag?» Unbelievable!
I have filed complaints with the chamber of commerce.