My husband and I are older parents of a teen girl with autism. We love to travel as a family, creating trips that are that are both sensory-friendly and fun for our daughter G. Our posts are relevant for any family traveling with children, but take the extra step to give details about potential sensory issues at popular destinations so that you can steer clear of triggers and focus on having fun.
With school back in session, our family quest for sensory-friendly adventures is focused on shorter trips that we can easily fit into our busy school and work schedules.
One of our most cherished annual family traditions is to meet up with a large group of extended family to spend a fall day picking and eating apples.
In This Post
The Sensory Benefits of Apple Picking
Apple picking in a quiet orchard engages all five senses.
You will see beautiful red apples on green trees, set against a blue sky. You will hear the sound of birds calling and the rustle of the wind in the leaves. You will touch the smooth skin of the apple, and the rough bark of the trees. You will smell fresh autumn air, fresh fruit, and the slightly damp earth that you’re standing on. And of course, you will taste crisp apples that were hanging on the tree just a moment ago.
Asking for help to reach the perfect apple, setting goals of how many apples to pick, and taking turns carrying the bag all promote social skills and communication in a sensory-friendly and relaxing environment.
New England is apple country, and there are dozens of orchards offering U-Pick opportunities. This post gives you an overview of what to expect at three popular orchards west of Boston.
A Quick Warning - Most apple orchards have Poison Ivy! Wear closed toe shoes or sneakers and socks that cover your ankles. Unless it’s a very hot day, wear long pants. Bring wet wipes to clean your hands after you finish picking.
Sweet and Simple in Sherborn
Dowse Orchards in Sherborn is a rustic, traditional New England family farm is located on Rockwood Street, an unpaved gravel road off Route 27. We visit here at least once each fall. It’s a nothing-but-fruit location that’s perfect for kids who are happiest when they focus on just one thing. It’s completely quiet and never crowded.
You park your car, purchase your U-Pick bag at the shack, then walk down the hill to the orchard. The rows of trees are well marked so that you know what you’re getting. When you’re in the mood for a snack, eat an apple right off the tree. A perfectly ripe apple will come off the tree easily when you twist it. If you have to pull the apple, it isn’t completely ready yet. Don’t take or eat apples that have already fallen to the ground!
After you put your apples in the car, stroll over to the pumpkin patch and the sunflower fields to take in the view.
There are minimal services on site - a few picnic tables and a portapotty. The Dowse Farm Stand is located about a mile south of the orchard, on Route 27. They sell cider, produce, pumpkins, pie and fresh baked treats. If you’re in the mood for a quick lunch out, or some soft-serve ice cream, C&L Frosty is a great spot just a little bit further down the road.
Not Too Big, Not Too Small — Just Right in Stow
Honey Pot Hill in Stow is a class field trip favorite and a fun place for families to visit on the weekends. If you want a little more to do that just pick apples, come to Honey Pot Hill, where you can visit some farm animals, take a hayride and explore a hedge maze. You purchase bags for your apples and buy tickets for activities a la carte, paying only for the things that you want to do. The best sensory experience is in the morning, before the farm and maze areas get crowded.
Start your visit with a cider donut and some fresh pressed apple cider from the farm store while you meet and greet the farm animals. The big highlight here is the Three Little Pigs, who live in houses made of straw, sticks and bricks. The Big Bad Wolf doesn’t bother them, or anyone else, here at Honey Pot Hill.
The other animals include ponies, chickens, and goats. Children can observe, but aren’t allowed to touch the farm animals. If your child has sensory processing issues or anxiety about getting too close to animals, this is a great opportunity to be on a level playing field with their less sensitive siblings! Bring a few quarters with you to purchase feed from a machine to give to the chickens and goats.
Honey Pot Hill has two mazes – one with short hedges, meant for young children, and a second, larger maze with tall hedges. The small maze takes about 15 minutes to complete, and is a great warm-up for kids who need a safe preview to a new activity! It’s open 7 days per week.
The Monster Maze is a labyrinth of over 3000 arbor vitae trees, open on the weekends. It has about 2 miles of paths, and takes most kids about 45 minutes to complete. There are half a dozen wooden platforms you can climb to get your bearings and find out what everyone else in the maze is up to. Sensory: The paths inside are narrow, dirt and gravel, with roughly 8 foot high walls of evergreen. You will hear people that you can’t see trying to find their way through. You will smell the evergreens, and if it has rained recently, you will smell mud. As with any other really fun, kid approved activity, it gets louder and more chaotic as the day goes on. Come early and do this first if your child would enjoy this type of exploration in a calm environment!
When you finish for the day, head back to the Farm Stand which has restrooms and picnic tables. You’re welcome to bring your own lunch any day of the week. On weekends, there is usually at least one food truck at the Farm Stand.
Plentiful Picking and Wide Open Play in Natick
Lookout Farm in Natick is one of the oldest continually operating farms in the US, and is a great example of a business that has diversified from simple farming in order to remain profitable. If Disneyworld ran an apple orchard, it would be just like this!
Lookout Farm grows a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, operates a farmstand, has several restaurants on the property, and brews hard cider and beer. Kids can roam and play in two playgrounds, a petting zoo, and a corn maze. On weekends, there’s live music at the indoor and outdoor restaurants. Whether music is a plus or a minus for your family, you can find the schedule here. The overall environment is family oriented and upscale.
The farm stand and restaurants are right near the parking lot. The outdoor dining area is perfect for families - red wooden tables spaced far enough apart that kids can run around and play without bothering anyone. It’s easy and well planned - you just place your order on your mobile phone and have delicious barbecue, upscale sandwiches and desserts delivered directly to your table with apple cider for kids and a craft beer or hard cider for grown-ups.
Beyond the retail area, you walk down a long, smooth brick pathway shaded by grape arbors. If the grapes are ripe, go ahead and help yourself. It’s about a 15 minute walk - so you might want to use a stroller for younger kids or bring a wagon to haul back your fruit and hold your coats.
The U-Pick area of the farm is where the real fun happens. You can pick peaches and nectarines in summer, apples and asian pears in fall. There is a large a John Deere tractor themed playground near the entrance to the corn maze, which is made of cornstalks, not shrubbery. At the barnyard, you can pet sheep, goats and rabbits, then jump on the inflatable trampolines. The barnyard snack bar sells burgers, pizza, and other kid favorite foods.
You need a ticket to enter the U-Pick area. The cost includes one apple bag per person and all of the activities available on the day of your visit. The 2026 price is $42 at the gate, $39 on line for each family member over the age of 2. While this is definitely the most expensive of the three options in this post, if your children are of the right age to really enjoy a great playground, or if you’re able to stick around long enough to enjoy the music, it’s well worth the price, especially if your family ikes apples enough to eat one bag per person within a couple of weeks.
If your family really enjoys picking fresh fruit, you can get an excellent value here by taking out a membership, giving you unlimited access to the orchards, corn maze and playgrounds, and half price on any fruit that you pick.
What to Do with Your Apples!
When we arrive at the orchard, we almost always give into the temptation to buy the largest bag possible and fill it completely. After all, apples are a very healthy snack and the perfect fall food. The challenge is to eat them while they’re still nice and fresh!
When you get home, you can extend the day’s therapy with some fine motor skills practice, helping your children make an apple dessert. We like to bake up apple crisp and eat it with vanilla ice cream. If you’re not much of a baker, stop by your local supermarket and pick up some caramel apple wraps or caramel dip in the produce department.