"Unfortunately, we are looking at a near-complete crop loss in apples in the Winchester area." Virginia Tech pomologist Sherif M. Sherif wrote that in an April 2026 Virginia Cooperative Extension report, and Northern Virginia Magazine brought the line back in September, when orchards here started canceling pick-your-own.
Six months later, the farm markets along Middle Road and Cedar Creek Grade are open, and Marker-Miller's market has more than a dozen apple varieties on its list, all of them already picked. This October the orchard outing from Stephens City runs on pumpkins, corn mazes and apples that someone else already picked, and the dates left on the calendar are almost all pumpkin events.
Two Nights in April Decided the Whole Fall
The damage came down to timing. In late winter, warm spells woke the trees up early. West Oaks Farm & Market owner Levi Snapp put it this way to Northern Virginia Magazine: "It basically told the trees that were in more of a dormant stage to come out of dormancy, and that it's springtime."
The first hard freeze came on the morning of April 8, when Winchester-area temperatures dropped to between 19.5°F and 24°F. Virginia Tech's assessment found 100% bloom mortality in Pink Lady and Honeycrisp and 98% in Gala, plus near-total losses in the SunHigh and Redhaven peach blocks it checked. Some trees put out secondary blooms afterward. Then a second freeze on April 21 "dashed hopes for the harvest season," as the Virginia Farm Bureau reported on April 30, 2026.
The trees had been in full bloom, the stage when flowers are most easily killed. Growers fought back with propane torches, smudge pots and wind machines, but Mark Sutphin, the Virginia Cooperative Extension agent for the Northern Shenandoah Valley, told the Farm Bureau it was about "10 degrees too cold" for any of it to help. In a September 21, 2026 Virginia Tech explainer, Sherif said freeze damage has happened every year since he arrived in 2017, but 2026 was the first time he had seen an essentially 100% crop loss in the area. He also said the length of the freezes and the unusually dry air made them worse.
He described what that meant for shoppers. "Most of the pick-your-own operations in the area did not have fruit to sell this year, and the same was true for wholesale markets and many farm markets," Sherif said in the same piece.
What's at the Farm Markets Instead
Not every part of Virginia took the same hit. According to Virginia Tech, Nelson County and parts of central Virginia escaped the worst of the freezes and still produced a commercial crop.
Marker-Miller Orchards, at 3035 Cedar Creek Grade, shows the new setup most clearly. Its website says April's freezing temperatures took most of its apple crop, so there is no picking from the trees this year. You can still buy apples in the farm market, and large bins of apples are set out in the orchard on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in September and October. If that schedule holds through the end of the month, the remaining bin weekends would fall on October 16 to 18, October 23 to 25, and October 30 to 31.
You'll still find plenty of variety. Marker-Miller lists Evercrisp, Golden Delicious, Gala, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Jonagold, Ludacrisp, Crispin, Ambrosia, Red Delicious, Crimson Crisp, Cameo, Pink Lady and Nittany. The bakery has apple cider donuts and donut holes, apple dumplings, turnovers and pies, and pick-your-own pumpkins are $0.69 a pound. The website doesn't say which of those apples grew on its own trees and which were brought in.
Middle Road Swapped Apples for Pumpkins
Farther along Middle Road, the change shows up in what you do once you get there. Snapp told Northern Virginia Magazine that West Oaks lost about 95% of its apple crop and canceled pick-your-own apples. The farm kept its corn maze, hayrides and pumpkin picking. The loss reached past the farm stand, too. It also cut into West Oaks' apple sales to national companies that turn apples into products like baby food.
Down the road in Middletown, Richard's Fruit Market has posted its 2026 hours. Its site lists apples and peaches among its market goods and names Old Town Cidery and Winchester Cider Works among its local vendors. Richard's hasn't posted anything about how the freeze affected its own trees. Its Apple Festival was held on Saturday, September 26.
Here's where each nearby stop stands, based on what each farm has posted:
| Farm | Address | Picking this fall | Posted hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marker-Miller Orchards | 3035 Cedar Creek Grade, Winchester | No tree picking; pre-picked apples in the market and orchard bins Fri–Sun; pumpkins by the pound | Sun–Thu 11 a.m.–4 p.m.; Fri–Sat 10 a.m.–5 p.m. |
| West Oaks Farm Market | 4305 Middle Road, Winchester | Pick-your-own apples canceled; pumpkins, corn maze, hayrides | Mon–Sat 8 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sun 11 a.m.–6 p.m. |
| Richard's Fruit Market | 6410 Middle Road, Middletown | Farm market; no 2026 picking details posted | Tue–Sat 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sun 11 a.m.–4 p.m.; closed Mon |
| The Pumpkin Patch at Hill High Farm | 933 Barley Lane, Winchester | Pumpkins, corn maze, hayrides; apples and cider for sale | Sat–Sun 10 a.m.–5 p.m. through Oct. 31 |
The Rest of October Runs on Pumpkin Dates
Most of the apple-themed events are over. Marker-Miller's Apple Harvest Festival was October 10 and 11, and West Oaks held its Apple Harvest Festival on October 3. Here's what's left after today:
- Saturday, October 17, West Oaks Fall Festival. The Visit Winchester listing has it from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with free entry, pumpkin picking, a corn maze, food, bar specials and live music. West Oaks' own site says more details are coming.
- Saturday, October 17, Pumpkin Picking and Fall Fun at Whitacre Family Farms. It runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 2411 Whitacre Road in Cross Junction and is connected to Shawnee Springs Market & Cannery on Senseny Road. The listing includes hayrides, an apple slingshot, pumpkin bowling and a bounce house. Adults pay $5, and anyone under 18 gets in free.
- Saturday, October 24, Marker-Miller Pumpkin Festival. It runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with pumpkins, bakery treats, vendors, food trucks, and cow-train and wagon rides.
- Every weekend through October 31, Hill High Farm. The Pumpkin Patch is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and its nighttime events run Fridays and Saturdays through October 31. Admission and parking are free. Hill High's activities page lists two different prices for the hayride and corn maze, so check the current price before you go.
In town, Stephens City United Methodist Church describes its Trunk or Treat as a free community event held in the church's back parking lot on a Saturday afternoon before Halloween. The church hasn't posted a 2026 date yet.
The Trees Will Be Back Next Year
The orchards themselves survived. "The tree is still alive, and it's OK until the following year," Snapp told Northern Virginia Magazine. "But all of that beginning stages for fruit production froze and died for this year." He said many area orchardists in their 60s had never seen a freeze hit this hard.
Statewide, Gov. Abigail Spanberger's office estimated in a spring 2026 release that Virginia farms stood to lose $32.4 million to $105.3 million, depending on region and elevation. Snapp said crop insurance helps but doesn't replace the revenue lost in a freeze like this one. Virginia Tech's lab has been testing bloom-delay treatments, flower coatings and cryoprotectants against spring freezes. Sherif said none of them was enough against this April's freezes, and the team is also working on more freeze-tolerant varieties.
Snapp's request for this season was simple. "Buy an extra pumpkin, go through a corn maze," he told the magazine, "things like that that are going to support these family farms like ourselves." The West Oaks Fall Festival opens at 11 a.m. this Saturday, October 17, according to the Visit Winchester listing.
Over many October seasons, we at Talbot Greenya Group have seen how much these family farms mean to everyday life in and around Stephens City. If you're considering a move that keeps Middle Road and Cedar Creek Grade nearby, or you'd like to know what your current home is worth, get your instant home valuation or schedule a consultation with our team.
