Apples and cider north of town, with the hours checked this week

The apple harvest on the South Island mostly happens out of sight, in backyards and small orchards. This fall you can still sit next to some of it with a glass of cider, then buy a bag of apples on the way home. Here are two cideries and two farm markets north of town. The hours and details for all four were checked on their own sites on October 22, and rechecked on October 29.

Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse, Saanichton

Sea Cider has the big orchard: more than 1,300 apple trees on a ten-acre farm, in over 50 heirloom varieties. It is at 2487 Mt. St. Michael Road and keeps its October-to-April hours now, which are noon to 5 p.m. every day, except Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

The tasting room is table service, so a host seats you and a cider guide takes your order. You can book online for groups of one to six. A reserved table is held for 15 minutes, and Sea Cider asks you to keep the visit to about an hour and a half. Dogs are welcome, but only at the outdoor tables. Before or after, walk the self-guided tour. It is a set of numbered stops through the farm, the orchard and the forest, and you go at your own pace.

If you have an apple tree at home, you may have heard that Sea Cider takes backyard apples for its crowd-sourced Kings & Spies cider. For 2026 that is over. The programme hit its 30,000-pound limit and has closed for the season, so leave your apples at home.

Junction Orchard & Cidery, Prospect Lake

Junction is the smaller, looser one: an eight-acre farm beside Prospect Lake, at 273 Prospect Lake Road. You can take a tasting flight or a bottle out to a picnic table or an Adirondack chair a few steps from the orchard. Kids and dogs are both welcome. The tasting room is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., and from noon to 5 p.m. once winter hours start on November 6. Monday to Friday is by appointment only, so for a weekday visit email [email protected] first.

If the lot fills up, Junction says to use the Prospect Lake Elementary lot, which is a few minutes' walk away.

Dan's Farm & Country Market, Saanichton

For apples to take home, Dan's is the easy stop. It is open seven days a week from 8:30 a.m., at Bear Hill Road and Oldfield (2030 Bear Hill Road). It closes at 5 on winter hours and 5:30 on summer hours, so plan on 5. The market carries a large variety of apples and pears, along with vegetables and a bakery counter. The farm animals out back are another reason to stop with kids.

Michell's Farm Market, on the Lochside Trail

Michell's, at 2451 Island View Road, is open every day from 9 to 5. In the fall the U-pick pumpkin patch is the draw. The farm also lists seven apple varieties among what it grows: Fuji, Jonagold, Jonafree, Liberty, Prima, Summer Red and Gravenstein. Its site does not say which are on the shelf this week, so ask at the counter. The market sits right on the Lochside Trail, so a bag of apples fits a bike ride better than a pumpkin does.

What we could not find

We looked for a farm on the peninsula offering apple U-pick on its own site this fall, and did not find one. If you know of one, tell us, and we will check it for next year's version of this piece.