Fruitland's Last Apples of 2026 Arrive the Same Weeks the Fruit Stands Close

On Elmore Road, two addresses sit about half a mile apart by street number. At 6237 is Purdum's Produce, a seasonal stand near Highway 30 West that sells fresh fruit and vegetables. At 6730 is the direct-to-consumer door of Henggeler Packing Company, a family packing business with roots in Fruitland orchards going back to 1908. Between them, they hold what's left of the trade the town is named for.

Every year that trade ends with an awkward overlap. The apple varieties that ripen latest reach the barn stores in mid and late October. The seasonal stands that sell them start closing around the end of the month. In Fruitland the apple season gets better right up until it stops, and this year that last stretch runs about three weeks starting tomorrow.

The town grew around packinghouses

Fruitland's name was a description. The City of Fruitland's history page says the original townsite was homesteaded in 1897 and planted mostly in apple and plum orchards, and the community "became known as Fruitland because it was surrounded by some of the finest orchards in the valley."

The same history puts the town's peak between 1916 and 1930, when fruit growing was "the principle economic force in the community." Packinghouses and warehouses lined the railroad sidings near Pennsylvania Avenue, and in the best years apple and prune production supported six packinghouses and a cannery. A local history first printed in the Independent-Enterprise in 2001 says the Payette Valley's first commercial orchard went in near New Plymouth in 1897, and the Fruitland area soon had about 800 acres of apples and 100 acres of prunes.

"As the community developed, it became known as Fruitland because it was surrounded by some of the finest orchards in the valley." City of Fruitland, A Brief History of Fruitland

Most of those packinghouses are gone. Henggeler still operates. According to its Idaho Preferred member profile, the business began when the family planted fruit trees on its farm in 1908. Two brothers and a partner formally founded the packing company in 1943, and it adopted the "Fortress" label in 1945, a name inspired by World War II bombers. The company has since moved from wooden baskets to cardboard boxes and added controlled atmosphere storage. It's now run by the fourth generation of the family. Its own site lists apples, peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, pluots, and Italian prunes among the fruit it grows.

The packing company and the October fruit stands are the same industry at two scales. The hours below are the practical side of it.

The late-variety calendar, as posted this week

Kelley Orchards, on Hill Road between Payette and Weiser, posts its apple availability variety by variety. Its current listing is written for "Thursday 10/8," which puts it this week, since October 8 falls on a Thursday in 2026. The farm traces back to the early 1920s, when the Jimerson family built the house and barn that are still in use. Visitors check in at that 100-year-old barn before picking.

McIntosh, Cortland, Jonathan, Jonagold and Empire are already marked finished. For tomorrow, the same page also lists Concord grapes and tomatoes, with tomatoes available picked or u-pick.

October 15 and October 22 are both Thursdays, the first day of Kelley's three-day week, since the barn is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Each new batch of late varieties is posted to arrive on a day the barn opens. If you're after Winesap or GoldRush, a Thursday visit gets you first pick. Kelley updates the page as the season moves, so check it the morning you go.

You don't need to bring a ladder. The orchard's FAQ says the crew picks the tops of the trees and leaves plenty of fruit within reach from the ground.

Three stops, three different weeks

The stops keep different schedules, and the schedules decide what kind of trip works.

1. Henggeler Packing Company, 6730 Elmore Rd. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Saturday and Sunday. Idaho Preferred lists apples, cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines and cider among its products.
2. Purdum's Produce, 6237 Elmore Rd., near Highway 30 West. Directory listings agree on Wednesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. They disagree about Sunday: one shows the same hours and another shows the stand closed. Kelley Orchards confirms that Purdum's carries some Kelley fresh fruit alongside fruit from other growers.
3. Kelley Orchards, Hill Road between Payette and Weiser. Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the barn store and u-pick.

Lay those hours over each other and Thursday and Friday are the only days all three are open. On a Saturday you can reach Purdum's and Kelley, but the packing company's door is closed. On a Monday or Tuesday, only Henggeler is open. If you work weekdays, Friday afternoon may be the only time you can stop at the packing company, the farm stand and the orchard barn on the same trip.

When the stands close

The end date is the hardest part to pin down. Purdum's hasn't posted a closing date of its own that turned up in our research. A customer review on Yahoo Local from June 2026 said the stand expected to open around the second week of July and close at the end of October or the first week of November. That's a shopper's account rather than an announcement from the stand, but it puts the likely last week right after EverCrisp and GoldRush reach Kelley's barn on October 22. Before a late-October trip, call ahead or check the stand's Facebook page, which Kelley Orchards links from its FAQ.

Kelley's other outlets help if you can't get to the barn. The same FAQ says the Grit D Grange at 1595 E. 6th St. in Weiser carries Kelley dried and fresh fruit. The orchard's product list includes dried fruit, juices, syrups, jams and apple cider. In the online store this week, the category for cider, juice and frozen peaches showed zero items. Ask at the barn before counting on a jug.

Pumpkins over in New Plymouth

For pumpkins, the closest listing is a short drive southeast. Idaho Preferred lists Kovick Kountry Farm on Ada Road in New Plymouth with a pumpkin patch, hayrides, a corn pit and zip lines. The listing shows a September 27 to October 31 run, open noon to 6 p.m. Sunday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. The listing doesn't print a year next to those dates, so confirm with the farm before you plan a weekend around it. If the dates do apply to 2026, the patch would close the same weekend Purdum's may be wrapping up.

Chili on SW 3rd Street

One more fall date sits on the same street the town grew up on. The city history says Fruitland's commercial center moved to Southwest 3rd Street and Iowa Avenue by 1909, and its first grade school went up on Southwest 3rd that same year. On Wednesday, October 14, the Fruitland Chamber is holding a free luncheon at Orchard Hall, 110 SW 3rd Street, with a chili contest and tasting and voting. The luncheon falls on a Wednesday, so Purdum's will be open that afternoon, and Kelley's barn opens the next morning with Winesap, Fuji and Granny Smith on the board.

The short version for this month

• This week: Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Crimson Crisp and Pink Lady at Kelley's barn store, Rome on u-pick, plus Concord grapes and tomatoes.
• Thursday, October 15: Winesap, Fuji and Granny Smith posted to arrive at Kelley.
• Thursday, October 22: EverCrisp and GoldRush posted to arrive.
• Late October into early November: the expected close for Purdum's, based on one customer's report. Confirm before you drive.
• Any weekday: Henggeler's door at 6730 Elmore Road, Monday through Friday until 5 p.m.

Henggeler's profile says Fortress-label apples, peaches, plums and cherries also turn up at local retailers and fruit stands across Idaho. Those boxes are packed on Elmore Road in Fruitland.

At Creed Noah Real Estate Company, we spend a lot of time on the roads between Payette, Fruitland and Weiser, and the orchards along them are part of what makes this valley home. If you've got a favorite late variety, a farm stand you think we missed, or questions about an older orchard parcel and the irrigation that comes with it, we'd be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.