"It was 25 degrees here," Amy Manoff told the Bucks County Beacon this summer, describing the April night that took most of the fruit at Manoff Market & Cidery. "A few days before this, it was reaching 70 degrees." In 42 years of business, the family farm had not seen anything like it.
Manoff wasn't alone. Down the road, Solebury Orchards also lost most of its crop. So this October, the township's two best-known fruit farms are running a fall season built on bins, pumpkins, cider, art and gatherings while their trees spend a year recovering. Solebury's fall calendar now hangs on what these farms host rather than what they harvest.
Twenty-three degrees on April 21
The freeze hit after a warm March and April had already pushed many trees into bloom. On April 21, the temperature around Solebury Orchards fell to 23°F. The farm said it lost its cherries, peaches, pears and plums, and only a small crop of selected apples survived. Owner Brian Smith told the Bucks County Courier Times that about a tenth of the apple crop made it, and that the farm lost 90 to 95 percent of its crops overall.
How long the cold lasted mattered as much as how low it went. In a May 5 report, Penn State Extension said temperatures stayed below 30°F for five to eight hours, depending on location. At one of its research blocks, the air hit 27°F that morning. Solebury's 23°F reading was four degrees colder than that.
Solebury's losses track the state's. In a June 2026 report, Penn State estimated Pennsylvania lost 70 to 90 percent of its apples and as much as 95 to 100 percent of its cherries and plums. It also passed along a state estimate of $150 million to $200 million in specialty-crop losses. The damage didn't stop at tree fruit. The Courier Times reported that Penn-Vermont Fruit Farm, Shady Brook Farm and None Such Farm all canceled strawberry picking.
What's actually in the orchard rows this week
Solebury Orchards updated its pick-your-own page on October 2. The page puts it plainly: at most times, there will be no apples to pick from the trees. Instead, the farm is buying apples from New York orchards to stock its Market, and it's setting bins of apples out in the orchard rows. According to the October 1 to 4 update, the split looks like this:
- In bins: Honeycrisp, SweeTango, Gala and SnapDragon
- On the trees, while they last: limited picking of Pixie Crunch, Jonathan and Cuttalossa
That second list is the Solebury crop that survived April, and it's small. The bins are a stand-in for an apple-picking tradition this region expects every fall.
The rest of the visit runs as usual. The wagon goes out to the orchard on weekends, weather permitting. Cider donuts, cider ice and cider are all on offer. A few practical details for this season:
- Weekend orchard visits require reservations in September and October. A trip to the Market alone does not.
- Hours are Thursday through Sunday, 9 to 6. Picking season continues through Sunday, November 1.
- The farm's seasonal chart lists flower picking through about October 17. The Cutting Garden is in full bloom with dahlias and zinnias.
- Dogs are not allowed on the grounds.
The orchard frames this season as a recovery year. "While it's not possible to recover the lost fruit, it's important to continue taking care of the trees so they come back strong and healthy next year," Nathaniel Woosley of Solebury Orchards told the Beacon. The farm's fall work is about getting those trees ready for next season.
Farms that sell fruit are hosting instead
Both farms answered a lost harvest the same way. They're putting more people on the property and offering more reasons to stay.
At Solebury Orchards, new this year are a pumpkin patch, an apple scavenger hunt, craft Sundays with Twyl Trolley and story time with the New Hope-Solebury library. According to the farm's calendar note, Twyl Trolley is there Sunday afternoons and Thursday mornings with the library, and the scavenger hunt started in late September.
Manoff, known for its hard cider and peaches, said in July that it was making up lost revenue by opening its hard-cider space to more events and private parties. Amy Manoff added that seasonal berries were doing very well.
Solebury Township is building its own fall event on these farms. Its From Solebury Soil Farm Tour visits four of them: Solebury Orchards, Roots to River, Spring Creek Farms and Manoff's Market & Gardens. The tour runs noon to 5 p.m., followed by the Celebrate Solebury community happy hour at Manoff's from 5 to 8 p.m. The original date was Saturday, September 26. Forecast rain and high winds pushed both events back. The township says they will be rescheduled for a Saturday later in October. As of today, it hasn't named the date.
The rescheduled tour will reach the same farms that lost this year's crop, and it will end at the cidery that opened its doors to make up the difference.
Phillips' Mill runs all of October
Solebury's longest-running fall tradition doesn't depend on weather. The 97th Juried Art Show at Phillips' Mill Community Association, 2619 River Road, runs from September 26 to November 1, open 1 to 5 p.m. daily. More than 400 works are on display and for sale. According to the Bucks County Herald, the show includes painting, drawing, works on paper, sculpture, fiber art and ceramic sculpture. Jurors gave out 23 awards totaling $13,500 at the preview reception.
A few things are different in 2026:
- Admission: $6 for adults, free for children under 18, exhibiting artists and Mill members. Mondays are now "pay what you wish."
- Group visits: The Mill is offering support for weekday visits by youth art classes, senior housing and other community living groups. Groups can arrange a visit through [email protected].
- Honored Artist: Jennifer Hansen Rolli of Yardley. The 2026 signature image is Erwinna artist John Kane's "Phillips' Mill in Winter."
- Visiting guests: Overnight guests at hospitality partners including the Carversville Inn, Black Bass Hotel, Golden Pheasant Inn, Stockton Inn and Ghost Light Inn get free admission to the show.
Exhibiting artists are on hand every day of the show for the "Meet the Artists" program. For an evening at home, the Mill's ArtTalk with Laura Igoe is on Zoom on October 21 at 7 p.m.
Getting around Solebury this month
One road project will affect October trips between the orchard side of the township and the river. Starting Monday, October 5, Covered Bridge Road closes between Pidcock Creek Road and Aquetong Road. Crews will replace a culvert, endwalls and footings. Detours will be posted along Pidcock Creek, Windy Bush and Aquetong roads. The township estimates five weeks, depending on weather, which puts reopening around early November. The township has posted a detour map.
Farther north, the Lumberville Aqueduct pedestrian bridge is open again. Repairs to the aqueduct and the nearby High Falls Sub-Canal Culvert totaled more than $6 million combined and reconnected sections of the towpath, as the New Hope Free Press reported in May. That makes a Lumberville towpath walk another October outing that doesn't depend on this year's crop.
Solebury's farmland shapes how property here is valued, from acreage near the orchards to homes along River Road. If you'd like to understand what that means for your own property, Lisa Povlow and our team are glad to talk it through. Schedule a private consultation.
