Utah state park cancels beloved apple harvest following harsh season

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Wasatch Mountain State Park canceled its apple harvest following poor apple production.
• Freezing temperatures and low snowpack led to significant apple crop losses.
• Park officials disappointed over the event cancellation, but hope to have apples again next year.

MIDWAY — Apple picking is normally a cherished fall activity, but a beloved apple event at Wasatch Mountain State Park is the latest casualty of this year's abnormal weather.

The park announced Monday that this year's apple harvest at historic Huber Grove has been canceled, citing freezing temperatures that — combined with a record-low snowpack during the winter — "significantly impacted" this year's apple crop, making it impossible to hold the annual event.

"Unfortunately, when it turned cold again, and it wasn't just one night, it was several, numerous nights of cold weather," Wasatch Mountain State Park Manager Jonathan Hunt told KSL. "We thought we were going to lose them all, and sure (enough) we did."

Cold snaps in April and May following a record-warm winter created what one expert called a "fruit famine" across the state.

That's because the warm winter and exceptionally warm March accelerated plant growth. A few cold snaps over the following two months brought freezing temperatures that killed blossoms and newly setting fruit, Ben Scow, a horticulturist for Utah State University Extension, explained at the time.

Losses of 95% to 100% were reported by farmers who produce apricots, sweet and tart cherries, plums, peaches, pears and apples, according to the state. Gov. Spencer Cox ultimately issued an emergency declaration over the losses in May, which applied to 10 counties but not Wasatch County.

"This is unfortunate because we grow some amazing fruit across the state," Scow said. "This year we're just going to have very, very little."

Wasatch Mountain State Park offers various activities, including golfing, horseback riding, off-highway vehicle courses, hiking and biking, but apple-picking is one of its unique ways to experience the historic orchard, Hunt said. The park estimates that during a good year, at least 150 groups can come to the orchard to pick a bushel of apples per group.

Huber Grove is home to at least 80 trees, half of which date back to the orchard's establishment in the late 1800s. It has seen apple production vary over the past century, but this year was probably one of the worst for the orchard, which produced a few hundred apples compared with other years when the trees produce thousands, Hunt said.

Only about five or six of those trees have any apples present. The number of surviving apples on those trees is pretty limited and people may not be able to even fill a bushel, he added.

"Not being able to do that event this year is definitely sad," he said. "With there being so few apples, it's not worth even inviting people to come up because they wouldn't have apples to take home."

The good news is that fruit trees can handle a bad year, especially if they're handled normally even without fruit, Scow pointed out during the spring. Many fruit producers impacted by the cold snap said they were hoping for better conditions next year.

Once next year comes around, those overseeing the Huber Grove orchard will count its inventory and take reservations via phone call based on the number of apples available for picking. June or July is usually the best time to make a reservation with the Wasatch Mountain State Park Visitor Center to find out when the pickings will be held and when reservations will go out online, Hunt said.

Although the apples aren't available to pick this year, he hopes people will keep visiting the state park for everything else it offers. Its visitation is among the fastest-growing among all state parks, officials noted at the end of the past fiscal year.

"(It's) perfect in September even without the apples," he said. "There's plenty of fall leaves to enjoy (and) our mountain bike trails are in prime condition."

Contributing: Britt Johnson

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Utah weatherEnvironmentSummit/Wasatch CountyOutdoorsUtah

Carter Williams

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Carter Williams is a reporter for KSL. He covers Salt Lake City, statewide transportation issues, outdoors, the environment and weather. He is a graduate of Southern Utah University.

Kennedy Camarena

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Kennedy Camarena is a breaking news reporter and also covers K-12 education in Utah.