Alto Pass orchard farmed by one family since 1873, selling its own peaches and apples at a farm market from late June through October.
Stops within about 40 miles of Rendleman Orchards. Collect a Lavender Passport stamp at each one.
Rendleman Orchards has been in the same family since 1873, and five generations on it is an Illinois Sesquicentennial Farm in the hills of the Shawnee National Forest. The orchard grows peaches, nectarines and apples on a scale that also supplies wholesale produce markets around the Midwest. Because of that size, crews pick all of the fruit, and the orchards themselves are closed to visitors for food safety.
Peach season starts in early summer with varieties such as Desiree and Redhaven and peaks in August, with big freestones like Fayette and Cresthaven later on. Apples follow: Gala and Golden Supreme early, Red Delicious and Suncrisp around the fourth week of September, and GoldRush in early October. For visitors, the hands-on part is the free-entry u-pick fields: an acre of zinnias, two acres of sunflowers, cosmos, marigolds, a 900-plant mum patch and a pumpkin patch. Flowers are sold by the cup or tub, $10 to $30.
The farm market sells fruit by the half peck up to the half bushel, along with sweet corn and other vegetables, local milk, eggs and cheese, jams, baking mixes and apple butter made from Jonathan apples. Summer brings peach smoothies; fall brings apple cider donuts and cider slushies. October 2026 Saturdays and Sundays featured visiting horse hitches, a food vendor and lemonade stands, and there is a guest cottage on the farm for an overnight stay.
Tenderloin Farms Lavender near Edwardsville, the closest lavender farm, is roughly two hours north, so this works best as part of a weekend in southern Illinois rather than a same-day pairing.
Tenderloin Farms Lavender · about 115 minutes away
Tenderloin Farms Lavender near Edwardsville is roughly two hours north, so pair the two over a weekend rather than in one day.
No. All fruit is harvested by crews and sold at the farm market; u-pick is for flowers and pumpkins.
No. Entry to the market and u-pick fields is free; you pay for the flowers you pick.
Yes, on a leash, in the u-pick fields and outdoor areas by the market, but not inside buildings or near the orchards.
Checked in October 2026 against the business’s own website and local tourism pages. Hours and seasons change, so check with them before you go. How we check listings · Is this your business? Claim it free
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