Overview
Chiles Peach Orchard sits at 1351 Greenwood Road, just outside Crozet's growth area boundary, on a property the Chiles family has farmed since 1912. It is a Virginia Century Farm, the official designation given by the Commonwealth to farms that have been continuously operated by the same family for more than a hundred years and at least 100 acres or generating $2,500 in annual farm income. Chiles Peach is one of a handful in Albemarle County to hold the designation.
The orchard is part of Chiles Family Orchards, an umbrella that also includes Carter Mountain Orchard (overlooking Charlottesville), Spring Valley Orchard, and Chiswell Farm & Winery. Chiles Peach is the Crozet-area property, and it is the one most easily woven into a half-day Crozet itinerary.
A century-plus on the same farm
The orchard was founded in 1912 by Henry Chiles and John Montague. Through the early twentieth century, when central Virginia's apple and peach production was a serious commercial industry, employing thousands of seasonal pickers and shipping to East Coast cities, the Chiles operation grew alongside Crozet Cold Storage, Morton Frozen Foods, and the broader fruit-shipping economy that defined Albemarle County agriculture for sixty years.
When that industrial fruit economy collapsed in the late twentieth century, most of central Virginia's orchards either shrank dramatically or closed. Chiles adapted differently. Rather than shrink, the family pivoted toward agritourism, pick-your-own, farm markets, bakery and ice cream operations, and a destination-experience model that draws Charlottesville families and tourists out for an afternoon.
Today the orchard is in its third generation of Chiles family ownership. The current operations director and the agriculture director are both Chiles; family members handle most senior roles across the multiple Chiles properties. The continuity is genuine.
What's grown, what to pick
The pick-your-own seasons rotate through the year:
- Strawberries, late April through May. Pre-pay by container size at the entrance: a small basket (roughly 2 lbs) is $15; a large bucket (roughly 5 lbs) is $32. The strawberry season is short and weather-dependent; check picking availability before driving out.
- Peaches, typically June through September. The orchard's namesake crop. White peaches and yellow peaches both cycle through the season; the heirloom varieties that show up at the farm market in late June are some of the best available in central Virginia.
- Apples, September into October. Multiple varieties; ripening windows posted on the orchard's website.
- Pumpkins, late September through Halloween. The pumpkin patch opens with the Fall Into Fun Festival in mid-September.
Other fruit and vegetable crops rotate through smaller windows, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, sweet corn, fall greens. The farm market sells what's not on the PYO line.
The farm market, bakery, ice cream, wine
Beyond pick-your-own, the property runs a full Farm Market and Bakery with the agricultural retail that makes a destination-orchard a destination:
- Apple cider, apple butter, jams, jellies, honey, baked goods (pies, donuts, breads, the famous Chiles apple cider donut)
- Local meats, cheeses, produce
- Ice cream, house-made, in flavors that include peach (in season) and apple cider
- A wine bar pouring Carter Mountain Wine and Chiles-family estate wines, by the glass and bottle, with views of the Blue Ridge
Picnic tables, a courtyard, cornhole, kids' play area. The full agritourism ensemble.
The Fall Into Fun Festival
The headline event is the Fall Into Fun Festival, held the third weekend of September annually, typically Saturday and Sunday. The 2026 dates are September 19–20, and it is the 14th annual running of the festival.
Programming includes apple butter making (live demonstration over an open fire), pie baking contest, the official opening of the pumpkin patch, hayrides, live music, and the fall-festival atmosphere that draws families from Charlottesville, Waynesboro, and beyond. The festival is the unofficial start of fall in the western county.
Throughout October the orchard runs Live Music Weekends with regional bands on the lawn, plus expanded ice cream and bakery hours, plus PYO apples and pumpkins. October is the peak month.
Visiting
Address: 1351 Greenwood Road, Crozet, VA 22932. Phone (434) 823-1583.
Hours: open seasonally, typically April through December. Inside the season, daily 9 AM to 6 PM, with extended hours during festival weekends. Closed January through March.
Pricing: entry to the orchard and farm market is free. Pick-your-own is pre-paid by container size at the entrance. Wine and food at the courtyard are pay-as-you-go.
Best times to visit: weekday mornings if you want quiet picking; festival weekends if you want the full atmosphere. Saturdays in October are the busiest of the year, go before 11 AM if you want to park easily.
The drive is about 15 minutes from The Square in Crozet, on Greenwood Road heading west toward Afton. The views on the way out, across orchards toward the Blue Ridge, are the scenic Albemarle drive that justifies the trip on its own.
Why it matters
A 113-year-old family farm that has continuously adapted through every wave of agricultural change is a remarkable thing. Most farms that started in 1912 have been sold, subdivided, paved, or absorbed into corporate agriculture. The ones that survived did it by reading their century well, knowing when to scale, when to diversify, when to pivot from wholesale to retail, when to add a wine bar.
Chiles is one of those farms. Its survival is a real-time argument for why family-owned agriculture, when it has continuity and good judgment, can outlast industries that look unstoppable. Crozet's identity as a fruit-growing village owes a lot to the Chiles family and a small handful of other century-plus operations.
Bring kids. Pick a bucket of something. Eat an apple cider donut. Walk the courtyard with a glass of wine. Watch the Blue Ridge from the picnic tables. That's the day. The orchard makes the rest easy.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Chiles Peach Orchard and Farm Market?
Chiles Peach Orchard and Farm Market is located at 1351 Greenwood Road, Crozet, VA 22932, in Crozet, Virginia.
How do I contact Chiles Peach Orchard and Farm Market?
You can call (434) 823-1583. Hours and current information are most reliable directly from the business.
What kind of business is Chiles Peach Orchard and Farm Market?
Chiles Peach Orchard and Farm Market is categorized as outdoor in our Crozet directory. See the description and quick facts above for what makes this listing distinctive.
