After realizing my desire to visit an apple orchard in autumn was more about trying to immerse myself in everyone’s favorite season than doing the actual picking, I decided I was done being burdened by bags of fruit in exchange for a few minutes of fall-maxxing.

What I wish I’d known sooner is that Maine is home to other destinations in pastoral settings where you can don your coziest flannel, step on crunchy leaves and soak in the season sans manual labor — but with food and beverages instead.

Here are three places in central, Midcoast and southern Maine that will fulfill your autumnal need to be on farmland without forcing you to make applesauce afterward.

Absolem Cider Co., Winthrop

What could be a better adult upgrade to apple picking than visiting the rustic home of a hard cidery?

Absolem’s tasting room (799 Winthrop Center Road) is in the same barn where its copious varieties of old-world cider and wine are made. The bar also serves beer, cocktails and snacks, and there’s typically a food truck on site as well.

The casual farm setting, home to Absolem’s orchard, offers plenty of space to spread out and the opportunity to mingle among chickens that roam the grounds, making it fun for kids, too.

The Rooting Pig, Bristol

Animals to entertain the young ones can also be found on Broad Arrow Farm, where a short walk through a field from the on-site restaurant (33 Benner Road) leads to a pigpen. Just be prepared if they make the connection to the sausage on their plate.

It’s hard to say whether the food or the setting is the main attraction here, with one heightening the enjoyability of the other.

Choose from three seating options to customize your experience: in its elegant barn dining room, on its bright screened-in porch or out on the lawn, where there are picnic tables and a first-come, first-served bar.

The menu features house-cured meats, hearty sandwiches and plates with creative flavor combinations, such as blistered shishito peppers with ricotta and chili honey.

Doles Orchard, Limington

OK, you can pick your own fruit here, but you don’t have to in order to make it worth a visit.

Purchased by the owners of Blaze Brewing, the orchard (187 Doles Ridge Road) has a beer garden, pizza oven and pit smoker cooking up a full menu of barbecued meats.

Hot breakfast is served on the weekends, and there’s a full bakery, too. So, you don’t have to make an additional stop to get the cider doughnuts required to deem your fall complete.

And you might as well fill up a bag with apples while you’re there.