Colorado is fast losing its apple orchards, but some people still remember the glory days.

“We used to be a very big apple producer, once on par with Washington state,” said Bruce Talbott, a fifth-generation fruit grower in Mesa County and a board member of the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.

In 1904, Colorado’s apple farmers even won gold medals at the World’s Fair in St. Louis.

But a few years later, Colorado’s apple industry hit the same problems that plagued Washington’s apple growers, he said, including “some water table issues and the coddling moth,” the agriculture pest that created worms in apples.

Washington replanted trees and forged ahead, while Colorado moved in another direction.

A few stalwart apple growers in Colorado did keep going, however, and when Talbott took over Talbott Farms in Palisade from his grandfather, there were about 20,000 apple trees that yielded about 90 percent of their total fruit production.

Today there are only about 1,000 apple trees on Talbott Farms, and the primary crops produced is peaches, not apples, which mirrors the larger picture.

Statewide, the apple industry is in steep decline. Over the past two decades, from 1994 to 2014, the number of acres devoted to apples plummeted from 3,900 to 1,200 .

Over the past decade, the number of Colorado apples produced dropped from 20,700 in 2005 to 7,420 in 2014.

Despite the drop in apple producers, people still want to go apple picking each fall — especially transplants who’ve moved westward.

“Lots of people say they’ve moved to Colorado (from the East Coast) where they grew up with that family tradition, and want their kids to do it, too,” said Ralph Nelms of the Nelms Farm in Golden, which each Labor Day weekend transforms into a pick-your-own-apples destination for metro Denver.

Nelms Farm includes an orchard with five apple trees. This year, there are about 1,000 Red Delicious and Granny Smith apples to pick, but they go fast.

He opens the farm to apple pickers from Sept. 3 through Sept. 5 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but those who plan to come on Monday, the Labor Day holiday, should call first to make sure the apples have not sold out. (5305 Orchard St. Golden. 303-917-2707.)

Finding places to pick apples this year can be tricky — in addition to the overall decline in orchards, some places have changed their business model and others were hard hit by a tough winter a few years ago, which wiped out some orchards in places like Penrose — trees that were nearly 100 years old.

High demand for apple picking means that YaYa Farm and Orchard in Boulder County has already sold out its you-pick-apple reservations.

Third Street Apples in Penrose isn’t doing pick-your-own this year because the apple blossoms froze in April, and then a grasshopper infestations defoliated some of the apple trees. (They plan to continue you-pick apples next year.)

And earlier this year, Jenkins Farms Apple Valley Orchard decided to stop their you-pick tradition, opting to focus instead on expanding their cider business.

The Happy Apple Farm in Penrose lost about 1,000 apple trees in 2014, when temperatures fell from 70 degrees to minus-10 degrees, freezing the sap and killing the trees. But they planted about 800 new apple trees this year, and plan to add 1,000 more next year.

Owner Tony Ferrara is committed to continuing the tradition.

“It’s such a neat fall outing, and there’s nothing like an apple straight off the tree,” he said.

The apple harvest is light this year, due to a freeze in April, so people should call ahead to check on the picking status.

Happy Apple Farm is a pick-your-own fruit farm that also features blackberries, raspberries, and pumpkins, along with free hay rides, a country store, fresh-pressed apple cider, apple cider donuts, apple pie and applewood-smoked brisket or pulled pork on the weekends. (1190 1st St., Penrose. 719-429-6300.)

And Delicious Orchards in Hotchkiss reports an “excellent” you-pick apple crop this year. (39126 CO-133, Hotchkiss. (970-527-1110.)

Lots of apple festivals are taking place soon: