Monday’s guide to Apple Hill came at the perfect time for us: Aron had planned yesterday as a half-day for some time now so as to head up to Apple Hill with me and the kids. After spending time in one-too-many traffic jams on a Saturday in peak season, we’ve decided midweek is the way to go. It turned out to be a little bit grey and rainy, which meant the farms were especially quiet; it really felt like fall, and we loved it.
Some highlights…
We started at 24 Carrot Farm, which was completely new to me. They just opened last May. Heather recommended them as a place you might still be able to find U-Pick despite being late in the season and I was so happy to find that to be true. It was definitely the highlight of our visit.
Skyler did a lot more crunching than collecting, as one-year-olds are apt to do. We found a few little teeth marks in the apples we ended up bagging for the trip home.
When we were done, the sun was peeking through the clouds. We stopped at their lovely stand for some other produce. They were shucking the most beautiful beans!
From there we went on the High Hill. It’s such a large place, with lots of vendors on site, so it’s often too overwhelming for me, but on this day it was inviting. We stopped in the pie house to share a (delicious) slice of apple with caramel sauce. And then we went for more sweets: donuts from the apple barn.
It reminded us, however, of how much we’ve enjoyed the fresh ones at Rainbow Orchards, so it only seemed fitting to head there next for a comparison.
Hot apple cider and fresh apple donuts: I think Rainbow remains my favorite stop for these treats. Rainbow always has hay bales set up that Hudson spends his whole visit running and jumping across—so it’s usually a good kid-stop for us, too.
Finally, we paid a visit to Mill View, another new-to-me stop. Heather had mentioned its tiny Gold Rush town of play houses for kids and Hudson and Skyler both loved it there. It was a great cap to the afternoon.
We stopped for dinner at Selland’s Market in El Dorado Hills and made it home just in time for bed—our trunk laden with apples (and a few decorative gourds).
So, what do you like to do with an abundance of apples?
P.S. Visiting Apple Hill two years ago, when I was expecting Skyler.
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