Apple Hill: Apples, pumpkins, train rides, food, fun, family and much more

Apples, pumpkins, crafts, train rides, food and fun… All a part of the experience at Apple Hill.

This year, my family and I once again returned to Apple Hill. Our experience this year on October 12, 2013, was exceptional as always. During this visit, we visited Cardanini’s Pumpkin Patch (#42), Rainbow Orchards (#10) and El Dorado Orchards (#19). During this trip in particular, my children were finally at a great age to go out in the field and pick out a pumpkin on their own and boy, did they enjoy it.

Cardanini’s Pumpkin Patch (#42)

Cardanini’s Pumpkin Patch is a very quaint pumpkin patch conveniently located near one of Apple Hill’s busiest and well visited stops, High Hill Ranch (#1). It is actually right next door to it and their hay ride passes right through this location. While we were there, as it was our first stop, but also nearly lunch time, we grabbed a quick bite to eat. I had a delicious Tri-Tip sandwich and my wife and kids enjoyed a hot dog each.

When we finished our quick and relatively inexpensive meal, we ventured out into the pumpkin patch. This pumpkin patch still had every pumpkin on the vine and they were all ready to pick off the vine. When you first enter, you can ask for a pair of pruners to cut the pumpkin off of the vine. With our tool to cut the pumpkin off of the vine we found five very ample sized pumpkins to bring home.

While I paid for the pumpkins (a total of $20; I was blown away by the price by the way), the kids ventured through the corn maze (that was free for visitors to navigate through). They had a great time.

If you’re looking for something you haven’t tried yet at Apple Hill or if you’re looking for great people, pumpkins and inexpensive food for Apple Hill, this is the place to stop.

Rainbow Orchards (#10)

Next, we decided to take a drive to Rainbow Orchards. Now that we had our pumpkins in our car and mission the rest of the day was to relax, enjoy the sites and just experience the day. Rainbow Orchards is very well known for their “HOT apple cider DONUTS”. The line for getting some donuts wrapped around their barn/store area. They are very high in demand and well worth the wait. I would highly recommend a stop here just for the donuts.

While we were there, my daughter sat down to get her face painted. She chose a rainbow with a star. It looked very cute on her. She refused to wash her face for the rest of the day and she even made a deal to sleep overnight before she would wash her face paint off. We obliged, being the parents we are, we didn’t want to take away any of her happiness made during that day.

Being in the mid-high 70’s that day, temperature-wise, before we left, we grabbed some mini apple cider cartons. They were the perfect size to quickly quench your thirst as well as the size perfect for a kid to enjoy. It was very tasty.

El Dorado Orchards (#19)

Our final stop of the day was El Dorado Orchards. We stopped because they have a kid-size train to ride and our kids absolutely love train rides. In fact, we took them on The Polar Express last year; that’s how much they love train rides. Once we took a ride on the train, we again grabbed another snack. We had some nachos, a soda and chips to keep the kids’ hunger at bay for the ride home. While we were at this location I spotted something out of the corner of my eye.

It was a Nevada Wolf Pack sign. Richard Hight of Battle Born Metal Works, a Reno, NV resident, was selling some sports signs made out of metal. Each colored to represent the team. He had signs for the Wolf Pack, the Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco 49ers and many more. He practically had every major sports team including the Nevada Wolf Pack. I just had to pick up the vintage Wolfie Nevada Wolf Pack logo sign. From what I hear from my contacts at Silver and Blue Outfitters, Richard is working on getting licensed by the NCAA and University of Nevada to sell them professionally, but for now, they are just a craft item that you can pick up just like many other craft items for sale at just about every location in Apple Hill. I must say that Battle Born Metal Works make quality merchandise and I would gladly buy another one should I run into him again in the future at a local craft show in the area.

Before we left, we were going to make an obligatory stop at Boa Vista Orchards (#3), but as luck would have it, El Dorado Orchards was selling Boa Vista Orchards Apple Cider right there on the premises. That just made my day. That Apple Hill growers were working together to make it convenient for the consumer, is just one example of the high quality, friendliness and experience you can expect during a trip at Apple Hill.

Even though we could only make one trip this year to Apple Hill, it was, like always a trip to remember. Our kids really enjoyed the day away from Reno and my eyes, sprit and demeanor always perk up when I get to visit one of my favorite places on Earth.

If you haven’t been to Apple Hill yet, you should definitely make the trip anytime from September through December. It is an experience to remember.

Let us know what you think

What’s your favorite stop at Apple Hill and why? We would love to hear your thoughts.