Apple Hill, Placerville Best stops with kids (Vista, Rainbow: how much, garden)

[family first]

Hey Guys, what's the tops spots to go in Apple Hill with young kids? Are the farms still open and for how much longer? We've been there in previous years but have only seen some of the farms. Can you list the 5 top spots that you and your families have liked over the years. Kids are 6,4,2. Thanks in advance.

[Shellsbutt]

We just went to Apple Hill last weekend. We always visit Abel's for an apple fritter. Rainbow Orchards has the best apple donuts and cider I've ever had! Larsen's apple barn is nice, has a water wheel and museum, they're closed on saturdays. High Hill ranch is the biggest and busiest place there, lots of crafts and a fishing pond. Plubell's family orchard has a petting zoo and tire swing, no apples this year because of frost. We usually go to Denver Dans to pick a bushel of apples, there was nothing left on the trees, only rotten apples on the ground, very disappointing. Make sure you start out early, it gets really crowded.

[ImRandy]

Have you visited the Apple Hill website? It lists all the farms and other stops. I like to stop by Boa Vista Orchards when I go. All the places up there are enjoyable but the people at Boa Vista have always been super nice.

[looking4home]

Originally Posted by Shellsbutt

We just went to Apple Hill last weekend. We always visit Abel's for an apple fritter. Rainbow Orchards has the best apple donuts and cider I've ever had! Larsen's apple barn is nice, has a water wheel and museum, they're closed on saturdays. High Hill ranch is the biggest and busiest place there, lots of crafts and a fishing pond. Plubell's family orchard has a petting zoo and tire swing, no apples this year because of frost.

What frost?? It didn't seem to affect the other orchards! Besides, the best apple-growing areas in the country are much colder than the climate in Apple Hill. NY state, where I'm from, is one of the biggest apple producers, and its cold weather and long winters are legendary. I'm talking snow and frost in April, and sometimes May, and early snow and frost in early Oct. So I think those growers had some other problems and are just making up excuses.

[Shellsbutt]

Looking4home,
Maybe the orchards were trying to make up excuses, I don't know much about apple production. I just know what we experienced while up there a couple weeks ago. We usually go to Denver Dans to pick our own apples and there were none left on the trees, just a bunch of rotten ones on the ground! It was disappointing. They had an article from the Bee a few weeks ago stating"quality is good this year, although the crop is smaller due in part to a frost last spring."

[DMenscha]

Our local county supervisor lost his entire apple crop this year from a frost in May (april?)

[family first]

Dmenscha, seems like a lot of crops went south this year. Couldn't get much of anything in the garden growing this year. The post of the guy from New York and growing apples in their colder climate makes you wonder though?