Fall is here. In these parts, that means it is time for the yearly trip to
Apple Hill. Apple Hill is one of those places that pulls at your heartstrings. We moved to Northern California about 20 years ago now, and started our family here. Ever since our teenage daughters were little, we have taken them to pick apples, drink apple cider, and eat apple pie in the beautiful hills North East of Sacramento. It was the place my youngest daughter decided she wanted to spend her sweet sixteenth birthday..... with her best girlfriends...so off we went last weekend.....a car full of six teens and me.....
 |
| The beautiful rolling hills of the Apple Hill region |
Since we first started coming here, the Hill has grown. The apple growers that open their farms to the public has probably tripled. There are maps and guides telling one where to find locations where there are fresh apple pies, where you can pick your own apples, where there are pumpkin patches, and where you can find BBQ for lunch.....or where there are hayrides, animals to pet, or pony rides.
 |
| Freshly picked half peck of apples...they were delicious! |
And the pumpkins patches? They are not just your average orange pumpkins.....
 |
| Pumpkins at Patrick's Mountain Berry Farm |
Although there are plenty of those too....
High Hill Ranch is one of the main draws with its many craft booths, huge cider press with free cider samples, pony rides, hay rides, and large produce shed. And then there is the fishing pond which overlooks the valley....
It makes for a nice shower if you are so inclined.....
We stop here because they have carmel apple milkshakes.....could you resist?
We also like to stop at
Bavarian Hills where we can get Bratwurst, Polish Sausages, Schnitzel and Brockwurst....and maybe a stein of beer....OK....and maybe some Apple Strudel. There is a very relaxed uncrowded feel here when you compare it to High Hill, which I really like. It feels like Oktoberfest every time I come and sit in the Beer Garden and listen to the German music while eating my Bratwurst and red cabbage....
Alapacas seem to be a growing industry in the hills between Sacramento and the Sierras.
Denver Dan's has a huge shop with another fruit treat everywhere look. There are fruit jams and syrups, and chutneys. There are frozen pies of every sort: apple, apple rhubarb, olallieberry, marion berry, cherry. There are Bavarian Cream Tortes, Pumpkin Rolls, Apple Crisps. There are Chicken Pasties, and Turnovers, home made chunky Applesauce.....
And then there is Big Al. He's the guy you want to see for his famous apple slinky. If you are daring, he will give you the full treatment....that would be every syrup Denver Dan's makes on top of that apple slinky....
 |
| Big Al with a famous special Apple Slinky on one daring person's thumb. You will need a paper towel for this one. |
We ended up taking home a frozen Pumpkin Roll (we ate it a couple of days ago....Soooo good!), a package of Chicken Pasties and an Apple Rhubarb Pie. All can be transported home in a cold storage pack also sold at Denver Dan's. But if you remember to bring a cooler, you will be set!
Next up,
Apple Ridge Farms is perhaps my favorite place for treats. I cannot leave without a fresh warm apple doughnut......
Apple Ridge, I am told, is also the only place that makes their own carmel for the apple slices in a bowl. And you can taste the brown sugar and butter in every bite! It is decadently delicious. I do not have a pretty picture...it is not that pretty....but I am pretty sure they eat these apples and carmel in heaven.
I have also been told that they have a new chef...so the BBQ is touted as being the best on the Hill as well. If I had only known.....we would have eaten lunch here! Luckily we are coming back up in a couple of weeks....so I will let you know!
 |
| The Flower Garden at Patrick's Mountain Grown Berry Farm |
One of the last places I like to stop at the end of the Apple Hill loop is
Patrick's Mountain Grown Berry Farm. The berry season has past (but during the summer you can come up and pick your own!), but they have such a beautiful flower garden, I cannot resist stopping to see it every year. It makes you feel like Alice in Wonderland.....
Happy birthday my own Alice on your sixteenth birthday....
I hope you all have a weekend full of wonders....
The Craftsman Experience welcomes Duane Johnson former Editor from Family Handyman to the studio for a day of do-it-yourself building. Duane puts ...