Apple Hill, California is the Yummiest Place on Earth. And happiest too! Imagine that ALL your dreams of Fall can come true in this corner of El Dorado County in the foothills of Sierra Nevada Mountains.
There are so many things to do in Apple Hill if you love good old fashioned Fall fun: over 2 dozen apple orchards, 7 wineries, a couple of breweries and cider producing companies and lots of bakeries that make the most delicious apples pies, apple turnovers, apple strudels, apple donuts, apple cookies, apple dumplings, caramel apples and much more apple goodness.
In this article I will give all the information about the best things to do in Apple Hill, places to visit, places to eat and places to enjoy the great outdoors.
Apple Hill Orchards
With more than 20 orchards in Apple Hill there are just too many to visit in one trip. Here are my recommendations of the ones that we visited and really liked. You have enough choices here for a long weekend of fall adventures.
Bodhaine Ranch
You need to visit Bodhaine Ranch if you want to try the best chicken pot pies EVER. There aren’t any kids activities here except for some bails of straw to climb on but the pies are to die for! They come with a side of an apple salad (not surprisingly) and it is the most perfect lunch you can have in Apple Hill. Also try their apple berry cream cheese pie – it is amazing!
Apple Ridge Farms
Apple Ridge Farms is one of the best Apple Hill attractions. It is the Disneyland of Apple Hill. It has tons of activities for kids: face paining, mining for gems and minerals, scarecrow maze. It also has 2 hiking trails: one longer one in the woods and one short trail leading to a beautiful flower garden.
Apples Ridge Farms is a great orchard to buy some apples. You cannot pick them on your own, in fact you cannot even approach the apple trees for a photo because they are all behind a fence, which is a pity. However, there are huge bins of various of apples in the Christmas barn (yes, they have Christmas decorations on sale here too) and you can grab as many as you want, mix and match them for one flat rate of $2 per pound.
One drawback of Apple Ridge Farm is that it can get pretty crowded, especially on the weekends.
Grandpa’s Cellars
Grandpa’s Cellars is not an official Apple Hill farm but you should definitely put it on your list of things to do in Apple Hill. Grandpa’s Cellars is totally different from Apple Ridge Farm even though it is located right next to it. You need to come here if you would like to have some quiet time, walk among the apple trees, have a picnic or slice of an apple pie in the shade of an apple tree and just relax. I just love it that you can make as many photos as you want among apple trees on this farm.
There are no activities here specifically designed for kids that’s why it is not crowded and very peaceful. But what Grandpa’s Cellars has is educational tours of the orchard during which you can learn everything about apple farming. After the tour you can stop at their cute gift store where you can find lots of great gifts made by local craftsman and artisans.
One more thing of note is that Grandpa’s Cellars bakery has gluten free pies for your enjoyment.
Larsen Apple Barn and Bakeshop
Larsen Apple Barn and Bakeshop is an Apple Hill institution, the longest operating Apple Hill orchard. But they don’t grow just apples. Here you can also buy pears, peaches, nectarines and grapes. I loved the fact that they give you a free tasting of the fruits they sell. However, you cannot mix and match apples here, the same way you can do at Apple Ridge Farms. If you buy a box of apples at Larsen Apple Barn it will be a box of 1 variety.
Larsen Apple Barn’s bakeshop has some of the best cookies I have ever had (we tried apple, pumpkin and chocolate cookies). I definitely suggest grabbing some of those.
Finally, Larsen Apple Barn has one of the most unique Apple Hill attractions: the museum of farm equipment. Our kids ids really love seeing these big unique machines and it was a great educational experience for them.
Bill’s Apples & Felice’s Dolls
This Apple Hill orchard was on our list of things to do in Apple Hill on the last day of our trip. Unfortunately, PG&E switched off electricity in the area and the place was closed. So I cannot give you a detailed review. But what attracted us to this Apple Hill farm from the outside is a beautiful flower garden and a huge red apple sculpture – a perfect spot for your Apple Hill photo (that’s the photo that serves as cover image for this article). So I think you should stop at Bill’s Apples & Felice’s Dolls and explore, I know I would when we go back to Apple Hill.
Apple Hill Wineries
There are 7 wineries in Apple Hill and during our trip we visited two: Madrona and Lava Cap. I liked them both very much and I strongly suggest that you visit them both if you have time.
Madrona Winery
Madrona Winery is a great place to visit if you like white and rose wines. Their Summer flight (Chardonnay, Grenache Rose and Riesling) is amazing. I am not a fan of white wines but this flight totally won me over. This trio of wines is perfect for a summer tasting.
Tasting costs $15 per person for 6 wines (you can choose 2 flights of 3) and the winery will knock off $5 from the price of the tasting if you buy a bottle of wine. You can do the tasting in the shade of big trees outside overlooking the vineyard. Tastings need to be reserved in advance due to COVID-19.
The staff is very friendly and families are welcome. Our kids were even offered a glass of grape juice while my husband and enjoyed the wine tasting.
Note for animal lovers: Madrona Winery has a friendly dog that kids will love to pet.
Lava Cap Winery
Lava Cap Winery is most famous for its views. They literally have the most amazing views of all Apple Hill wineries. I wish I could show you these views. Well, I actually wish we could have enjoyed them ourselves but at the time of our visit the smoke form California wild fires covered all the beauty with a gauze blanket. We could see its magnificence through the haze but this is not the image I would like you to have of Lava Cap winery, so I am not going to post it here. Just trust me when I say that you must visit this Apple Hill winery and you will not regret it.
In terms of wines, I enjoyed the reds at Lava Cap the most. Petite Sirah was my absolute favorite. Tastings are done on a beautiful patio and cost $10 per person for 6 wines. The tasting fee is completely waived if you buy a bottle of wine! Tastings need to be reserved in advance due to COVID-19.
Note for animal lovers: Lava Cap Winery has a very handsome resident gentleman cat who likes to visit with guests. It will allow kids to pet him but will walk away when he has received too much love.
Other Apple Hill attractions not to miss
There are a couple of more things to do in Apple Hill area that don’t fall into the above two categories: orchards and wineries. Nonetheless, you should not miss these Apple Hill attractions.
Fudge Factory Farm
Fudge Factory Farm is THE destination in Apple Hill for everyone with a sweet tooth. It is a candy store that is famous for its chocolates, fudge and caramel and fudge apples. They claim to make over 27 varieties of caramel and fudge covered apples! I cannot verify that number 100% but on the picture below you can see at least 2 dozen. It is definitely a must stop on your Apple Hill itinerary.
Jack Russel Farm Brewery
Jack Russel Farm Brewery is a great place to stop by on a hot day and have a tasting of 4 or 6 (your choice) craft beers produced right here at the brewery. My favorites were Tangerine, All American and Pilsner from the selection of about a dozen. The price of tasting starts at $10.
Jack Russel Farm Brewery also makes hard cider which you can choose as part of your tasting flight. You don’t have to reserve tasting in advance, you can just drop by during regular business hours. They have plenty of socially distant seating outside.
Where to eat in Apple Hill
There are many places where to eat in Apple Hill. I already mentioned the wonderful lunch at Bodhain Ranch which you must not miss. Many of the farms will have lunch food for sale, most often various BBQ items. But the farms close around 5-6 pm so you will have to eat dinner elsewhere.
There are 2 places where we stopped by for dinner: The Forrester Pub and Grill in Camino and Shilla Teriyaki and Sushi Bar in Placerville. The Forrester has amazing German dishes. We ordered 4 different dished and they were all great. Shilla’s sushi are yummy and if you order a bento box you will have a ton of food for a very reasonable price.
Where to stay in Apple Hill
In this time of pandemic we decided to rent a house in Apple Hill to be on our own. There are lots of Airbnb options available in the area that are very affordable. Here is a link for $35 OFF your first Airbnb stay.
There is a small B&B in Camino called Camino Hotel and several lodging options in a nearby Placerville.
There is also camping available 25 minutes away at Sly Park Recreation Area, which I am going to describe in the next section.
Outdoor Fun near Apple Hill
If you are staying in Apple Hill area I strongly suggest visiting Sly Park Recreation Area which is located at Jenkinson Lake. This recreation area offers hiking, swimming, boating and kayaking opportunities. The water in the lake is very clean, it is used as drinking water for this part of El Dorado County. For this specific reason dogs are not allowed to swim in the lake. Please, bear that in mind when you visit with your pet.
Additional advice for visiting Apple Hill
The best time to visit Apple Hill is September – November when apples are in season. Otherwise, all the apple orchards will be closed. Usually Labor Day weekend is the opening weekend for most farms.
October is the busiest month in Apple Hill because in addition to apples, pumpkin galore begins on all farms. Pumpkin patches will open, bakeries will be full of pumpkin pies, pumpkin cookies and other pumpkin delights. But it is also the time when the crowds are the largest. When we visited at the beginning of September it was pretty chill. No traffic jams or crowds.
The weather at the beginning of the season may be very hot. We visited during the Labor Day weekend this year and the temperature was above 100 F every day, hence my strong advice to visit Sly Park Recreation Area 🙂
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