How About Them Apples?
When I was a kid, growing up in Louisville, KY, we made a yearly pilgrimage to Huber Orchard and Winery in Starlight, IN to pick apples and pumpkins, go on a hayride and sample some of that fine, fine Indiana wine.
Can anybody recommend any pick-em-yourself apple orchards and/or pumpkin patches within a reasonable drive from Chicago? Nothing says Fall like a bushel of freshly hand-picked apples, a jug of cider and some fat pumpkins.
I found this link, but not having been to any of these farms before I don
My family has always gone to Stover’s just over the MI border. They also make the trek down to the farmer’s market at both Federal and Daley plazas. Happy hunting!
Stover
Thanks Kristen!
curtis orchard in champaign is only a couple of hours away from chicago, and it’s great. they’ve got u-pick apples, a pumpkin patch, and a cute little shop with all kinds of other apple-related goodies (cider, apple donuts, etc.) and other countryfied kitsch.
there was another orchard in northwest indiana that i went to as a child…i think it’s anderson orchards, and that’s near valparaiso, indiana. i was in second grade the last time i went there, though, so i can’t tell you anything else about it.
I’ll second Curtis Orchard. The apple donuts at Curtis Orchard are to die for. It can get crowded at times though.
Mmmmmmm….apple donuts. Nanette and Roderick, thanks for the tip!
Nikkos, we are so on the same wavelength – check out my post from this post last year (almost exactly 1 yr ago to the day) – http://chicago.metblogs.com/archives/2004/09/be_a_pretend_fa.phtml
Wow, great minds think alike I suppose ;). Didya ever go apple picking? Any farms you can recommend?
We didn’t end up going, but we did go to Didier Farms for pumpkins (http://www.didierfarms.com/farmstand.shtml) They also carry lots of great produce, and have u-pick veggies during the week. Thei apple donuts and cider are fantastic. Big bonus – the farm is only about 40 mins out of the city.
Cool, thanks for the tip!
Hey, there used to be an apple orchard in the middle of a suburb (Glenview? Deerfield?) on the North Shore, run by an elderly couple who’d clearly owned it before urban sprawl. Anybody know where to find it? It’s not listed in any of the U-Pick lists.
There’s a place just down the road from my office in Glenview that has a big barn with cows and pumpkins and everything! Maybe that’s what you’re thinking of? It looks so neat and I’m always meaning to take Miss ‘Phia in there to check it out. I don’t know the name of the place, but if you take the Edens, just head east on East Lake Ave. and it’s maybe a mile and a half down on your right. You can’t miss it. It’s the one with the huge red barn.
Aside from that, I’ll pay more attention next time I drive by and figure out more of the scoop. Maybe at lunch.