Hi Ladies,
I tried surfing the web for orchards worth visiting. I read a lot of reviews on Yelp, but I'm still not sure which orchard to visit with my 9 yr. old twins and maybe my mom. I would like to keep the drive under an hour and a half. (I live about 20 minutes from Chicago) I know my kids like traveling to WI because going to another state makes them think it's a mini-vacation!
Which apple orchards are worth the trip? Any incentives such as a petting zoo that had more than a few goats? Were the apples tasty and were their prices fair?
Thanks in advance for any help regarding my questions. It will be my kids first apple picking experience.
My son was at All Seasons in Woodstock yesterday with a youth group. I've never been, but it sounds like he had fun.
http://www.allseasonsorchard.com/new/orchard.php
Edwards apple orchard is great. Its east of Rockford, about an hour from Arlington Heights where I live. They have apple, raspberry and pumpkin picking, hay rides, petting zoo, playground, general store, lots of great food. We go every year and we all love it.
I like Jonamac Apple Orchard in Malta, Illinois. It is close to NIU and is in the cornfields. They have great apple trees for the kids to pick from as well as a big play area that includes a petting zoo with goats, sheep, a llama, cow, ducks, donkey, and a few other small farm animals. Jonamac has a general store with lots of fresh goodies as well as craft type items and most importantly, indoor plumbing, which means not having to use the porta potty with small children. Jonamac also has a large corn maze, apple train, apple launcher and a "hay ride" that will take you to the pick your own pumpkin patch when the pumpkins are ready. The prices were about $15.00 (can't remember exactly, but close to that) for a 10lb bag of apples as well as admission to the barn yard area for kids being $6.00 per child. Good luck and happy apple picking!
We went to http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.com/ last year for the first time after visiting several different places around the area in the past. I plan on going again this year. (They had really good apple donuts) It's almost at the WI-IL border. I guess it depends on what kind of apples you want. I recommend checking the orchard's websites or calling if they don't have one because I was just talking to my sister, and she said her normal go-to apple orchard hasn't had apples available for picking because of weather damage.
We went to Royal Oak in Harvard, IL and it was great for my three year old, but would definitely be too young for your 9 year olds. Just wanted to let you know in case you come across that one!
There is a great one in Northern Indiana (Hobart) called County Line Orchard (http://countylineorchard.com/). It takes us about 1 hour to get there from the city (we live on the north side of the city). They have pretty inexpensive apples for picking - although we went a couple of weeks ago and it was a bit early in the season so only 2 types of apples were ready (but they were very good apples). You can check out the prices on their website because they have all sorts of package options for the various activities. Note that you still pay for the apples that you pick above the price of the admission to the orchard and I can't recall the price but it wasn't much. They also have a corn maze, a little mini-zoo with farm animals, a stage where they have some live music, and then a train that might be geared toward kids younger than yours. Check it out - we really liked it:)
Kuipers in maple park, il. Near elburn. We absolutely love it there. My in laws like apple holler just over the border in WI. Check out both websites. Good luck!!!
not sure where you live, but one of the best places in the entire state is Tanners Orchard near Sparland, IL. so affordable and tons of room for the kids to run around and play
