Apple Hill, California: It's Not Just for Kids!

Apple Hill is an area just east of Placerville, California, about an hour from Sacramento. Take Highway 50 toward Lake Tahoe and look for the signs right after you pass Placerville. Once there, you can get a map from any Apple Hill member ranch, or you can print one out ahead of time on www.applehill.com.

Apple Hill is comprised of a large number of farms and wineries, and most are only open from Labor Day until Christmas Eve. It's a family tradition for many families to head up there for some great family fun in the fall! You can gather pumpkins for Halloween, buy apple pies for Thanksgiving, and cut down fresh Christmas trees. You can buy fresh produce and a large variety of apples for your home canning or baking. Even if you buy nothing, it's wonderful to spend some time out in the country, smelling the country smells!

While many of the activities at Apple Hill are geared toward kids, adults can have a great time there as well. My husband and I like to go at least twice each year, usually some time before Halloween and again to cut down our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. Our teenage daughter is at the age where she thinks most of the fun is for little kids and isn't quite mature enough to appreciate the other fun aspects of Apple Hill, so she generally stays home now.

When Greg and I make our day trips to Apple Hill, we make sure to eat a hearty breakfast at home. There is food available once you get on the hill, but for the most part it's expensive for what you get. Mostly what we want to eat there are apple donuts and apple pie and apple turnovers and apple dumplings...well, you get the idea! There are so many delicious baked goods that you can either eat there or take home, that it's hard to choose. We generally share two or three treats, then bring some home to enjoy. We like to buy frozen whole pies that we can cook ourselves.