This relatives-owned orchard in Hendersonville, NC has u-select apples, plenty of enjoyment family actions on weekends, and fairly incredible cider and pumpkin donuts.
Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard is the pretty initially u-select apple orchard in Henderson County and has been in operation for much more than 50 several years. They know what they’re undertaking and we had to go test it out for ourselves. Honestly, I went for the pumpkin donuts. I adore apple cider donuts but pumpkin? Sure, be sure to!
A single factor that stood out to me immediately was just how tremendous pleasant and useful everybody at the orchard was. They have u-choose apples, pre-picked apples, a big retail store that sells home made cleaning soap, t-shirts, and honey, a bakery, corn maze, pumpkin patch, jumping pillow, apple canon, and wagon trip. Some of these pursuits are only readily available on weekends, which I’ll convey to you about in this critique.
About Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard
Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard is a fourth-technology family-owned apple orchard that is about 50 years old. They began out advertising wholesale apples and the choose-your-possess section of the procedure was just a side gig. But people loved coming to Stepp’s so considerably that the spouse and children resolved to transform the orchard in excess of to an entire u-decide on organization. It was Henderson County’s very 1st u-select apple orchard.
The farm grows 26 versions of apples and updates its web-site frequently to display which varieties are prepared for u-decide on and where to find them. Their shop has some wonderfully smooth t-shirts for sale, child bibs, local honey, domestically created cleaning soap, and of training course, tons of apples.
Apple Choosing at Stepp’s
There are 7 orchards in Stepp’s and are labeled on the maps all over the orchard. You can push to each and every 1 on weekdays but not on weekends due to crowds. Initial, you need to test the checklist of apples that are ready to be picked at the apple household in the vicinity of the major barn when you park. There is also a map with a QR code that can take you appropriate to the listing on the web page that has the distinct types that are completely ready to be picked.
Then you need to have to pick out no matter whether you want to select a 50 % peck, peck, or 50 % bushel of apples and shell out for your choice in the store. Following that, get a further glimpse at the map and if you have thoughts, the sort folks who do the job at Stepp’s will have no difficulties encouraging you out. They will issue you in the appropriate way. I took a image of the map just in circumstance.
So you have your map, instructions, and basket. Now go get your apple cart, which is to your appropriate after you walk out of the shop wherever you paid out for your basket. The apple cart is remarkably long lasting. Don’t inquire me how I know this. It proved to be very beneficial and entertaining for our vacation.
The apples we desired to choose were way back again in Orchard 4 so we started walking there with our apple cart. My youngest daughter resolved she required a experience so in she went and somehow my oldest daughter imagined it masses of enjoyable to pull her along. And hold pulling her alongside. And then pulled her together some a lot more. It was rather the hike out to Orchard 4. At the time we bought there, we experienced to find the apples we needed and make positive they experienced a “pick me” indication on them, indicating the row was all right for people to select from.
We could only locate a person row of the apples we preferred so we took the complete loop all-around Orchard 4 to seem for much more, which sales opportunities me to my professional suggestion for you: You can go either way on the loop and come to the row of apples you want as the row of the identical apples stretch from 1 conclusion of the loop to the other, which usually means you do not require to vacation the overall loop, component of which is uphill, to obtain the apples you want.
All in all, we finished up going for walks about 1.5 miles all-around the orchard exploring for apples to decide on. It’s a stunning orchard and the temperature was moderate when we went. My young ones really loved the apple cart so it was a great deal of pleasurable. Just have on sturdy shoes for going for walks, and deliver drinking water and maybe sunscreen. If you get misplaced, there are maps all over the place.
Things to do at Stepp’s
The farm is open day-to-day through apple year and if you can swing a weekday journey, it will be a lot a lot less crowded than on a active tumble weekend. But if you go on a weekend, you will have far more selections of items to do.
The apple orchard has a five-acre corn maze that is open up each working day so you can enjoy not having shed in there. There are also lots of picnic tables for lunch if you want to convey a person to maintain you energized for all the apple selecting. In addition to apple choosing, the farm gives grape finding as properly as u-decide flowers earlier in the tumble season.
On Saturdays and Sundays, you can shoot apples from a canon, children can jump on the jumping pillow, and any one can consider a wagon ride.
The orchard also has a pumpkin patch, which opens later in the fall. Check out the Stepp’s Orchard web page for the specific dates.
Area Visits
We stumbled on rows of benches and super intriguing graphics describing the lifecycles of worms that harm apples and the apple growing period in a person of the barns. It turns out that this setup is portion of the industry journeys that the orchard presents. We also saw a truly cute minor corn maze that was roped off for university use only as nicely as a faculty-only pumpkin patch. They are entirely all set for all those people school young ones to come for a working day of fun at the apple orchard.
College tours are for preschool through next quality but the farm also offers homeschool excursions. These excursions are 1.5 hours extended and contain a tractor journey, a bag of u-decide apples, corn maze, pumpkin patch, a cup of cider, and an interactive farm lesson. They are $7/person and take place 9:30 am and 11 am Monday-Thursday. College tours are the identical dates and several hours and contain comparable routines.
Bakery at Stepp’s
What is an apple orchard with no apple cider donuts? Stepp’s has a lot of cider donuts to go all-around as nicely as handmade fudge, ice cream, cold drinks, and apple slushies.
And, wait for it, they have pumpkin donuts. I could scarcely consist of my exhilaration. I really like all items pumpkin apart from PSL – do not choose me – and these pumpkin donuts ended up incredible. I asked a person of my daughters which donut she preferred greater, the pumpkin or the cider one, and she seemed at me like I experienced asked her to map a program to the moon. There was no way to reply that. I tried using the two as properly and the pumpkin donut scarcely edged out the cider donut. Barely.
Charges
A fifty percent peck basket is $13, a peck box is $15, and a half bushel box is $20. They have carts you can borrow though you make your way all-around the orchard to select apples.
For the other things to do on the farm, the corn maze is $6/human being (young ones 2 and below are cost-free), limitless time on the leaping pillow is $6/kid, $2/man or woman for a wagon experience around the orchard, and the apple canon knowledge is $5.
Checking out Stepp’s
After apple period kicks in mid-July, the farm is open each day by means of Oct Monday-Thursday from 9 am – 5:30 pm, Friday and Saturday from 9 am – 6 pm, and Sundays 10 am – 6 pm.
There is no admission demand. You just shell out for apples, things to do, and having said that a lot of donuts you can take in.
Have you been to Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard?
Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard
170 Stepp Orchard Dr, Hendersonville, NC
The Hendersonville region is one particular of our most favourite areas to go to so we have a large amount of other issues to do in the place for you to make it an full working day trip up there!