Outdoors with Don Q: Taking a few bites out of Apple Hill

It’s that time of the year, once again, to visit a special place known as Apple Hill in the State of California.
If you are a newcomer to this area or if you have never been there, fall is a great time of the year to visit Apple Hill.
And, if you are a newcomer, about now you are probably wondering, “What and where in the heck is Apple Hill?”
Well, the correct answer is: “Apple Hill is not a specific hill or a specific location; on the contrary, it is a large geographic area.”
Apple Hill is a California Growers Association of some 50 farms, ranches, orchards, wineries and vineyards featuring all kinds of fruits, vegetables, bakery products, cider mills, arts and crafts shops, wines, picnic areas, pumpkin patches, Christmas tree farms, a micro-brewery and even a Rainbow Trout fishing pond.

How to get there
Apple Hill is about a two-hour drive west from Carson City, and it is located approximately 10-15 miles east of Placerville.
Just take U.S. 50 to South Lake Tahoe, go up and over Echo Summit and continue on U.S. 50 until you reach Carson Road just before Placerville.
If in doubt, just remember: “Carson to Carson.” It’s that easy.

A special tip
If you do make that trip to Apple Hill, why not do as we do:
Knowing that it takes about two hours to reach Apple Hill, we always leave early in the morning, eat breakfast somewhere on the road, take our time getting there and do all kinds of leisurely sightseeing and shopping.
Then, on our return trip home, we take U.S. 50 back to its intersection with California S.R. 89, just before reaching South Lake Tahoe.
From there, we take S.R. 89 over Luther Pass and down to its intersection with S.R. 88 at the north edge of Hope Valley.
Then we travel on S.R. 88 through Woodfords Canyon, Woodfords and Carson Valley to an intersection with U.S. 50, and return to Carson City.
That way we avoid all of that miserable, bumper-to-bumper traffic at South Lake Tahoe, and as a bonus if Mother Nature is cooperating, we can enjoy the stunning colors of the Quaking Aspen trees along S.R. 89 and S.R. 88.
It makes for a great way to end a fun-filled day in the fall.

How do you like them Apples?
As you have probably guessed by now, Apple Hill’s main attraction is apples, and boy oh boy, do they have apples, apples and more apples!
That area has a bewildering array of all kinds of apples, and I’d be willing to bet that there are some types that you have never heard of or seen.
You can buy individual apples, by the bag, by the box, or on some of the farms, you can even pick your own apples, right off the trees.
There are green, yellow, red and even black-colored apples, and you can pick and choose from a wide variety including Arkansas Black, Empire, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Jonathan, McIntosh, Mutsu, Pippen, Pink Lady, Paula Red, Red Delicious, Red Gold, Rome Beauty and Winesap. How’s that for choices!

Apple Products
If you have a sweet tooth (like me!), you can also select from all kinds of apple “goodies” such as doughnuts, cakes, pies (baked and unbaked), fritters, crisps, muffins, strudels, turnovers, juice, cider, etc.

Other Fall Products
If you are interested in buying other fall fruits and vegetables, you can choose from Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Corn, Grapes, Nuts, Peaches, Pears (Asian, Bartlett, Bosc and El Dorado), Plums, Persimmons, Pumpkins, Squash, plus honey, jams, jellies, dried fruits, etc.

Wines and Beer
The area also has a number of wineries and vineyards where you can purchase different kinds of wines and beers.
They include: Apple Beer, Apple Wine, Blackberry Beer, Chardonnay, Dessert Wines, Grenache, Hard Cider, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Syrah, White Blends and Zinfandel, just to name a few.
Those wineries and vineyards are Boeger Winery, Fenton Herriott Vineyards, Lava Cap Winery, Madrona Vineyards, Paravi Vineyards, Wofford Acres Vineyards and Jack Russell Farm Brewery.

A Word to the Wise
Apple Hill is a great place to spend an entire day outdoors with the family. However, here is a word to the wise based on our personal experiences:
Be aware that Apple Hill is a very popular destination for thousands of visitors at this time of the year, especially on weekends.
They come in mind-boggling numbers by way of bikes, motorcycles, cars, pickup trucks, trucks, vans, SUV’s, motorhomes and even in tour buses.
So, go prepared for huge crowds, especially on Saturdays and Sundays.
In addition, if you do go on a Saturday or Sunday, you could have a problem (as we have had in the past) in finding a place to park your vehicle at some of the more popular farms.
You might want to arrive early in the morning or you might have to walk a fairly long distance to the specific farm you want to visit.
More importantly, remember that while driving around in the Apple Hill area on a weekend, you can expect to encounter momentary grid lock in the early afternoons at some of the major intersections and major back roads.
Don’t be in a rush: Relax, take it easy and enjoy the experience.

Finally
Once you are at Apple Hill, take the time to enjoy all that it has to offer. Why not plan to go there in the near future and have a fun-filled day. Apple Hill in the fall is “Where it’s Happening!”

For Information:
Call the Apple Hill Office at (530) 644-7692 or go to the Apple Hill internet website at www.applehill.com.

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can’t tell you which are our all-time, top-two, favorite farms at Apple Hill.
If he grins and says, “That’s easy, on the Apple Hill map, they are Farm No. 1 (High Hill Ranch at 530-644-1973) and Farm No. 3 (Boa Vista Orchards at 530-622-5622), both located on Carson Road,” he could have been with us on one of our previous visits to Apple Hill.

— Writer Don Quilici is the Outdoors editor for Carson Now. He can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com.