Apple Picking at Apple Holler

On Sunday, after Tilly's Birthday party on Saturday, we went on a road trip to Apple Holler in Wisconsin, Wisconsin is the next state up from us and only a 45 minute drive from us, and we'd heard Apple Holler was a great apple picking farm and there was lots to do for the kids, being Autumn here we thought it would be a great day out and it was.

After arriving at Apple Holler, the first thing we did was take a tractor ride to the apple picking sites, there were lots and lots of apples trees of all varieties, the tractor ride took us past the pumpkin picking patch and took us into an enchanted woodland, before dropping us at the apple picking orchard.

Unfortunately this year the apples suffered Spring freezes and a Summer drought, which meant the apple crop was limited so although we didn't actually get to pick the apples straight off the trees we did get to pick them out of apple bins. Still good fun.

Even though we couldn't pick the apples ourselves we did have a wonder down through the apple trees and Ruby pretended she'd just picked an apple.

A freshly picked apple!!!!

Meandering through the Orchard

Of course after all that apple picking we did have to taste the fruit of our labour and they were delicious.

Apple picking done, we took the tractor ride back to the farm and to where all the activities were, they don't take cash just tokens, so we bought 50 tokens and the kids went mad, we completed a corn maze, we did face painting, I mean a day out isn't a day out without face painting.

two beautiful butterflies

Then there was the kids corral, a farm style playground, full of hay stacks mazes, a moo maze, straw mountain to conquer, goats, rabbits and hens to look at, there was even a bouncy castle or bouncy farmhouse as Tilly called it.

Conquering Straw Mountain

And of course what is a day out at a farm without a pony ride, there was no way we could have sneaked past this bit, the girls favourite.

And there was more after the pony ride, we were about to get lunch, when they announced it was pig racing time, well we couldn't pass up on seeing the piggies race. So we watched Sausage McMuffin, Pork Chop, Bon Appetite and Ham & Eggs race around the track, it was great fun.

 

Finally it was time for lunch, pulled pork sandwiches, hot apple cider (non alcoholic) for us and hot dogs for the girls went down a treat.

Whilst we were watching the pigs, Tilly had spied a "castle slide" so after lunch we headed off to find it and the girls had a couple of turns on it each and that was the end of our tokens and the end of our time there. (after all I had spotted a factory outlet mall on our way up and it had a Le Crueset shop so needs must)

And on our way out we couldn't leave without buying some apple cider donuts (which were heavenly but gone before we thought to take a photo) or checking the weather.

We will be back as we'd all had a fab day out, great for the kids and great for adults too, I'm glad we didn't succumb to the giant apple pies on sale, but I did bring back 2 large bags of apples hmmmmm what to do with those.

And we did stop off at the Le Crueset outlet shop and I picked up a bargain - a dish I will use for my lasagne at the bargain price of $23 - it might not be red but at $23 it was a bargain.

My bargain Le Crueset dish

See my apples in the background, I can't wait to get baking & making with those, I'm thinking of making some apple crumbles, an apple cake, some apple & cinnamon muffins, some apple chutney, and an autumn chutney.

What do you like making with apples?