Our Favorite Apple Orchard

Around this time of year I often miss fall things that aren’t offered in Chicago. For example: apple orchards, pumpkin patches, large corn fields you drive past and see flanked by colorful trees. Luckily, a lot of this can be found by just making a short drive to suburbs or neighboring states. While it’s certainly an all-day activity to head out of the city for something like this, it’s really the perfect excuse for a day trip. Just one hour away fresh cider and apple donuts await – not to mention trees full of apples or fields of pumpkins waiting to be picked. Steve and I recently spent a Saturday at our favorite apple orchard in Waterman, Ill.

Honey Hill Orchard is the second Chicago apple orchard we’ve tried and we quickly dubbed it our favorite over the other, more commercial one. We went for the first time last year on a 90 degree day in September. Steve likes to remind me that we were sweating the entire time and couldn’t wait to be in air conditioning, but I had so much fun I’d completely forgotten that! Even when I said I couldn’t remember a ton of crowds there, Steve has to remind me that it’s because it wasn’t ideal to spend an entire day on a farm in the blazing heat. This year though, it was about 55 degrees and we still had an amazing time at the orchard without the crowds we’ve heard of at other orchards.

Honey Hill Orchard has it all – especially for me, a kid at heart! There is a bakery with all kinds of treats, apple fields, a pumpkin patch, tractor and horse-drawn rides, a petting zoo and a straw maze. Unfortunately we went so late in the year that there were only two kinds of apples left on the tree, but lucky for us one was a baking kind and a 1/2 peck bag held more than enough apples to make plenty of desserts at home.

By the way, Steve and I must have looked pretty dressed up for an apple orchard because one of the employees checking people in for the tractor rides complimented us on our outfits. Ha! I guess not everyone wears a sweater dress in anticipation of a blog photo shoot at the orchard. This wasn’t one of the most flattering Rent the Runway rentals with my Unlimited subscription, but it was the most comfortable. Even Steve liked cuddling up with me when I was wearing it. It certainly was an…interesting…sweater dress (I’ve never seen cutout sleeves like that before), but that made it all the more fun.