Jollay Orchards

We had a great time at Jollay Orchard. Went on a Monday afternoon in mid-​September and had the place to ourselves. The staff said that the weekend before, there were over 1000 visitors. There was no entertainment or rides on a weekday, but my young kids couldn’t have been happier with the experience. The grounds were extremely well taken care of, including the animals in the Midway area (I’m always sensitive to condition of captive animals.) The staff was very friendly and helpful. At $.99/​pound, the produce seemed well-​priced. The preserves and salsas were $$$ though (nearly $ 8/​jar.)

Went this weekend on what seemed like the hottest day yet this year. We paid 5 dollars per person to:
1.) pick cherries and raspberries (it’s free admission if you just pick)
2.) petting zoo (goats, pigs, goose, etc…)
3.) Ferris wheel from the 1940s (very fun and very fast!
4.) Fishing at the little pond
5.) Play area, air filled mazes and climbing things for kids
They didn’t have any food other than the canned butters and preserves, and ice cream but there were some nice picnic areas that are covered. A lot of people brought grills and set them up. We had so much fun we left after 3 hours, youngest went and took a nap and then we went back until they closed at 5:30. They have a tractor that will pull the hay wagon around to get you to a lot of different fruit sections.
I’m still enjoying the cherries. Family owned and operated and really nice hosts.

Had a gallon of their apple juice explode in my fridge after 2 two days. Called to complain, nobody seemed to care. Never spending another dollar on their over priced cider again.

Although I’m now an adult, I had tons of fun!!! I’ve never been pumpkin picking, being from the city I’ve always relied on getting them from the super market. Picking pumpkins was a great experience, down to the hay ride you take to get to the pumpkins. You’re also able to walk into a barn & inside they sell GREAT apple pie, caramel apple sundae’s (which YOU get to make yourself), apple cider, doughnuts, jam etc… Everything is made fresh. Apple picking was also offered & a haunted house, I was unable to do either that day. I believe it was $ 15 for a total of 4 basketball sized and one small pumpkin, which is Fantastic!!! I’m glad I had the opportunity to experience it!

Ok, I’ll be honest, I’ve never been apple picking before. Ever. But this was definitely one of the best places I’ve been in a long time! It’s definitely one of the best orchards in southwest Michigan.
I am a big lover of autumn and all that she has to offer. However, I have never actually done anything «fall-​related» like going to a pumpkin patch, apple orchard or going on a hayride. Does that make me a loser? Kind of. My boyfriend and I did some research before we found Jollay — and I’m totally glad we did. Jollay has a pretty nice website to let you know all of their happenings and they have a ton of stuff going on for low prices, which is awesome.
What can you do at Jollay? Let’s take a look!
— Take a lot of cute pictures with Halloween-​related decorations
— Go through a corn maze
— Take your kids to a petting zoo
— Watch your kids play on some awesome interactive stuff
— Play games
— Pick apples
— Make your own caramel apple
— Browse the general store
— Take a hay ride
— Pick pumpkins
— Pet a kitty
We had such a good time! $ 6 gets you admission to all of the family-​friendly activities, including a hayride to Grandpa’s Cider Mill just up the road. If you’re just in the mood to pick apples, your admission to the orchard is FREE! We decided we just wanted to pick apples, so we hitched a ride on the hay wagon and made our way to the apple orchard. TONS of apples to choose from — lots of Golden Delicious, Jonathan and Red Delicious. Yummmmmy! We had a great time just going around and finding the trees with the best apples. They give you a small barrel so that you can collect your apples — take as many as you need. We paid about $ 10 for a bushel of apples that will last us at least a month and a half. Yum.
We opted out of this, but you can jump back on the hay wagon and go further down the road to the pumpkin patch, but we decided we were too lazy to carry our apples all that way. But don’t forget that you can pick your own pumpkin if you’re so inclined.
However, if you’re just too lazy to do your own pickin, you can buy tons of apples and pumpkins from the General Store. Maybe you did too much with your family and you’re too tired to go out into the patch — no problem! Maybe you just stopped in to buy some fruit and go on your way — great! You can also buy tons of spreads, jams, preserves and butters inside the store. The apple-​cherry spread is delicious and the pumpkin butter is to die for — literally! All reasonably priced at $ 6/​jar.
But the best part of Jollay Orchards… it’s only about 1.5 hours from Chicago by car!!! You can make this a really great day or weekend trip right from your comfy, cozy home here in Chicago. Just get on 94 and drive to exit 39 in Michigan… drive one mile north and you’ve arrived! It is really a great experience for those who have never been — you don’t have to drive far to have a really great time. In the summer months, there are cherry trees for the picking, too! I will absolutely be back here next July to get my hands on tons and tons of sweet cherries.

I visited this orchard this time last year and LOVED it. The apples were huge and gorgeous and the stems were easily plucked from the branch and lasted in my fridge for ages. The raspberry patch was still full of juicy, sunshiny berries. The corn maze, hay ride and haunted house were really fun, even for our group all aged in our mid-​twenties. The staff were friendly and the animals at the petting zoo looked well-​kept. We caught a slightly eccentric puppet show and loved the store full of preserves and delicious snacks… the pumpkin butter was amazing. All in all it was one of the best days ever. I love this place. I can’t wait to go back.

SO THAT’S WHY PEOPLE LIKE FALL…
Jollay Orchards has been offering family friendly Fall fun for (isn’t alliteration cool?) all ages since 1857. Where I grew up we really only had one season the entire year so this Fall concept is rather new to me. That said, places like Jollay Orchards are quickly making it one of my favorite seasons.
Things to Love:
–Delicious, wonderfully crisp apples (I loved them and I’m not really an apple person)
–The cider — Simply perfect. I’d happily get an IV of the stuff.
–The cider press — Very cool Krispy Kreme-​esque setup where you can watch the apples being made into cider (at Grandpa’s Cider Mill up the road)
–The DONUTS!; Apple cinnamon donuts… where have you been all my life?
–Apple picking, a corn maze, and a fishing pond for the kids.
–Just of I-​94 and a reasonably quick drive from Chicago.