Tree-mendus Fruit Farm

This is a neat place for the whole family. Believe it or not we bring out the RV at apple-​picking time so we can travel with an extended-​family picking group of a dozen or so. We always call ahead to make sure the apples are plentiful and check on which are ready. Apple picking was early this year — we went the second week of September instead of the usual first week of October. Smaller crop because of the March 2012 freeze burning off the buds — and then the drought during the growing season; prices up a bit too — but we certainly don’t begrudge them the prices … they have to make money too. But we still had lots of apples to pick and had a great time.
Try the cherry waffle boat in the checkout area … also the apple cider — all this stuff is made with what they grow on the farm and is delicious. They have picking of various in-​season fruit just about 6 months of the year. We went a few years ago to pick sour cherries (pie cherries) and had a ball. They even have a cherry pitter where you can have your cherries run through to pit them all — what a time saver and only pennies to the pound. Looking for a weekend adventure for the whole family — this is it. They even have a few goats off on the side for the kids to feed. Also have picnic tables … a riding pony … swings … all sorts of stuff. When it is busy they also provide a small hay ride out to the orchards. From Chicago — it is exit 29 off I-​94 … but check out their website for all the facts and figures. Go apple picking.

This place is so much fun & laid back! We had a spectacular time!
First, check out their website before you go to see what is currently ripe for picking. Their website is incredibly helpful and I checked it often leading up to the visit.
We wanted to bring our dog on our daytrip, and they allow dogs on this fruit farm! (once again, check the website to make sure you can bring your pet too, they might have changed their policy) He wasn’t allowed in the store, but he was right there next to us during the picking.
We picked a large bucket full of peaches and a large bucket full of McIntosh and Jonathan apples. We were probably out in the fields for a good hour and a half. You drive out to the apple orchard and then they will tractor you over to the peaches and/​or nectarines (season permitting.) We came pretty close to closing time, so there weren’t many other people out there with us, it felt like we had the peach trees completely to ourselves!
Make sure you wear the proper shoes, there are lots of burs out there and they can snag on socks and hurt toes in open-​toe shoes. They also charge you for a box for the peaches, so it’s best if you bring your own. You can also bring your own bags for the apples if you want, but I don’t think they charge you for those.
The prices weren’t too steep. The gift shop had tons of goodies too. We didn’t have the opportunity to sample them though since we got there so late. It’s also not too hard to find, there are great signs leading the way once you’re getting close. I highly recommend this fruit farm, we sure had a great time!

We went during the week day when peaches, nectarines, a few apples, and blackberries were to be had. The staff were helpful. All the trees had fruit within easy reach. The blackberries brought back memories of picking with my mom and grandmother in northern Minnesota. Thankfully here all you might run into is a deer instead of black bear.
This was a great time spent outdoors with the family.

I don’t think that this year was a good one for the apples… or maybe we just came too late in the season. We went out in early October for some apple picking. There wasn’t that much selection of apples to be picked. Just Jonathan, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Fuji.
Granted, I’m a bit of an apple snob. I grew up in Washington State… the apple state, and I am very particular about the apples that I eat. I like variety and they didn’t really have that to offer here… at least in terms of what they had available for u-​pick. They had several other varieties available for sale, but that’s not as fun.
The jonathan trees were really picked over, which was unfortunate. The red and gold delicious were full of fruit, but I’m not the biggest fan of them. To me, fuji apples are just so-​so. The apples were pretty small, and most had weird spots on them. We did manage to find some other trees that had tasty fruit… these were younger trees and I’m not really sure what kind of apples they were, but they were firm and tart, just the way I like my apples.
No, all of what I’m saying would make you think that I’d only give this place 3 stars, but there is a very special reason for the bump. They have Pink Pearl apples. These are my absolute favorite apple. They are tart and firm and the flesh of the apple is bright pink. I really love them… and I was able to get them here. Horray!
Unfortunately, I didn’t try the waffle boat, but if I go back, I’ll give it a try.