Millstone Creek Orchards

What a neat little place. Their apple cider is phenomenal. I wish I could find it in a store closer to me. They have lots of various items in their store. The apples were gorgeous. The people were friendly. Seems to be a lost of things for kids to do. I’ll have to bring my niece and nephew here and pick up some more goodies!

This was my first time apple-​picking in North Carolina and I am hopeful to say it definitely won’t be my last. I just am not sure it will be to this particular orchard. I went during their appe festival with my in-​laws and we were in a group of at least 20+ people, with the youngest being 3 years old and the eldest in the late 50s. Everyone seemed to enjoy the experience but please be warned, there are quite a few rules that make no sense to me. First off, you cannot go into the orchard without riding the mandatory and pricey hayride to drop you off. Here’s the funny thing, ITS NOT EVEN A LONG RIDE. Also, the one basket limit per family (regardless of size) is kind of ridiculous.
If it wasn’t for the children’s play area and the apple cider slushies (literally waited half an hour on line for this) I would not return. The corn hole game is always a classic. Tether ball and climbing hay stacks entertains every age.

We went to the apple festival. For the most part, the staff was rude and the entire day was a disappointment. The mandatory hayride was backed up and we had to wait in the hot sun for about 20 minutes only to get yelled at by the driver because we were standing on the wrong side of the road. I also got into an argument with the girl when I was paying for the apples. It’s a shame because it’s a really neat place. My kids had fun swinging on the tire swings and playing in the kids area and we had a great time picking the apples. It could be a great place if the owners had their act together. I will not take my family back.

Some advice for visitors:
This is the nearest u-​pick orchard to the Triangle, which is my only explanation for why there were so many people at such a small venue, other than perhaps they get NC Zoo visitors too.
This isn’t a grocery store, and U-​Pick farms get unexpectedly ‘overpicked.’ You can plan a trip, but you must always check their web site and/​or call ahead — even when they’re advertising ‘AppleFest’ like it’s an event.
We arrived Sunday only to find that they’d cancelled the first two hours of picking times due to excessive crowds the day prior.
Instead of allowing you to do everything else, like play outside, shop in the store, and maybe wait until 1pm when they opened up again — THEY BARRED THE GATES. We had to drive to Asheboro and eat with the church crowds at Chili’s.
Dragged out our whole day, and we’d barely been able to get the grandparents from out of town to come with us to begin with.
And yes, the lines can be exceptionally long, so you might want to decide ahead of time what you’d like to have, and split up — letting one person watch the kids while another grabs what you want at the counter.
Some advice for the business:
a) Sell whole caramel apples, vs. slices — offer to slice up if someone wants that. There was a huge line inside, yet at this station not one person was interested, and that was another register that might have been working to reduce lines.
b) You have a great business here! Hope for and expect lots of guests and long lines, and plan your customer areas accordingly. We’re all in each other’s way. Take a look at Hill Ridge Farms and see if some of what they are doing could apply to your operation.
c) Be open when you say you’re going to be open. It’s a long drive for a lot of us.

The place is cute. It has a lot of activities for kids. It would be ideal for a family outing… Except that you are forced to wait in a staggeringly long line in order to ride a hayride that takes you to the orchard. No option to walk to the orchard. You are also limited to ONE peck per family, and charged a steep price per extra pound. We decided to just try and go into the store and purchase some apple products, but the lines for the store were just as crazy! We gave up.): I think the saddest part is that most of the people there are equally annoyed with it all, giving the overall atmosphere a tense feel. Not what we wanted at all.
We are trying to chalk it up to it being the Apple Festival… But we probably won’t try again.

I stopped by after my morning appointment to check this place out. I wanted to pick my own but it was about to storm. I picked out a peck of peaches and they smelled wonderful. They have hayrides available which would be a wonderful family outing. Everyone was very nice and helpful. Yes price was a little high but well worth it. They also have some baked items available too. Along with jams, jellies and lots od other stuff too. They have several different seasonal items available through the year. Including apples and several other things.
I selected a lemon blueberry loaf cake for my nephews which I know that they will enjoy. I can honestly say that I’m glad I stopped by and picked up a peck of peaches prepicked.
Hopefully next time I can pick my own peaches.

We were very excited to visit the orchard based on what we saw on the website. We attended the «Fruity Pickin Storytime» for honey bee day. Paid a whopping $ 8 after a one hour drive from Durham to get there.
The positives:
* The orchard is nice, clean and orderly.
* The staff is very friendly and kind.
* The apple slushy is delicious.
* They gave us 4 honey lollipops which looked very nice but my 3.5 year old was not impressed.
The negatives:
* They told a story about honey bees then let the children taste honey… from a jar. We walked over to see a «beehive» but it was empty and did not have honey it in and definitely no bees in sight. So not an authentic experience. I can understand maybe the concern with bees and children but if you advertise honey bees, the expectation is to see them in some form (maybe behind a glass, etc). All of the moms complained about not seeing any beehives.
* They took us on an uncovered hay ride in the middle of a hot day. We rode by the different fruit trees. No one announced what was what. Everyone just guessed what was what. The host was sitting at the front talking to someone the entire time.
* When we returned we received a very tiny cup of apple slushy (which I have to admit was very good) but after such a hot ride, would have been nice to get more.
* On the website it says it involves «hands on farm activity» but definitely didn’t do any of that.
And that was it. Literally. That was my $ 8.
Never again. Very disappointed as this location has a lot of potential.

Being one of the only orchards in the area we decided to give it a shot. We were glad we did, but they do nickel and dime you here. The only thing free is the parking.
Don’t expect a huge orchard, they have dozens of trees, but not huge so I can see them running out daily before noon (which they do).
$ 3 for the hayride is vicious as it is barely a hayride. Could do a much better job. You should be able to walk, but they require you to take the hayride, it’s maybe ¼ mile at most to the trees.
Prices for the apples aren’t terrible, but the prices inside the store are definitely high.
Nothing special, and most likely not coming back.

I don’t know what was worse: the rotten apples growing on the trees and covering the orchard grounds or the barren pumpkin patch with pumpkins that looked store bought that were strategically placed to make it look like a pumpkin patch. The long lines, the lack of quality apples to pick, and the fact that everything was extraordinarily over-​priced made me wish I went to the local farmers market instead of attending this «orchard.» I would not recommend this place for apple picking to anyone.

We went on a Sunday and were told that they were «picked out» the day before and that there wasn’t much left to pick. But if we still wanted to go check it out we could PAY $ 3.00 PER PERSON to take the hayride a quarter mile up to the orchard. Really??? The LEAST they could have done was offer the hayride at no-charge.or even just let us walk. I think it is ridiculous they make you pay for the hayride at any time. It was barely any distance at all.

We visited Millstone Creek Orchards on a Tuesday and although we were not able to do the u-​pick because the hay ride only runs on the weekends we greatly enjoyed our time picking out apples, bbq sauce, and sampling the great desserts.

Apples are such a part of my childhood and so definitely something I wanted to share with my son. The weather was beautiful and the trees were full of apples. This was the perfect first experience for my family. The staff were helpful and overall the cost was reasonable. We had four in our party and for the hayride and apples we spent the cost of dinner out minus the babysitting fee. We enjoyed the hayride and they came around about every 20 minutes and so by the time we finished there was a tractor waiting for us. Checkup was fast and my son played on the hay and swings for a while after. Try to go early because it was packed by noon.

Good:
We love pick your own fruit farms and Millstone is no exception! We came today to pick peaches (my first time) and also grabbed some delicious blueberries and blackberries. They have a short and fun hayride to take you to the orchard, but it’s an easy walk too!
The blackberries were so ripe they burst in your hand as you picked them! Sweet and warm and exploding with flavor! Even though it is early in the peach season, there were plenty to choose from. They had white and yellow flesh peaches, both ripe and ready to pluck and devour! The trees were good size but there was plenty within easy reach.
There’s a fairly large store for value added items like jams/​jellies, sauces, local honey, baked goods and ice cream. The employees are super friendly, but almost overwhelming. Enthusiasm is such a rare «problem» it’s definitely something I can overlook– Haha!
Not as good:
The farm is not organic so definitely be sure to wash your troves before you gorge. (Of course there’s more to the organic argument but I’ll save that for another time;)
It’s in Ramseur, so yeah. For peaches it may be worth it for those who live in the triangle, but the other fruits, there are definitely closer options.
Overall we had an excellent time! The orchard was well maintained, easy to navigate and maneuver around. Staff was plenty helpful and there were lots of fun things for kids– tire swings, hay bale mountain, place to hit pots/​pans, hopscotch and a sandbox with toys. The price to product value isn’t super persuasive (apart from the blackberries) but we’re going for the experience and to better appreciate where our food comes from. We’re always looking for ways to support local business.
Very solid four stars!

While my family had fun at the «It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown» night, we were disappointed that the owners would not allow a friend that has a child with SEVERE food allergies to bring in food for their child!

I love picking apples. I do it every fall. I’ve gone to various apple orchards to pick apples, but had never visited Millstone Creek Orchards until recently. I drove over an hour to Ramseur, NC because it’s the closest orchard to where I currently live.
When I got there, I talked to a few different staff people about which varieties were available, where I could find them and so on. The staff were not friendly. When I noticed that many of the rows of apple trees weren’t labeled, I asked a staffperson how one is supposed to know what kind of apple trees they were. He looked at me like I was crazy. Sorry, but I thought apple trees were supposed to be labeled for U-​PICK. At least give me a map or something.
I asked a different staffperson if the orchard advocated trying out the apples as you go. She said no, that you must purchase ALL apples you pick. I have never in my life been to an apple orchard that didn’t want you to try the apples as you go along. I don’t know how you’re supposed to know which apples you will like and will want to purchase.
Also, this place is fairly expensive. We paid $ 17 for ½ a peck of apples. That was 29 apples.
So, will I be going back to Millstone Creek Orchards? No. The staff weren’t nice. They don’t let you try any apples as you pick. I have been to MUCH better, much friendlier, and much more organized orchards. Millstone could learn from them. This place is NOT fun.

We had a great experience at Millstone Creek Orchards. The gift shop was clean and well-​stocked. We did not pick our own fruit, but purchased a bushel of winesap apples.