Alas, it appears summer is officially over. As the Fall heralds in colder weather it also brings with it a slew of fun and affordable activities. One of my favorite seasonal outings is apple picking! Growing up, my family made it a tradition to go apple picking together every year around the start of school so, with the weather promising sunny skies, I decided to make the trip to a family orchard outside of Chicago this past weekend.
In the BIG chair at Jonamac Orchard!
After doing some research, I settled on Jonamac Orchard, located in Malta, IL about an hour and a half from Chicago. While other apple picking options required an admission fee just to get into the orchard, Jonamac had free admission to the orchard and only charged for bags to pick apples. It was my first apple picking outing in the Chicago area, and the promise of apple cider donuts, apple wine samplings, and hot apple cider on their website were enough to tempt me to take the long drive out there. It turned out to be well worth it!
Galas Galore!
Since it is early in the apple picking season, the orchard had Gala, Cortland, and Early Fuji apples available to pick. Gala apples are one of my favorite, so I made sure to grab a bunch to take home in a half-peck bag (which held about 15-20 apples). I had a blast meandering around the orchard, enjoying the weather, and finding the reddest apples I could spot.
While the apples were the main attraction for me, there was much more than just apple picking going on. Jonamac Orchard makes their own apple cider and apple wine, which were both available to sample for free. And of course, nothing goes with hot apple cider like an apple cider donut, and these apple cider donuts were amazing – warm, soft, and covered in cinnamon sugar! For those with a younger crowd, the orchard also had a corn maze, pony rides, barnyard playground, and an apple launcher, where participants had the chance to hit a target (or a car!) with apples. Fun!
The Deal:
I Spent: $15
I Got: A full apple picking experience! Half peck bag (15-20 apples),
apple wine samples, apple cider donut, hot apple cider
