It's getting to be late October and I still hadn't bought my bag of Haralson Apples so in my quest…read moreto find some, I headed toward Northfield to the Fireside Orchard. On a weekday afternoon, it was mostly folks like me, out to buy a few fresh items. I could see the weekends being busier with families. The orchard has nice grounds to amble through, some tractors to climb and pose with, wagons to borrow, and a beautiful outdoor seating area. I found my apples and also picked up some honey. There were also jams, cheese, apple sauce, salsas, coffee, and wild rice options. Freshly baked goods and hot and cold apple cider were fall favorites as well. The orchard is only a short drive off the freeway so stop in and check it out.

Very charming area, staff in the store was amazing! We had a little accident with a jam jar falling…read morethrough a bag and they were so kind to promptly clean it up and replace the jam. Everything was really clean and orderly and the items we purchased tasted fantastic!

Why 2 stars? Our…read morefamily recently visited Lorence's Berry Farm for strawberry picking and had mixed feelings about the experience. On the positive side, the strawberries were abundant, vibrant, juicy, and very easy to pick. We had three generations together for a fun family outing, including my 4-month-old and 1-year-old granddaughters, and we were excited to spend time outdoors making memories. Unfortunately, the experience was overshadowed by an interaction with an older gentleman who appears to have worked there for quite some time. After a two-hour drive, I briefly pulled over to speak with my daughters and figure out where we should park before unloading the children and heading to the fields. We were apparently stopped in an area where parking was not allowed, although there was no sign indicating that. Rather than approaching us politely, he immediately began yelling. I explained that we were simply trying to get a game plan together and that a softer approach would have been appreciated. Instead of de-escalating the situation, he continued to yell as I drove away to find a proper parking spot. What was most disappointing was that he then directed his yelling toward my daughters while they were standing with my granddaughters. The commotion upset my 1-year-old granddaughter to the point that she started crying, while my infant granddaughter and daughter looked on. Later, I shared my experience with another employee, who apologized for the earlier behavior. However, while we were in line paying, we witnessed the same gentleman confront another visitor who had parked in the area because she could not find handicap-accessible parking. He berated her, refused to provide his name when asked, and the interaction became so uncomfortable that she began recording the encounter on her phone. Ironically, a short while later, the very same gentleman approached me and apologized for his actions earlier. While I appreciated the gesture, he immediately followed it by explaining that "it's a stressful thing," which felt more like a justification for his behavior than a sincere acknowledgment of how his actions affected visitors. The strawberries were wonderful, and the farm itself has the potential to be a great family destination. The fruit quality and ease of picking made for an enjoyable outing, but customer service and the way guests are treated matter just as much as the product. Unfortunately, one employee's repeated behavior toward multiple customers significantly detracted from what otherwise could have been a very positive family experience.

A strawberry farmer myself as child, we raised a thousand strawberry plants. They told me here in a…read morerecent visit raise 20,000 strawberry plants. Various crops or types come and go; just know it is all delicious, well worth drive. Now the asparagus is almost done. Come early as it sells out right away in the morning. Soon they told me the raspberry crop will be ready. End of July or so. Great Strawberry smell as soon as you drive in. Wonderful fresh strawberry smell in your car ride home. Easy drive out here. The staff are attentive and waiting for you. Enjoy!

Very well organized. Apples were amazing and the lady that charged us was really warm and helpful…read more Loved everything about it, including the slushies!!! Will be back.

Made my first trip to Sweetland Orchard with a few friends this past weekend and we had such a…read moregreat time! It was a very unique orchard experience. We had ordered a tasting kit which had a large variety of food and drinks to try! We had the Cider Tasting Kit with additional add ons, such as the, Apple Tasting Kit, Heirloom Apple Tasting Kit, Odenthal's Jalapeno and Cheddar Beef Sticks, Shepherd's Way Friesago Cheese, Sweetland Orchard Cider Donuts, Sweatband Orchard Farm Bread Picnic Loaf, and the Vikings and Goddesses Apple Carmel Hand Pie's. Kits are available if you place your order at lease 12 hours in advance. If you do not order a kit, there are items available for purchase as well. You are free to roam to roam the orchard and enjoy all there is to offer. The setting was just the perfect spot for fall, with colored trees around and rolling hills. We brought our kit our to the orchard and had a picnic. We brought a quilt to sit on (there are some picnic tables available, but it is probably wise to bring a quilt to lay down to sit on just in case there are no tables available). Everything was incredibly delicious and I am planning to get back there again soon! It is dog friendly! I love when places allow dogs, it is but probably best to bring your dog only if it will not disrupt other guests or the animals that are on site (chickens, pigs, etc.).

I went with my wife and toddler to see the tulips here in May. While the farm and flowers…read morethemselves were quite nice, there were several factors that made this a negative experience. The primary one, that I'll write about here, was very poor line management and a huge lack of clarity. They have "Tickets" and "Wristbands" buying a "ticket" makes you eligible for a "wristband, but they are not the same thing. They had a terrible solution. Where you wait in an insanely long line (literally an hour long) to get a "ticket" then you have to go all the way back to another insanely long line to get a "wristband" in order to get in the hayride that takes you to the flowers (they would not allow people to walk). There was not clear signage which lead to a lot of confusion that really slowed things down. What made things worse is that we were there right at opening time, so we completed the idiotic process properly. But about an hour in the staff realized how bad their idea was, and tried to combine the lines which led to a ton of people being able to budge us, which was really unfortunate and frustrating. I certainly would never visit this place again on a weekend. It was such a poor experience. Maybe going during the week when visitation is not at peak could be feasible.

Went back after a few years. It was a lot busier which is to be expected however they can not…read morehandle how many people are going. There are no signs telling you where to get what. We bought tickets online in advance, but there was no sign for online sales. Then once we finally found the right line there's only one iPad so the guy had to walk away to get it to scan our tickets. Once you get out of the main area (we ended up walking because only two trackers were going and the line was super long) it was good. We liked the lower area but the front was a total mess and took way more time than it needed to. Pretty disappointed. Hopefully they can fix the front area before next season. Also, there were SO many bees.

My first time strawberry picking and it was great! The staff were so friendly and welcoming. They…read moregave us simple instructions and were helpful with any questions we had. I arrived 5 min after opening and there were about 15-20 people already out picking! The sun was out and it was a beautiful morning to pick. I brought a garden knee pad to kneel on while picking, definitely glad I did. They provided boxes and a carrier for them so no need to bring your own container. Price was $3.90 a pound. Berries were abundant and delicious. Can't wait to make some syrup and jam!

Went strawberry picking here for the second year in a row. The berries were plentiful and ripe. It…read morewas a good alternative to Pine Tree Strawberry patch as they have not had PYO strawberries for 3 years now. It's a beautiful drive to get there and the parking is convenient to the strawberry patch. I may go back and try the raspberry patch they just opened as well! I will be back next year!

Love this place. Been going here since the early 2000's when it was much smaller. They've added on…read morean entire section and a bunch of decor since then. Would have given it 5 stars if it hadn't been for the owners grandkid who was literally allowed to run rampant. Everyone was staring as he smashed carts, slammed stuff into the ground, and ran around yelling. The teenage staff laughed and said there was nothing they could do but they agreed it was a problem. I finally asked to speak with the owner (grandma) who didn't seem to take it seriously at all. Customers were shocked and gossiping about it. I've never seen this happen before so I'll go back but if it happens again I won't return.

This is such a good and wonderful place. They have a wide selection of candy. I have Ben there 3…read moretimes and planing of going again soon. They not only have can't fur pies and an unforgettable experience that will last a loge time. The things that are there are also cool and worth going for that alone. There is also cool sodas there and a bottle opener wall out the door with and looking bottle openers! The line was also not long you got out quickly after you got your snacks.

I recently made my annual fall stop at Pepin Heights to get apples and more fall goodies! This is a…read moregreat stop for local fall goodies and decor. They offer everything fall- apples, carmel apples, pumpkins, pie, popcorn, and other fall food and decor. Parking is easy with a large gravel lot out front. The staff is always friendly and helpful. This place is worth the stop if you're in the area! They also offer online ordering and shipping.

I loved when we could find pepin Honeycrisp apples locally at lunds but don't see them anymore…read more Have tried other orchards and just prefer these guys so I'll make a trek from Minneapolis at least twice during apple season. I also really loved the new piñata variety. The Apple bread looked delicious but was kinda meh.

The Twin Cities is super lucky in that you can be in a concrete jungle one minute and out in…read morebeautiful Hastings picking your own apples the next. There are loads of orchards and pumpkin patches to choose from but you really have to made a pit stop at Fischer's Croix Farm and Orchard. They have a super cute hay bail for kids/adults to climb on but I'll warn you.. you have to be PRETTY agile to get to the top.. There's also some goats and chickens the kiddies can feed along with a tracker ride out to the corn maze! (You can go on the ride without actually going through the maze). There are loads of different apples/pumpkins to pick your own or buy the preselected bags inside the shop! They're all super friendly staff that'll share their love of apples and really help you select the right one :) oh and there's also a food truck in case you get hungry!!

I can't believe this place isn't more popular! This place exceeded my expectations in more ways…read morethan one. It was easy to find, since they have a lot of signs up which have arrows from the main road. The staff here are very friendly, approachable and kind. It seems to be run by an all women staff woo!! The parking is on the grass or dirt parking. Come as early as you can because it gets crowded pretty darn fast, and loud. The inside building has a lot of items you can purchase, like peanut butter, apple pies, caramel apples, and pre picked apples. They also have samples of each apple in their orchard. My personal favorite was their sweet sixteen apple. They have an outside area, with 1 goat for a petting zoo. They have hay bails for kids to climb, and some open area for them to roam around. They have apple trees spread out everywhere and it's labeled with what kind of apple each tree is. It's a perfect photo spot, they also thought ahead and have a huge family bench near the corn maze where you can take cute pics. The corn maze is challenging but doable for kids and adults. They have an APPLE cutout inside the maze so you can find it, something fun in addition to the maze. There's a wagon that takes you out to the maze or you can just walk there. They have wagon rides at 11 am sharp. The pumpkin patch was sort of a disappointment, because some of them were spoiled and others were fungated? The whole place is perfect for instagram pictures, and fall photo shoots. It's free admission, but the corn maze is $3 per person. The apples and pumpkins are charged based on how much they weigh. It was really affordable. They have new hours apparently so call ahead to confirm. Definitely a family oriented fun outing!

Mo's is the best. Lots of variety in the store, but the deli is some of the best pork belly I have…read moreever had anywhere. Great fried chicken too. If they don't have spring rolls or banh mi you can ask and if they have the stuff they'll make them fresh for you. Amazing staff, super friendly and helpful all the time! ​

The market has a fast side, a dry goods side, produce side, deli side. I just found the produce…read moreside today! People are always super nice, I love the deli food. Hmong sausage, purple rice, shrimp, thai iced coffee, mango smoothies all excellent!

My girlfriend and I love to cook and she heard about this place from a friend of hers so we thought…read morewe'd go down to Northfield and check it out. There is also a Redwing location as well that is owned and ran by the same gentleman and his wife. They have so many awesome and very good infused olive oil and vinegar laid throughout the entirety of the shop in fun decanters. I think they're called decanters. Haha if you'd like to cook and you know how to use your olive oil please go check this place out. The owner that helped us was actually very informative and the samples were perfect for helping us pick out which ones we wanted to take home and use.

Every time I come to Northfield I stop in to get a couple bottles of olive oil for home baking…read more I love the blood orange olive oil for my dark chocolate brownies and the herbs de Provence for focaccia bread, turkey, chicken, dipping breads. I use the vinegars with a light in flavored olive oil for beautiful salad dressings.. A must on my list of places to go in Northfield.