We visited the Julian farm and orchard for the first time in November and we had a great time! We…read morearrived at around 10:30 am , we had heard that it gets pretty crazy with parking but the staff was very organized and guided us to our parking . Pricing is great and affordable we did the Barnyard experience ! I didn't know they did online reservations which is something we will do in the future as the line to purchase tickets was a little long . The animals are very cute , but some of them are a little more aggressive for food so watch out ! Overall we loved the experience we had! So many places to walk and take pictures! I knew it was busy due to the parking but it didn't feel as overcrowded since the space is so large ! Highly recommend everyone to bring their families !

Apple picking tours sold out in 20min once they released openings!! Sooo that was a bummer…read more However, there's a lot of activities to do at the farm (berry picking, flower & pumpkin fields, apple cannon, hay rides, petting zoo). We really enjoyed the apple press demonstration! Everyone working here is always smiling and look like they enjoy being there. The parking situation is also stress free and organized. There's plenty of overflow parking and staff is directing traffic. We wanted to buy apples in the shop to take home, but nothing there! You'll only get apples on the farm if you were lucky to get a tour. Maybe we'll try to snatch apple tours again next year but this place is great to take family, friends & little ones. They even allowed dogs so many furry friends were wandering around.

The bartenders are very friendly and the drinks are delicious. They have tables out in the orchards…read moreand the ambience is perfect. Lovely day. Also we enjoyed some tacos from a vendor that was set up in the orchard 10 out of 10 recommend.

Nice, dog-friendly environment... Great service and recommendations. Try the flight to capture the…read morevarying flavor notes.

My resourceful sister found this place for both our families to gather and pick apples in Julian…read more It's a cute family owned/operated orchard that's not as big or as commercialized as others you'll find out here--perfect for an intimate family outing of apple picking! Because it's a smaller orchard, parking is limited to perhaps a dozen cars on the property. During our visit on a drizzly late Saturday morning, they had a guy helping cars onto the property. He was friendly and asked if there were others in my party and I replied we had 1 more car coming. He conveniently had us park together in a dirt path clearly intended for vehicles so we could easily leave together. There is no charge for parking. Before you start, the owner gives a quick orientation of the orchard, telling you what types of fruits are available and how to pick them. Then you sign a waiver and pay for bags to fill. Brown bags are for picking newly dropped fruit. White bags are for fruit picked right off the trees. The only available restroom is inside the farmhouse. They have several types of apples available here, in addition to a few pears and a huge plum tree tucked away in the back. Visitors are encouraged to use the bucket of feed to the delight of the chickens in their coop. The kids enjoyed roaming the orchard with Lola (grandma) and it felt like we were visiting an uncle's farm. It was a fun experience even with some rain falling. Again, please keep in mind this is a small family orchard so the trees will get picked clean early in the season so you need visit early. There wasn't much left by the time we visited, but we were here for the experience more than the volume of apples. With little effort, we filled 6 bags! I definitely want to visit again next season with my family and I greatly appreciate the owners literally sharing the fruits of their labor.

My family and I went apple picking over the weekend at Ken's apple orchard. He had several…read morevarieties of apples still available and a couple of pear. I went back and forth between whether it as 3 or 4 stars. Because of the price and what we got I gave it for but for some this would have been 2 or 3 stars. Pros: -$20 price for the bag was enough for my kids to pick several varieties, run around the orchard and take family pictures. Plenty of apples to pick from. Optional $10 bag if you want to grab apples of the ground for baking. We were offer a chance to feed the chickens but had to move on to our next so we couldn't take advantage. Cons: -a little disorganized, we didn't clearly understand where each apple variety was. Be prepared for 10-15 mins of chatting before you get started and when you finish which I found comical but my wife was not as entertained. Four families show up at the same time but each had to sign a waiver for their kids, pay etc so know you'll need to be patient to get started. For us, we got all we wanted for $20 so the cons didn't really get in way of our experience. Think of this as going to the neighbor's house or a friend's property without all the frills, just a mom and pop kind of place which for us was fine but not be what everyone is looking for.

Our meetup group-The San Diego Ladies Hike, Walking and More group- went to see Arlene and Farmer…read moreJohn this weekend and had a wonderful time at their orchard. After a short education on apples, we hiked their beautiful property with pickers as we gathered our apples for our future fall pies. We were able to see their chickens (my personal favorite) and even press and taste cider. It was a fantastic fall afternoon in Julian. Thanks Arlene and Farmer John!

I was part of a private tour for a homeschool co-op. This included 40+ parents and children ranging…read morefrom 18months- teenagers. Upon arrival the location from the front the street was quaint and idyllic with street parking. Allow me to state the good aspects: 1. The apples and pears were delicious. 2. The helper (don't know her name) was kind and approachable. 3. The views from the top of the hill are beautiful. 4. The cider was tasty! 5. Arleen's apple facts were interesting and one child attendee guessed the answers with shocking accuracy. Now the not-so great: 1. The wi-fi signal is very weak which makes paying via Venmo a problem. 2. THE FLIES!!!!! THE FLIES!!! THE FLIES!!!! The flies were something biblical. They were quite insufferable... Everyone was swatting the air around them or some part of their body, or trying to shoo flies away from their children's faces, arms, and legs. Which you can imagine caused quite a constant murmur of chatting among parents helping kiddos. At this point, Arleen decided to share some apple facts before apple picking commenced. She did not have a mic- so a group of this size, that's spread out could hear. Some of the older children (8-13) that weren't currently swatting flies tried their best to answer questions. This went on for about 5-7ish minutes before, "Farmer John," (Arleen's husband) yelled out how he wanted everyone's attention, and expressed how rude we were all acting (yes, those were his words) because some people were talking and not standing still quietly to listen to Arleen's presentation. This instantly put a sour taste over the whole experience. Parents were doing their best to make the best of a not-so great fly situation. Also, there was a certain level of excitement from the kids being around their friends and the anticipation of picking apples that deflated. There could have been a more tactful way to address this, as well as a realistic expectation of how little children (and adults) that are being swarmed by flies behave. Making a blanket accusatory statement to adults and children on what's supposed to be a fun family memory-making occasion was unacceptable. I'm glad to report "Farmer John" did not make further comments to parents or children, and the tour ended without further incident. I think tours would be good for a single family, people without children, or singles looking to learn more about apples. I also think anyone considering a private tour to inquire about the flies and expectations of children before visiting. This could potentially help you avoid a situation like the one shared above.

The two ladies running the place are super friendly and the Apple samples tasted great…read more Unfortunately, we had a hard time finding any decent sized apples that didn't have insect holes in them. Maybe all the good ones were taken the day before (opening day)? but then don't sell full price bags if that's the case. The apple picking experience was a cool and fun thing to do with my daughter but I would have appreciated better apples. The owners claim that all orchards that don't use pesticides will have apples with bug holes. Not sure I believe it but I'll try another place and compare. $10/bag

$7 for a 2lb bag to pick your own fresh apples is a great deal. Best time to go is early October…read more It's also located right by downtown Julian making it convenient to visit local shops and eat at nearby pie shops!

I was pretty full but I wanted to sample this Julian Cider. I didn't want to commit to anything but…read morethe good people at the cafe recommended to check out this place. I'm glad I did. AMBIANCE Parking: Street parking in downtown Julian. It can get pretty busy based on the time and season. Vibes: Welcome to Julian! A small town feel as you can experience almost everything within a block. However there are also some cool bars/farms to explore around to. The Cider Mill itself is in the heart of downtown Julian. Shelves filled with jams, preserves, candies, local honey, nuts, dried fruits, and all kinds of nostalgic treats. FOOD / DRINKS Apple Boysenberry Cider (Recommend) I'm a fan of apple but a fan of all seasonal flavors. I enjoyed the sweetness and light tart of the berry flavor - a nice depth of tanginess that just felt lively. CUSTOMER SERVICE Friendly and welcoming. Ondean served me a sample of the drinks and they were great! TL;DR OVERALL 4.5 Stars. Good selections, good products, and a pleasant experience. I love the small town feel as they're attentive with the details and interaction. Julian Cider Mill isn't anything flashy just your good old reliable snack shop when you need it. TIPS * Great place to stop and go for snacks, cooking flavors, or samples like their ciders!

I read some good reviews on this small business spot. I even checked out videos on YouTube to get…read morean idea what this store is all about. As we walked in, I was so impressed with how many products they were offering. Lots of different honeys, candies, ciders, sauces, pickled vegetables, toys, beef jerky, snacks, and so much more. Absolutely, loved the samples of apple ciders. They were offering cherry and boysenberry flavors. We enjoyed the boysenberry cider so we had to get a cup of it. Although, I felt it was pricey for a small cup of cider where I gulp it in a minute. Really refreshing since it was a nice day out in Julian. The staff were very inviting and nice. Store is small, so when it got busy we had to leave. Worth checking out when you are looking for something to do in Julian.

We decided to do some hard cider tasting and stopped by here. We ordered a flight each. Each flight…read morecame with 3 hard ciders. They have an apple orchard in the back with picnic tables. The ciders were cold and refreshing. Sitting out back ... we enjoyed the scenery and we definitely felt like we were in the countryside. It was beautiful. Will definitely be back!

We ordered a flight of ciders and I gotta say, the flavors were pretty okay. Normally, I'm pretty…read moredrawn towards any kind yet these tasted a bit like sour water. Not an issue for me though as they were cheap and satisfactory. The area itself was clean and constantly maintained, both inside and outside. The service however was interesting to say the least. I walked up to the counter and the bartender that looked like Jerry Cantrell appeared to have a heart to heart with another customer about the drinks. No issue taken as I love seeing people passionate about what they do. Clearly a lot of love goes into this. The other worker helped us out and got our drinks out in a timely fashion. Overall, good experience if you just want something to drink.

We did a mystery picnic and one of our stops was the Julian Candy Basket. It is cute little candy…read moreshop at the edge of the Main Street. We informed the staff that we were there for a picnic pickup and he let us know we could choose two packages of fudge and four truffles! He took the time to explain all of the truffle flavors and fudge, gave recommendations, and informed us that his mother in law makes all the fudge. We let him know it was our first time in town and he also gave us directions to a Vista point he recommended. His customer service was excellent! I did a lap around the shop itself, but didn't check out everything in detail. It looked like they had a large variety of different candies, either packaged or sold by the pound. Definitely a solace to check out if you're exploring Julian!

What a superb experience. Greeted by Dustin and he was pleasant to chat with. This store has a lot…read moreof yummy goodies and the best part is that it coast $2.50 to $2.60 per quarter pound of loose candy. We grabbed a whole bunch of ginger chews and salt water taffy to much on the drive home. They also have freshly made fudge and sugar free candies. Dustin was great and super polite and friendly.