We had an adventure day searching out You Pick Farms. Since…read morethis was the furthest farm, we started here then worked our way back towards the 828. What a beautiful drive up winding mountain roads. We got to see a deer jump away from the van as we rounded a corner and saved a little box turtle from the road. The Berry Farm is so lovely - the owners house sits atop the hill with a small shack greeting you right next to the berry field. There is a port-o-potty that wasn't totally disgusting along with a picnic table and a few chairs under a large shade tree. A sweet little creek ran between the home and field and would be a perfect spot to let the boys play. I knew the field would be closed (check their Facebook for updates on when the berries are ripe enough to pick) so this was mainly a trip to see the field and have a day out. They grow blackberries AND black raspberries (which were all picked clean). Hopefully next year I can get there early enough to try a black raspberry - blackberries are a bit too tart for me. If you love blackberries and raspberries, bring a sunhat, picnic and towel. Playing in the creek, having a nice lunch and picking the ripest berries sounds like a perfect summer day.

Absolute five-star experience. Definitely a little bit out there but we went on a Saturday early…read moreSeptember and it wasn't too bad. They do apple picking on the hour most days. It's all listed online and very user-friendly. We showed up around 1130 and wandered around. Picked apples at noon. Then had some live music at one. Very well planned and I'm proud of the way we did it. If you're driving from Asheville, old fort is a great stopping point. We got cinnamon rolls on the way there and Hillman on the way back. It did look like this Orchard had some very affordable barbecue on site. Tons of snacks in the gift shop too. The parking lot was pretty big and they have extra parking. The staff was super kind. I love that it's a nonprofit and there's tons of educational pieces. You will find a bunch of maps and other displays. They have a bee and caterpillar to stay for kids and adults alike. The gift shop. Also both a lot of local crafts like candles, ciders, and honey. No drinking on site. The apple picking is around back. You can get a little bag or two sizes of a basket. We opted for the bag because there is no reason for us to keep a basket around. For eight dollars it's all very affordable. It got us about 12 big apples. The trees are well marked. For picking. It is lots of space for wandering. Definitely not in the shade so it's pretty hot. For me, I really like the extra things that this place had. Cornhole, checkers, Jenga... They usually have bands on the weekend too.

My husband, our 8 year old daughter and I were excited to head up to the orchard at Alta pass…read moreyesterday! We've been apple picking at a couple of the orchards to the south of Asheville, and wanted to check out this nonprofit orchard near Spruce Pine. When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised to see that the crowd was reasonably sized, and we could walk around without feeling pushed and prodded. But the pleasant surprise ended there. We headed around back where we purchased two buckets for apple picking at $15/each. They were small buckets that could fit, we were told, 4-5 lbs of apples each. Okay, fine. But it was not until after purchasing the buckets that we were placed into a very touristy feeling group, and told that we'd be picking "these small and ugly (..."but delicious!") green apples. Huh? No one is going apple picking for just green apples. Are you kidding? The guide proceeded to inform us that as we walk through the orchard we absolutely, positively, should not pick the red apples because they "aren't ready and will most certainly give you a tummy ache". What?!?! Okay....still on board but feeling a little less excited. Then we start to walk toward the orchard. With a giant group of people. At a veeeerrrryyyy slow pace. And then we have to wait on a few stragglers. Seriously excruciating by this point. Finally, as we get to the orchard, the guide tells us to look for the trees with pink ties on them, an ONLY those trees. In fact, pay no mind to the beautiful red apples surrounding you on all other sides - they are not ready! No matter how they look, do NOT eat those apples! But then we are off and looking for the promised green apples....which I kid you not are almost completely picked over! My 6'5 husband could barely reach the apples, and definitely not me or my eight year old - we can only watch in horror as our husband/father scavenges the tops of the trees for "ugly but delicious green apples" on the trees to our right, while simultaneously trying to ignore the beautiful red apples on the trees to our left. I seriously felt like Eve in the garden of Eden..... And then, we noticed that everyone else in our group was feeling the same way. Then one daring person took a red apple off a tree and took a big, juicy bite from it. Gasp! I thought we'd all be wearing fig leaves and trying to hide from one another in the next instant. But lo and behold....no tummy ache. Just confirmation that the red apples were, in fact, ready to be picked (and further confirmed by the mounds of ripe, red apples also falling from those trees). The whole thing was ridiculous, and by the time we headed out of the orchard it was a big joke. Everyone was picking the red apples and putting them on the bottom of their baskets, and placing a few green apples over the red ones in hopes of looking less guilty. We all concluded that they just wanted to get the ugly but delicious green apples out of the orchard. On the way in/out of the orchard there is a cute little building that is a "cafe". We were excited to try the pulled pork with apple bbq sauce, and some fresh homemade cider! But yet again, when there was an opportunity for this place to shine, it was a huge let down. We ordered an apple cider and a green apple lemonade, which also sounded like it had the potential to be delicious because it MUST be made with ugly but delicious green apples from the orchard! Nope. It was Country Time at best, with a couple shots of Torani Green Apple syrup splashed in the bottom. The pulled pork was gross (though, granted, in this area we have high standards for pulled pork), and not cooked in the bbq sauce but rather placed on the bun and then a little sauce was ladled onto the meat, leaving the bun wet and soggy. The apple cider was apple juice, probably from Ingles. By this point, while we had planned to go purchase some goods inside, we were done. This business has SO MUCH POTENTIAL. The setting is bucolic, and the weather was perfect. I don't know who is running it, but since it's a nonprofit I took a look at their 990 and it seems like they are probably just too dependent on a volunteer board. I don't know, but I think this could be a true gem up in this area. Unfortunately, it just falls short. We'll see how my apple crisp turns out - I'll try to update my review when I find out.

Great fresh produce at very fair prices. You can even feed chickens, pet baby bunnies, and learn to…read morejuggle. Family friendly!

We had about 18 of us that were traveling together with the senior adult group from church. I was…read morethe bus driver. They decided they wanted to stop into the Apple Hill Orchard to pick apples. They charge you $3 each if you just want to walk in the orchards and not pick anything. If you want to pick apples they charge you the $3 each to walk around + what you pick. They have a general store you can walk around in and purchase bakery items in. We purchased a bag of Pink Lady Apples that we picked in the orchard, a bag of apples fritters. We had an apple and it was very good! The only negative was when we called and said we were coming they said no problem. When we arrived and they saw we had a bus we got the impression they were too happy because of the limited parking. I parked in the grass area on the side away from the building. No issues. If you do bring a large vehicle here just be prepared there might be limited parking. As a last resort you could park it at the church at the bottom of the hill and walk up.

What a beautiful place. You can self pick apples or buy in bags in the cute lil country style…read morestore. They sell apple cider by the cup or purchase 1/2 gallon to go. The star for us were the cinnamon apple donuts. The bakery is onsite and fresh goods displayed for purchase. Bought 1/2 dozen and couldn't help but eat two on the way home!!

I attended with a women's group for a social event. This is a you-pick farm where you can cut as…read moremany flowers as you want to fill your cup. While there, we also did flower pounding to make a beautiful card and envelope (see photos). There was a covered area with tables where we were able to sit, eat snacks, and chat. I also noticed a fire-pit and I'd like to bring my grandkids, let them pick flowers, and then spend time relaxing with a picnic lunch or dinner and roast some marshmallows over the fire. The way it works is you scan the QR code, pick up a cup, fill with water, and grab cutters. You can walk up and down the aisles that have various flowers blooming and pick any you like. If you don't have time to pick, there is a grab and go bouquet in the stand. They are open dawn to dusk April - October. I attended a Christmas in July party this past weekend and we were asked to bring a gift from a local vendor. I brought a gift certificate. The person who opened it didn't want to tell anyone what it was for fear it would be stolen! She wanted it for herself. So, if you enjoy flowers (and your special someone does), check out Harvey Family Farm.

This is our family's new local gem!! Nestled next to the mountains with beautiful barns and a…read morebeautiful farm of flowers we all fought over a pair of sheers because we all kept finding the flowers we all wanted it was so amazing- next time we'll all grab a pair per person instead of one. There is a self service kiosk with directions on what to do and it's a great value!! I can't wait to use them forever more for my flowers for special occasions and just to have beautiful fresh flowers in my home which brings us joy!!

Visited right after a hike and stumbled across this place! First, it was an amazing vineyard and…read morehad a spectacular view. The owner was very friendly and knowledgeable and gave me a summary of his wines and ciders. But down to earth and made the experience! The cider was incredible as well and enjoyed a glass with a sandwich on the porch overlooking the vineyard. Opened a bottle of wine at home and delicious as well. A semi-sweet wine and highly recommend! Cannot wait to visit again soon!

We stopped by Perry's Berry's Winery after a hike this summer. There were people there enjoying…read morepicking of blueberries, but we were there for the wine! Here is what we had with our two wine flights: *Blueberry Reserve - this was only okay, my husband liked this one more than I did. *Muscadine - this was good, but being that NC exceeds in muscadine wines, we have just had better muscadine wines. Even with that said, we still enjoyed it. *Plum - very fruity, and very good. We both really enjoyed this one. *Peach - this was a nice peach wine. *Scuppernong - this was very good, really enjoyed the flavor. *Strawberry - this was only okay, the least favorite of the day. *Blackberry - this was only okay, wanted stronger blackberry flavor. *Creekside Crush Sangria - this was okay, we have had better "sangria" wines. We felt it was strong in the blueberry flavor, but I get where they are going with the additional fruity flavors in a red wine. Slushy of the day: *Peach Pina Colada - this was SO good! I would have never thought to combine peach and pina colada, but it worked! It was very refreshing on a hot summer day. Overall, we enjoyed our wine flights. We both agreed our top 3 were plum, scuppernong, and muscadine. We went home with a bottle of the plum. Other things to note: *They have four non-carbonated ciders, but they are not available for a flight. As we love ciders, we bought all four to try at home. We have only tried the peach mango so far - it has more mango than peach, but still really good flavor. We were both left wanting it to be carbonated like other traditional ciders we enjoy. It just seemed off, otherwise, it would have been up there with some of our favorite ciders. *They have a small bistro onsite. I was not expecting anything of it, but we split the chicken and spinach crepe, and it was wonderful! *They are dog friendly in certain areas, which we appreciated since we hike with our family canine! We definitely enjoyed our visit here, and it won't be our last. I definitely recommend if you are in the area.