County Line Orchard and the Beach
Every year we plan to go to County Line Orchard in time to pick Honeycrisp apples and every year we’re a couple weeks late. Today’s Date Day changed that! We braved the 95-degree heat, hiked to the very end of the orchard and picked 9 beautiful apples. We also did some other things …
County Line Orchard
We’ve been coming to County Line for about 20 years now and it is crazy how much the place has changed. What was originally a one-building operation, with a tiny parking lot, has become the region’s go to destination for Fall fun.
If you go at the wrong time, you will be crushed by bus loads of school kids vying to ride the tractors around the orchard, visit the large kid’s farm or navigate the corn maze. If, however, you go at the right time (early in the morning or late in the afternoon) you can have the place almost to yourself.
We arrived just after opening and were greeted by only 4-5 buses. We quickly parked and dashed ahead of the kids to be the first ones at the activity kiosk. After paying $1 each to pick apples, we stuck our tongues out at the kids and set off in search of the elusive Honeycrisps.
O Honeycrisp, Where Art Thou?
It was 95-degrees and sunny, so we decided to forgo the tractor and set off across the orchard on foot. Not the smartest move we’ve ever made, but at least we were getting our steps. We passed row upon row of Fuji, McIntosh, Red Delicious, Enterprise and many more before we finally found our first row of Honeycrisp.
Much to our chagrin the trees were empty, having been picked clean days earlier by soul-crushing, Honeycrisp denying rat bastards. Undaunted, we pressed on. We passed the corn maze, the sunflower field and the pumpkin patch. As we neared the end of the orchard, our legs were getting tired and our spirits were low. We thought this was going to be our year.
Empty handed, we turned to make the long walk back to the orchard store. That’s when Theresa, casting a forlorn look over her shoulder, spied a small patch of trees in a distant corner. Could it be? Could this be one last island of Honeycrisp apples in a place so far removed from the kids, the noise and everything else that it had remained unfound and unpicked? We cast aside our tiredness and made our way toward Theresa’s find with keen anticipation.
We reached the hidden area and there before us were several trees brimming with fresh, luscious Honeycrisps. Channeling her inner Eve, Theresa carefully pulled the first apple from the tree. Seeing no serpents, we continued our harvest and painstaking selected eight more apples to join the first in our bag. Happy with our good fortune, we didn’t even notice the heat as we skipped arm in arm back across the orchard.
The Orchard Store
Arriving back at the main entrance, we decided to stop in the store before heading to our next destination. The orchard store is an awesome place. They have a large assortment of homemade jams, jellies, pickles and other condiments. We always end up buying a jar or two to store, but never use, in our pantry. In addition to the jarred items, you can also buy apples, pumpkins and sunflowers – freshly picked from the fields.
While the store’s staple items are good, our real reason for visiting every year is the donuts. Simply put, they may be the best freshly made donuts in the world. The donuts come in two varieties; cinnamon and pumpkin and you can’t go wrong with either. We usually get a half dozen of each and have at least one or two eaten by the time we leave the parking lot. Today was no different and we enjoyed our donuts and apple cider as we headed to the beach.
Lunch and the Beach
We left the orchard and decided it was a nice day for a walk on our new beach. As we headed to Dune Acres, we stopped at the grocery for some shrimp to toss on the grill and a couple of cold salads. We arrived at the house, did a little pre-move in cleaning and enjoyed our lunch. After that, we had just enough time for a 90-minute walk on the beach before we needed to head back. On the way home we admired our apples and may have enjoyed another donut. A pretty perfect day.
September 2018
County Line Orchard
200 S County Line Rd, Hobart, IN 46342
Free Admission
$1 to pick apples
Various prices for other activities
Free Parking
