Return of fall favorites are back with opening weekend for Apple Hill growers
APPLE HILL – Goodbye end of summer. Fall is almost here.
In fact, Apple Hill just rang in its opening weekend.
"Oh, it's wonderful weather," said Diana Brown while visiting High Hill Ranch with her family on Monday. "I'm not even breaking a sweet."
From the smaller kids to the bigger kids, growers aim to offer something for everyone.
"We come every year. Get our pumpkins. Christmas trees. It's just fun. It feels good. It's outside," said Jessica Corrales, whose son wanted to celebrate his birthday by fishing on the ranch. "It's nice to see everybody out and about again."
Second generation-owner Jerry Visman agrees.
"Let's go back the last year. There were fires," he said. "Plus, it was 104 degrees. Business was nil."
While it is opening weekend for most of the growers throughout Apple Hill, High Hill Ranch opened earlier, Visman said.
According to the grower, the cooler weather, long holiday weekend and drought improvements have been all major gains this year.
Visman said it has been a while since the ranch stocked its pond with trout, a popular attraction during a recent visit Monday.
Undoubtedly, the storied favorites draw large crowds with orchard picking, yummy foods and drinks and arts and crafts.
"It's the start of the season for us," Sandy Mariano said. "So, it's just a fun place to come."
For growers, it is also a place where families can savor sweet moments in the simplest ways.