Activities: pick-your-own apples on certain dates (see below) in
September and October ONLY , wagon rides, prepicked produce, gift
shop, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, picnic area, face painting, pony
rides, petting zoo, farm animals, birthday parties, school tours, even
try your hand at
milking a cow
Open: PYOapples are
available on the last 3 weekends of September and all weekends of October; from
9:00 am to 6:00 pm.
. Our apple pickin' jubilie is always the last 3 weekends in September;
every weekend in October we have our jubilie
see below in September and October
Directions: Exit onto Highway 52 East. Hillcrest Orchards is 9 miles
east of Ellijay on Highway 52. Alternate route: Highway 400 North to Highway
53 toward Dawsonville, just past the Outlet Mall, go through Dawsonville,
about 2 miles outside Dawsonville turn right onto Highway183, go about 10
miles, turn left onto Highway 52 West, Hillcrest if about 12 miles on left.
Click here for a map and directions.
Produce: Apples, pies, doughnuts, ice cream, honey, crafts,
bread, dried apples. Petting farm. PYO only during the
Apple Pickin Jubilee festival - call for the current dates and times!
2011
prices: Admission includes entertainment ( wagon ride, music, pig
races, cow milking) and PYO orchard (entry to the store to buy picked apples
is free); Other fees for petting zoo and some other activities;
ALWAYS
click here for current , pricing, dates and times..
Apple Pickin' Jubilee" begins September 11 and continues each Saturday and
Sunday until October 31; Business hours are 9:00 until 6:00 daily. Payment:
Cash, Debit cards, Visa/MasterCard. Festival activities include wagon rides,
live entertainment such as Country Bands, Cloggers and Pig Races. You can
milk a real live cow, ride pedal carts, visit the Moonshine Museum,
Farmhouse Museum and Enchanted Forest Walk. We offer Pony Rides and Bull
Rides. Lots of great food such as homemade fried apple pies, apple fritters,
apple cider doughnuts, ice cream and fudge. Visit the grill for burgers,
dogs, BBQ, and more. There are several tractors the kids can climb on. Great photo opportunities.
Review
Especially during their
Apple Pickin'
Jubilee weekends, is much more than an orchard or roadside
stand, Hillcrest is an afternoon of family entertainment. Starting
inside with the shop, you can watch north Georgia's famous fried apple pies
being made and find all kinds of treats, like apple bread!
Then head outside to the stage area for a show, a petting zoo, a goat ramp
and goat jump, playground, festivals, tours, hayrides, pig races,
milk a cow (event
the children my try milking), often
musical entertainment on their stage, haunted house and more.
Heck,
it's worth the visit if only for the pig races! Everyone quickly gathers
way they announce the next races! Place your bets and possibly win a
prize, or lose your bacon! The new pig racing stadium has covered bleachers on
both sides for a clear view and protection from sun or rain!
The folks are friendly, the apple trees are low and easy to pick from, and
there is so much to do, this is my pick for the orchard to go to for a day of
family fun and entertainment! The only weak spot is the portapotties! Go
before you come!
Pick
your own apples, wagon rides, playground, pig races, moonshine museum,
entertainment, food, corn maze, petting farm and pony rides.
Hillcrest's Apple Varieties
Below is a listing of the apple varieties that they typically carry, in order
that they typically start to be harvested in Ellijay. Be sure to call a couple
weeks before they are due to start harvesting, as the actual date varies from
year to year! Ellijay apple orchards usually have apples for sale from August to late December.
AFter
a day atthe orchard, the kids fall asleep as soon as they get in the car!
Apple Variety
Photo
Usually start harvesting
Flavor
Best uses
Gala
August 1
Very sweet
Eating, applesauce, apple butter, pies
Ginger Gold
Early
Sweet
Eating
Jonathon
August 15
Tart
Cooking
Red Delicious
August 15
Sweet
Eating, good to blend with other apples in
applesauce and cooking
Golden Delicious
August 15
Sweet
Eating, good to blend with other apples in
applesauce and cooking
A visitor writes on October 02, 2011: "Went to
Hillcrest on 10/2: Please note that although this is a UPICK Farm, they will
not allow you to eat apples on the premises as they are worried you will eat
a large quantity and then go out and pick more and hence get some "free"
apples. I have never encountered such a practice in my life at upick farms!
Part of the experience of UPICK is that you get to eat some while you are
picking them (how many can you really eat in one sitting and how many would
you want to!). I would not recommend this farm for this reason. The apple
police were in full effect and it was a very frustrated experience with
children!"
A visitor writes on October 17, 2010: "My husband,
5-year-old daughter, and I visited Hillcrest Orchards (Ellijay) today
(Sunday). My daughter had a blast. There was lots to do besides apple
picking (slim pickins right now, although you can fill up your bag in the
store if you don't find what you're looking for in the orchard). Most of it
is kid-oriented, which is what we were looking for: huge pillow jump,
tricyles, pedal cars, pony rides, hayride (tractor pull), wagon ride,
sitting on a bull, petting zoo (the animals will jump on you if they figure
out you have food), bee exhibit, cow milking, live music and performances,
and pig races. I'm sure I'm forgetting other stuff. We were generally
satisfied with the trip. Most of the employees were very nice, except for
the teenage girl at the pillow jump who very rudely scolded me for wanting
to wait to take my daughter's shoes off on the sand beside the giant pillow
rather than outside of the area on the jagged gravel. The crowd was
enormous, which didn't impact us greatly, except for when we wanted
something to eat and when we wanted to look in the store. We waited 30
minutes in line for a corn dog and then had to wait another 30 minutes in a
different line for something to drink. We couldn't even get into the store
because of the crowd; I'm sure the fire marshal would not have been pleased.
In all, although we as adults had some relatively minor complaints, our
daughter was absolutely thrilled and had a fantastic time. We will be back."
A visitor writes on October 10, 2010: "This place
was highly rated and recommended on several different websites as the "best
pick-your-own apples farm in North Georgia" and their "Apple Jubilee" looked
like fun. However, once we got there we realized that this was not going to
be a pleasant experience. The place is touristy and overcrowded, and just
plain disturbing - they have this creepy wagon ride that takes you through
these "scenes" from The Wizard of Oz...except they're made of mannequin
heads and rags, so they look like lynched store displays. I did all the
research possible, and nowhere did it specify that it's a cash-only
establishment on any website, including their own. The place was generally
disgusting and run by hill people. Stay away - unless you want a field trip
to the woods in Deliverance."
Comment from Blake: I've been to this
farm many times, including 2 weeks before the commenter above and again on
October 16th. Yes, the mannequin displays are rustic, but my kids (2
and 5) really liked them. And yes, Ellijay is in the north Georgia mountains,
so if you are looking for Disneyland-quality animatronics, you'll be
disappointed. Heck, you're going there to pick some apples, ride a wagon,
listen to folk music, and watch pig races. Where else can you and your children actually milk a
cow and hold a baby chick? This isn't an evening at the opera in Vienna.
The displays are whimsical and comical in their simplicity, so the kids have
fun. It can get crowded on some weekends, but that's more of a testament to
the popularity of the place. As for eating apples during u-pick, I
understand the commenter's sentiment, but each orchard sets it's own
policies, and as long as they are reasonable and reasonably enforced, that
is their right.
Home Canning Kits
This is the same type of standard canner that my grandmother used to make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and spaghetti sauce. This complete kit includes everything you need and lasts for years: the canner, jar rack, jar grabber tongs, lid lifting wand, a plastic funnel, labels, bubble freer, and the bible of canning, the Ball Blue Book. It's much cheaper than buying the items separately. You'll never need anything else except jars & lids (and the jars are reusable)! There is also s simple kit with just the canner and rack, and a pressure canner, if your want to do vegetables (other than tomatoes). To see more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here! Average Customer Review:
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Lids, Rings, Jars, mixes, pectin, etc.
Need lids, rings and replacement jars? Or pectin to make jam,
spaghetti sauce or salsa mix or pickle mixes? Get them all here, and
usually at lower prices than your local store!
Get them all here at the best prices on the internet! Just click
below on the mix that interests you!
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Hillcrest Orchards 
Review
Then head outside to the stage area for a show, a petting zoo, a goat ramp
and goat jump, playground, festivals, tours, hayrides, pig races,
The folks are friendly, the apple trees are low and easy to pick from, and
there is so much to do, this is my pick for the orchard to go to for a day of
family fun and entertainment! The only weak spot is the portapotties! Go
before you come!
Pick
your own apples, wagon rides, playground, pig races, moonshine museum,
entertainment, food, corn maze, petting farm and pony rides.
Hillcrest's Apple Varieties
AFter
a day atthe orchard, the kids fall asleep as soon as they get in the car!
