County Line Orchard

County Line Orchard

Grab some fall family fun with a day of apple picking at County Line Orchard in Hobart, Indiana. Apple picking is a Midwest fall tradition, with orchards offering sweet delights in Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana. For Chicago families like mine, County Line Orchard in charming Hobart, Indiana, supplies the closest orchard, at about a 40 minute drive from the city. What I love most about County Line is that it’s located in a small farming community that draws families from both Indiana and Illinois. Pick up trucks, corn fields and livestock surround the area for a quick country escape for city slickers.

Apple sign detailing ripening date

Apple sign indicating ripening date

The journey starts with a short tractor ride to the apples of your choice. The orchard is sectioned off into areas for apples that ripen in early to mid September, like Gala and Macintosh and those that don’t ripen until later in October, like Rome and Granny Smith. I suggest  a trip early in the season and early in the morning for the best selection and minimal crowds. We’ve been heading to Michigan for apple picking season over the last few years and I forgot about how large crowds descend upon County Line by the afternoon. Of course, that never stops the fun. My kids scrambled up trees to pick the prettiest apples and I lugged a bag that quickly filled to the three pound capacity.  I made sure we had plenty of my fave Honey Crisp variety. My husband ate apples along the way, until he couldn’t look at anymore.

Once we weighed and paid for our apples, we ate fresh kettle corn, apple and pumpkin donuts and caramel apples washed down with hot apple cider. We were too full to make it to the pumpkin patch to select our Halloween pumpkins but we relaxed while listening to a guitarist belt out classic pop tunes like “Unchain My Heart.”  County Line also hosts a petting zoo, observation bee hives and a corn maze to entertain the kids.  It makes the perfect family weekend excursion from Chicago or surrounding areas.

All photos by Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

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