Apple Hill Cider & Pastry Crawl Guide

A little planning goes a long way when the itinerary involves pastries, cider, and some of the most popular fall destinations in the foothills. We planned ahead to maximize our tasting trip up the mountain and find the best apple cider and pastries in Apple Hill.

We aimed to visit five popular Apple Hill locations, starting early in the morning so we could enjoy a few stops before the larger afternoon crowds arrived. We double checked farm hours on the Apple Hill Growers Association website and wrote out an itinerary. We packed a tasting kit including a picnic blanket, reusable glass mason jars for cider tasting, recycled paper plates for sharing pastries, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, and notebooks and pens for ranking each bite and sip.

At each stop, our goal was simple: order the item the farm or bakery was best known for, including fresh apple cider whenever it was available. We'd keep portions shareable to taste a wide variety of items without hitting pastry overload, then take notes on flavor profiles and rank our favorites before reporting back.

We loaded into our cars, beginning our journey with high hopes and empty bellies. Grandpa’s Cellar earned the first stop on our crawl thanks to its famous cold brew flights. We got there within an hour of opening which made for a less crowded parking lot and virtually no lines. Craving a flavorful caffeine jolt, we were thrilled to discover a quaint bakery nestled in the Placerville woods. The relaxed, family-friendly vibe put our group at ease, the drizzling rain and smell of petrichor adding a moody aesthetic to a quintessential autumn atmosphere. Picnic tables, fun photo backdrops, and coffee bean sacks repurposed into flower planters dotted the grounds.

We sampled "Grandpa’s Classic Flight," featuring s’mores, caramel, mocha, and white mocha cold brews and the seasonal "Fall Cold Brew Flight" with brown sugar, salted caramel, banana bread, and pumpkin spice flavors. Each flight includes four glasses at about two ounces each, adding up to roughly one full-size coffee and plenty of sips to share. The coffee was sweet and smooth, not too strong, making it a crowd-pleaser.

The Giant Apple Cinnamon Roll was the pastry case's showstopper. Warm, pillowy pastry layers topped with a generous scoop of gooey apple pie filling made our tastebuds sing. It really was giant, but it disappeared from our plate remarkably fast. Our group loved that you didn't have to get to the middle of the roll in order to have the best bite. We continued to talk about this pastry all day long, even as we stopped at other farms.

We wrapped up our time at Grandpa's Cellar by browsing the souvenir shop, where we could choose from dozens of honeys, scratch-made hot sauces, flavored pancake mixes, and fresh jarred goods to take home.

Grandpa's Cellar Travel Tip: Between the coffee, baked goods, picnic seating, and relaxed country atmosphere, Grandpa’s Cellar is great stop for couples or families who like a laid-back environment. Mornings are best to beat crowds and long lines. Parking is limited.

Know Before You Go: Flight flavors rotate monthly. Hot cocoa flights make an appearance in late autumn for visitors who prefer hot toddies.

The next farm on our list was Larsen Apple Barn, one of the most unique stops in Apple Hill. We pulled into the spacious parking lot and entered the reclaimed metal barn, admiring the vintage swash of its hand-painted logo. Inside the barn we discovered steel racks loaded with overflowing boxes of apples fresh from the orchard, organized by variety. From sweet Honeycrisps to tart Jonagolds, Larsen was clearly the perfect pit stop for home bakers and fruit lovers. Helpful staff carved up samples of all the varieties we could fit in our bellies, helping us choose our favorites to buy.

A few yards away stood the Larsen Bakeshop. We stopped in to try their refreshing Apple Juice (sweet and unspiced, not a true cider), an Apple Turnover topped with warm Cider Sauce, and a slice of Berry-Apple-Sour Cream Pie. The turnover was flaky, warm, and perfectly balanced with the cider sauce. Our group loved the bright zing of the blackberry pie as an alternative to autumn's classic apple confections.

We walked off some of our sugar-high as we meandered across the parking lot to explore the free Larsen Farm Museum. The museum barn was filled with antique vehicles, covered wagons, farming equipment, vintage furniture, and many belongings and historical photos that belonged to their family.

Larsen Apple Barn was new to our group. We loved finding this hidden gem and spent more time at this stop than we expected because the museum was so fascinating!

Larsen Apple Barn Travel Tip: Look up when you get to the museum door to see a painted "barn quilt" featuring a large sunflower adorning the siding of the barn.

Know Before You Go: Larsen's Apple Barn is best for couples, foodies, and older guests. It is not as child-friendly as other Apple Hill stops and does not offer any children's play equipment.

High Hill Ranch is one of the most well-known ranches in Apple Hill, for good reason. The sweeping grounds offer an abundance of autumn activities and ample space to explore with the whole family. Helpful attendants waved us into the well-maintained parking lot, guiding us to the next open spot for our vehicle. We walked up through artisan craft fair tents to the main bakery shop and were rewarded with a beautiful view of High Hill's fishing pond, the perfect place to have a picnic. Just beyond the pond children enjoyed pony rides and families browsed the Fudge Shop for homemade candy.

The Apple Fritter on High Hill Ranch's bakery menu is somewhat of an Apple Hill staple, so we made sure to order the original along with a walnut version, some Apple Cider, and a few other donut varieties for good measure. The fritters were positively ginormous and bursting with apple in every bite. The walnut coating offered a great crunch and our group couldn't decide which we liked best. Both versions had a delightful texture: crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

The apple cider jugs from the bakery offered good flavor. Our group considered the cider a general crowd-pleaser, not too tart and not too sweet, without much spice. You can order apple wine slushies next to the bakery or find hard ciders and apple beers in the Pie Shop.

In our opinion, the real superstar of the cider offerings is High Hill's Apple Cider Milkshake. Inside the Pie Shop, huge scoops of vanilla ice cream, ice cold apple cider, and drinkable, soft caramel are blended to perfection in one tasty cup. It's enough sugar to keep you hopping for the whole day, but it's simply delicious.

High Hill Ranch Travel Tip: If you want to plan an Apple Hill trip with only one stop, this is the best option for you. You can easily spend a few hours at High Hill and cross everything off your list at the same stop: apple pie, cider, fudge, craft fair shopping, a picnic lunch, live entertainment, a petting zoo, and more.

Know Before You Go: High Hill Ranch is very popular with travelers. Expect large crowds and traffic delays if you show up later in the day. It's worth it to go earlier if you want a slower-paced experience.

Feeling so full we could barely breathe, our group ventured next to Delfino Farms, home of Edio Vineyards and Joan's Apple Bakery. Two separate parking lots (one for the vineyard and one for the farm side) made parking easy, and we found a spot on a scenic overlook. We took a moment to pause and absorb the view. Luscious grape vines shimmered across the misty mountains as far as our eyes could see.

We walked into Joan's Apple Bakery, an intimate bakeshop, to order Delfino's famous "Walkin' Pie" made from scratch. We paid an extra dollar to order it à la mode and topped with cider sauce, which everyone agreed was the right decision. The pie was as aesthetically pleasing and "Instagrammable" as promised, eliciting many "wows" from our group, but we were on a mission: how did it taste?

Flaky layers of pie dough filled with cinnamon and apple sprang to life on our tastebuds. The cold ice cream balanced the warm pastry without overwhelming it, and the sauce brought it all together. The pie was large enough for 2 to 4 people to share. We ordered another "Walkin' Pie" to go, marveling at the menu of pies and cheesecakes we could choose to take home with us.

As we left Delfino, we took one last sweep of the grounds. Some great scenic patios and lawns near Joan's Apple Barn offered sprawling vineyard views and plenty of room for live entertainment.

Delfino Farms Travel Tip: This smaller, quieter farm is better for older guests or couples on a date, though there are occasional children's events that offer cooking classes and activities for littles.

Know Before You Go: If you'd like to plan a wine-tasting experience at Edio Vineyards, keep in mind that food pairings, tastings, and vineyard tours require reservations.

We ended our cider and pastry crawl at Rainbow Orchards, well known for their fresh-to-order Hot Apple Cider Donuts and crisp apple cider. Dozens of picnic tables make the orchard's wraparound porch and upper lawn the perfect place for a family picnic. Apple trees lent themselves to creating the full autumn experience. At the end of the afternoon, the orchard was quieter and quite relaxed. Most visitors were picking up their final baked goods to take home as they left the mountain.

We plucked a few jugs of ice cold apple cider from the refrigerator and browsed jarred goodies as we waited for our donuts to finish frying, the scent of cinnamon wafting through the spacious barn. Joyful staff (including some familiar faces we'd seen the year before) served up our piping hot donuts in paper bags. We found a picnic bench and dug in immediately so we could enjoy them at their best temperature.

Cinnamon sugar coated our fingers. The donuts were tender and fresh, not one had been burnt. Members of our group who had never tried them before remarked that they were a standout pastry in the day's crawl, worthy of returning for again and again. We ordered a few dozen for the road to bring home to our families and kept the paper bags open as instructed so that their outer texture would stay crisp.

Rainbow Orchard's apple cider is arguably the best cider in Apple Hill. It's clean, tart, and tastes like you're biting right into the season's juiciest apple. If you're looking for a truly memorable cider, this orchard's recipe packs a powerful punch. Rainbow offers several jug sizes, from a pint to a gallon, to choose from.

Rainbow Orchards Travel Tip: This smaller orchard is very family friendly. Lines can get long for their apple cider donuts, so stay patient. We recommend stopping here last if you want to take home refrigerated cider.

Know Before You Go: In addition to fresh donuts and pressed cider, Rainbow's fruit syrups, jarred goods, and hard ciders are easy to give as gifts.