Apple Hill kicks off peak season with live music and ‘more apples than ever’
While Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, it also unofficially kicks off the start of another season: apple picking.
But it still felt very much like summer on Apple Hill Monday, where temperatures reached nearly 100 degrees. Despite the heat, dozens of orchards welcomed families for an afternoon of live music, apple harvesting and festivities to kick off the picking season.
The Apple Hill region in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada offers visitors a range of activities beyond just picking fruit: there’s wine and hard cider tasting for adults, and activities for families such as train rides and mazes for kids.
Dillon Dozier, one of the owners of Pine-O-Mine Ranch, said Monday this year’s crop of apples is historic.
“More apples than ever,” Dozier said during a tour of one of his orchards.
The trees are so heavy with fruit, they’re just dropping apples, Dozier said. Though he assured The Bee that there were more than enough for visitors to twist off the stems.
Growers described this year’s harvest season as a bumper crop that has produced flavorful apples and pears that are “off the charts.” Plentiful winter and spring rains and moderately cool evening temperatures resulted in a bounty of apple blossoms.
Those turned to fruit and the cooler-than-usual summer temperatures provided the ideal conditions for developing sweet and tart apple flavors, one grower said.
A family tradition
Amelia Rose, 2, was enjoying one of those perfectly sweetened apples on Monday afternoon in the Pine-O-Mine orchard. Labor Day was the first time she had been apple picking, said her parents, Brian Cambridge and his wife Jordan.
The young family hope to make a tradition out of visiting Apple Hill, said Brian. They recently moved back to El Dorado County, which Brian described as the “golden gem of California.”
On Monday afternoon, families gathered on picnic tables outside the Pine-O-Mine barn, listening to live music. Inside, patrons can choose from a range of orchard-themed beverages, including apple cider, beer and hard cider.
Across Apple Hill on Monday, farms celebrated the season’s kick-off with face painting, art vendors and live music. Kid-friendly offerings at Apple Hill make it a popular destination for generations of families.
Jessica Jimenez of Fair Oaks comes to the Apple Hill region several times a year with her family to “come and see what’s in season.”
The tradition is a special one for Jimenez because she’s been visiting the area since she was a child, she said in the Pine-O-Mine barn Monday while her youngest daughter slept on her shoulder.
Jimenez was gifted a handmade apron from High Hill, one of the larger orchards in the region, when she was a young girl. She’s now passed that apron onto her daughter and has plans to return to High Hill to pick up another one for her younger daughter.
When to visit Apple Hill
Growers said late September through mid October is the busiest time of year to visit Apple Hill.
For those looking for the ideal “u-pick” experience, Dozier recommended visitors come during the week to avoid crowds and traffic to-and-from the area during the weekend. Dozier also recommended coming early in the season, which he described as the first three weeks of September.
“Once they’re picked out,” he said, “they’re gone.”
At Pine-O-Mine, Dozier said the apple trees were grafted onto shorter bases when they were first planted decades ago, which makes them closer to the ground — and easier to pick.
The crowds were minimal Monday at both Pine-O-Mine and O’Halloran’s Apple Trail Ranch, but farmers expect them to pick up as the month and season progress.
O’Halloran’s will get notably busier when the pumpkin patch opens for business later this month, said Luis Rodriguez, who works at the orchard. After the apple and pumpkin seasons, O’Halloran’s pivots to selling Christmas trees, Rodriguez said.
There are dozens of farms to explore in the region. Check the Apple Hill list of growers’ locations and hours.
This story was originally published September 1, 2025 at 2:51 PM.
