Grandad’s Apples ‘n Such: Apple Picking (and More) in Hendersonville, NC

If there’s one thing that excites me about fall, it’s the fact that we can visit orchards, festivals, and fairs and have an almost endless amount of things to entertain our littles with. While every year we visit our local pumpkin patch, this year we’re a little further and trying something new: Grandad’s Apples ‘N Such, an apple orchard located in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Let me just say we had an amazing time—my littles, myself, and my husband included. Entry was free (isn’t that like a once-in-a-lifetime find nowadays?), and there were so many activities for the kids! This was the first apple orchard we’ve visited, but I think it’ll remain my favorite for the foreseeable future.

Anyway, I wanted to share everything in case you’re interested in going, too! I’m going to share it in order of the things we did, so bear with me:

The Bakery: Apple Cider Donuts, Soft Serve Ice Cream, and More!

Can I vouch that the prices have remained the same? No. Would I still pay them even if they changed? Absolutely.

I came to Grandad’s Apples with the sole purpose of finding an apple cider donut and I found something so much better: the ice cream sammich, a soft serve ice cream sandwich made of two delicious apple cider donuts.

10/10 recommend and if you’re not an ice cream fan, grab a slice of pie, donut by itself, or one of their cookies because they’re just as delicious.

I also appreciated the regular soft-serve ice cream cups they had for our kids. They’re a bit picky when it comes to trying new things, so we knew they got a treat they loved while my girls still got to taste the donuts (which they loved).

If you’re curious about prices before you go, they have the entire bakery menu on their website here. Be warned though, their bakery closes at 5pm (instead of 6pm like the rest of the orchard) which is why we started our trip here to get a snack.

Also, the bakery is not the only food option — there were a few 2-3 trucks selling a few snacks and simple foods, but they had packed up do to the overcast weather when we got there.

Grandad’s Apples Activities for Kids and Toddlers

I’ll go ahead and repeat this because I couldn’t find it on their website when I was planning our trip (it was kind of impulsive and was planned on the 20 minute drive there), but entry to Grandad’s Apples is FREE and they have so much to do!

After our snack, aka delicious desserts, the kids headed straight into Grandad’s Apples Singing Silo! What toddler (or child) doesn’t like making noise? Not mine! They were huge fans, and because of the overcast weather, we beat the crowd.

But, like I said, that was just the beginning of the games for kids! They had a huge section with different activities like basketball, tetherball, hay bales, and even a mini “maze” for your kids to run through.

The entire area was fenced in and had picnic tables, so parents could relax comfortably while their littles played (or tackle a game of tetherball while their kids ran through the tunnel a few thousand times like us).

And once they decided they were no longer entertained by the tunnel, they also wanted to play tetherball. They had some fun with it but ultimately weren’t quite tall enough to get the full effect.

You can see some of the other activities in the background as well, in addition to the corn for the corn maze (which is a paid attraction that we didn’t opt to do with so little time available since we got there at 4 pm).

They also had a “cow” tractor train-esque thing the kids could do, but since the weather was slightly rainy and we didn’t know if (when) the bottom would drop in the clouds, we didn’t want to commit to riding around the fields.

Trying The Apple Cannon

I won’t lie; an apple cannon was a new thing for me, but the kids loved it. The kid shooting before us even hit Bigfoot in the background!

Now, the Apple Cannon is only open on the weekends, and with it being Labor Day weekend, I wasn’t confident we would get a turn. But, again, we managed to avoid the crowds thanks to the overcast weather!

If your kid is three and under, they’ll definitely need help handling it. But my five-year-old could manage mostly by himself. My one-year-old also attempted, or rather, stood up there while her dad shot it because she was jealous her siblings got to go (at least that’s what we thought, but we quickly realized she just wanted an apple).

This may have been their favorite thing of the day, and I have to be honest, it did leave quite an impression on them all!

Picking The Apples at Grandad’s Apples

Thanks to the weather, we didn’t actually get to pick fresh apples off of the trees! The “U-Pick” section opened after a while, but with the kids hitting their max of the day (our bedtime is 6:30 pm), picking from their buckets was enough for us.

The whole set-up was a vibe, and there were plenty of fresh apples to pick from (and my husband, of course, tried to fill the bag with Honeycrisp, but I wanted to try the Crimson Crisp).

My daughter’s loved the experience as they’re big fans of apples, my son loved it too – but, he mainly played in the play area again as he’s not a huge fan of fruit.

After picking your apples, you check out in the farm store, which leads us to the last section to tour:

Exploring The Farm Store

Whatever you’re expecting from an old farm store, this will probably match or surpass your expectations. The shop was filled with southern goodies, handcrafted items, and anything and everything you could imagine made out of apples.

Lots of rustic decor and yes, it was pretty packed, but still not to the point we didn’t want to be in there or couldn’t easily navigate the store.

Here’s a few of my favorite finds:

We didn’t spend as much time exploring the store as we could, at this point we were just trying to pay for our 1/2 peck of apples and head to the car.

What You Need to Know If You’re Planning a Visit to Grandad’s Apples in Hendersonville, NC

If you’re looking for something easy and entertaining for your family to do during apple-picking season in Hendersonville, this is the place. With no entry fee, lots of activities, and food, you could easily spend an entire afternoon or morning at the Apple Orchard.

But, if you’re wondering what could make your trip easier (or more budget-friendly) here are a few tips/things to consider:

• Pack snacks or a lunch! You won’t have to carry it around because your car isn’t too far (unless you’re planning on eating immediately after you get there) and with no entry fee, you can walk in and out comfortably.
• Sandals or tennis shoes are fine, you don’t have to worry about being uncomfortable. There are plenty of places to stop, sit, and rest while your kids explore. But, the terrain isn’t bad, so sandals and flip flops are fine (depending on weather, of course).
• You don’t need a stroller or wagon, but they are allowed! It’s a small space, so if your littles are walking, you’re pretty safe without your stroller (worried about cool weather? Here are some tips to keep baby warm) or wagon unless you just feel more comfortable with it (or have a lot of littles to contain). A good compromise is a baby carrier, too!
• Wear sunscreen! While there’s shade available, a lot of the main play areas are uncovered and when you’re having fun.

Overall, the experience was a 10/10 for a low-maintenance family trip. While we didn’t plan much ahead (it was a suggestion by my own grandpa to go instead of the Apple Festival), it ended up being the perfect place to NOT plan.

If you end up heading to Grandad’s Apple in NC, come back and share your experience in the comments below! I’d love to hear how it went (and even get ideas for my next trip)!

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