Ditmars Orchard & Vineyard Ditmars Orchard & Vineyard is such a beautiful seasonal stop near Omaha! The property is incredibly well maintained, with gorgeous flowers, plenty of outdoor space, food, and drinks made right at the orchard and vineyard. We originally came to try their soup flight, but we were a little too early in the season, so we switched things up with a wine slushy flight instead! They also offer wine, cider, and cider flights, so there are plenty of options to try. Depending on when you visit, you may also find live music, performers, and special events. There was even a little market happening while we were there, which made it such a fun place to hang out for a while. Definitely check their seasonal hours and events before visiting, and add this one to your Omaha-area list when they're open! read more

Ditmars Orchard & Vineyard - Farms Near Me - Council Bluffs, Iowa

An older gentleman working there was quite rude to me and my kids, entry fee was a little much for what it offered, and the apples that we collected, were either all rotten or had worms in them. Very disappointing trip, travelled all the way from Des Moines just to be met with mediocrity. read more

Stopped in for bingo with my two kids and we had a great time. We didn't pay to go into the orchard but they played on their playground which is free for a long time. It is beautiful, out in the country. I had a cider flight and tried two of their dry wines. There is something here for everyone's taste. Sweet and dry drinkers. They also have all kinds of treats and jarred goods you can purchase. Just a short drive from Omaha and lots of fun for kids and adults! read more

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I loved this place!! Great prices with so many activities!! We never ran out of things to do and drinks to try. So many delicious ciders and wines. The live music and weekly events are a nice touch. They have everything you'd want for a fall activity; tractor ride, apple orchard, playground, goats, chickens, games, photo staging, tasting room, corn maze, snacks & meals, desserts, and amazing views. I never grew bored here. I thought the prices were the best I've seen in the area. I loved my ciders and time at Ditmars read more

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Ditmar's is a super cute little orchard and pumpkin patch that's just as close to Omaha as Vala's and about a fifth of the price :-) There are a few different way to experience Ditmar's - you can go and visit the Ditmar's shop/cafe for free, but if you want to do any of the orchards activities, you have to pay $10 each for an activity band (but ages 3 and under free). There are a lot of fun activities, with many of them being geared toward kids - so if you have children, this is a great and affordable option. There are a few tractor rides available - one is with a smaller tractor that can get into the orchard and through the trees, and the other is a larger tractor that can only go around the orchard and on larger paths, but that holds many more people if you have a large group. In terms of the "activities" you can do with your activity band: -Hy Vee Corn Maze: This is almost entirely uphill, if you're not in for that type of exercise. There are markers (little signs with icons on them like a flower, a bee etc) so you don't get too lost. -Axe Throwing: This was all plastic and velcro with the "axe" sticking to the velcro wall if you hit the "blade" on the right spot of the target. This is fun for adults, as well as kids, and harder than it looked to hit it on the target. -Zorbing: These are giant inflated balls that go over your body and you try to play soccer with each other, while bumping into each other the entire time. It was fun and hilarious for me and my husband as we participated. -Petting Zoo: A group of goats that you could feed and pet, and a separate little area with chickens. They were cute, but we didn't go in to pet any of them, as we were not wanting to get too stinky and muddy for the rest of the day. -Connect Four: This was an inflated backboard with basketballs that you tried to shoot into the different columns. It was fun, but the bottom of each column kind of opened up when the ball hit it so it didn't stay in place to show who got a "connect four" first. -Roller Slide: This was one of those old timey slides made of little rolling pipes as you go down. It appears to be large enough for adults, so we went down - which was a mistake. My butt hurt for quite a while afterward. Maybe youngster bodies are more resilient than my old bones? -Bounce Pad: This was a small inflated pad to bounce on, which appears to be mostly for kids, but I did see a few adults on it. When it was pretty cleared off, I wanted to go bounce on it, but my friends wouldn't go with me (boo!) So as I said, the "activities" are geared a little bit more toward children, aside from the actual apple picking/pumpkin gathering, which adults can enjoy. There are a lot of things for adults to enjoy aside from those activities, though, including some hard ciders, wines, beer, and of course the food. We had: -Apple Cider Donuts: They came super fresh and still warm, covered in sugar dust. We had eaten a few other orchard's donuts this Autumn, but these were the freshest and also not as dense and dry. Definitely recommend. -Tamales: I guess these were a special when we went, made by one of the cooks, Lisa. They were delicious and obviously made fresh with homemade cornmeal. We chatted with Lisa afterward to tell her how great they were! -Mozzarella Sticks: These had the kind of breading similar to an egg roll vs a breadcrumb breading (which I prefer). They weren't bad, just weren't the style I like best. -Fried Pickles: I am a fried pickle connoisseur, so I was excited for these. I was a tad bit disappointed because, while I like a little bit of crisp so they're not soggy, these were TOO crispy, like they were fried too much. The breading was so fried that it was separating from the pickle on each side :-( -Nacho Tater Ribbons: Kind of like a "walking taco", with the beef, lettuce, tomatoes, nacho cheese, and a little swirl of sour cream on top. The "ribbons" are actually kind of just potato chips, but they were a lot lighter than super crunchy chips and kind of melt in your mouth with each bite, as they have been soaking in all of the nacho cheese and other toppings. At first, we were a little let down that they they just looked like chips, but it ended up all working together super well. Recommend! -Pretzel Bites: Little circular pretzel balls that were heated and came with cheese (similar to nacho cheese you'd see at a sporting event). Pretty good when they came out hot, but once luke warm, they got a little hard, so definitely eat these pretty quick. Ditmar's Slushy: Sweet (and a little tart) apple cider slush that came with a color changing souvenir cup that we are definitely keeping. To sum it up, I think that this is a way more affordable option than Valas for a family outing, with a handful of fun activities, and slightly above average food and drink options! read more

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The wine is sweet but so is picking apples to wear the kids out! We had a fun time here. The playground was uniquely built from recycled materials and could use a little linseed oil but the kids loved it! Plenty of things to do with the hayride and bounce pad, a tractor for the kids to climb on, and fields of trees to pick apples. read more

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We usef to take our Grandson to Ditmars when he was young. We always enjoyed the activities,including the maze and apple and pumpkin picking. He is 22 now and still remembers the fun we always had. MISS those days. Enjoy the experience and make memories together. read more

Nice relaxing spot to spend with family and friends. Lots to do for the kiddos and yet still can enjoy a "date" with that special someone. Don't miss out on the cider donuts!! read more

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Pretty good experience at Ditmars this weekend. My main gripe is that it isn't the most organized. When you pull up there's really no signage you just see a little store, so you go in and there's different things you can purchase that are apple and farm related, as well as a bunch of different food items. When I go somewhere new I like to know exactly what to expect. As a customer, a clear map of the orchard would've helped a lot. They were quite busy so it was hard to ask questions of the handful of workers we saw. So I think some signs or directions would really help people. They had a pretty nice variety of apples, probably 10 or so that you could walk through the orchard and pick. I was disappointed in the Jonathan apples though, these are usually my favorite variety but it took 45 minutes to find enough good apples to fill a bag. So so many of the apples on the trees had worm holes or were already rotted. Perhaps I just came at the wrong point in the season? Our three year old really enjoyed the goat Petting, and you can buy goat feed for a dollar. It was nice that they had a playground and some things for kids to do besides just picking apples. read more

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Traveling through Iowa on our way from Kansas City to Omaha, my best friend and I knew that a farm was a must stop. I picked Ditmars and we stopped in for a quick bite. We ended up getting a tater ribbon, spicy corn fritters and a flight of cider as well as a few donuts to go. The tater ribbon wasn't quite what I expected. I imagined it being more like a french fry and less like potato chips but I have no idea why as I'd never had one or heard of one before. The spicy corn fritters were the bigger hit between the two. Although they say spicy, they're definitely more on the mild side because I can't handle much heat and these didn't seem spicy at all. The cider flight included apple, cherry, strawberry basil, black raspberry and two others that I can't recall. None of the ciders really stood out to me though and I'd skip them if I ever return to Iowa in the future. However, the farm itself is absolutely adorable and I wish we'd had time to stick to our original plan of wanting to do the corn maze. Unfortunately, we were running behind schedule on our day and had to skip it. read more

Not selling bad apples. Got home and 3 apples were black. Went to Small's fruit farm and got great apples. I could have gotten better apples from a store instead of Ditmars. read more

We went there last week. Unfortunately it was bitterly cold but we still were so happy we went. The kids really wanted apple cider donuts which were great. We bought some preserves and we are really enjoying them. My grandson wanted apple butter and he loved it. The grandkids went to the pumpkin patch and to pet the goats. They had other things to do but like I said it was just too cold. The owner came by and we visited with him and the workers ( could all be family- I don't know) we're so super nice and really made us feel welcome. We will be back! read more

Great place! We had hard cider flight to then choose our favorite for a full glass. All so good we couldn't decide and just picked two with our eyes closed. They have tons of events so worth more than one trip here if you can. They have a small cafe with a decent chicken wrap and tasty donuts. read more

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The entertainment, wine and the setting was wonderful. The $20 Dutch apple pie I bought was aweful. The crust was like rubber. There was a bit of sugar and cinnamon in the center of the pie and that was all. The filling tasted just like eating an apple. We threw in the garbage ! would not recommend it! read more

My mother, sister, brother-in-law, and wife went to Ditmars Orchard to unwind after a stressful day and boy, was it a great choice! They have wine that, I believe, they use their own grapes, send them to the Prairie Valley Winery in Treynor to turn into wine and bottle, and they ship the bottles to Ditmars. We went on a Saturday where there was a parade in town so the orchard was completely dead, which was great to us. The weather was perfect out and it made the experience that much better. They usually have chicken wraps and other small eats, but they only had cheese platters this time as it was still very early in the season for them. The cheese platters were awesome though. The Smoked Gouda was amazing. They have two BBQ sauces as well and both were very tasty, (they let me sample them). They have about 10-12 wines and you get to sample three for free and after that, the samples are $1 a piece, which isn't bad. But my family and I shared a bottle of each of the 'Ashley's Blush' and 'Good Neighbor'. Ashley's Blush is probably one of the best wine's I've ever had. It's a very sweet dessert wine, which I love. Good Neighbor is more of a dry red, which is supposed to be great as well, (I didn't have any because I'm not a fan of those types of wines, but my brother-in-law and wife both said it was delicious). All in all, I definitely want to go back. The wine was superb, the experience was great and the location is very nice. I do hope they have their food menu up and running the next time I go though. read more

Ditmars Orchard & Vineyard - Farms Near Me - Council Bluffs, Iowa

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This has been the best place for fall activities so far! This is a such a cute, quaint place in the country. It's a little barn with a vineyard, apple orchard and pumpkin patch. For the adults, the wine is a great thing to offer. Who doesn't want to sample wine then go pick apples and pumpkins. You can get a glass, bottle or a flight of wine! We got flights which is a sample of every wine they're offering! My favorites were Quality Time and Sweet No-No. A tip: go early in the season. They were out of several of their best sellers during the fall. They had miles of apples to select from and pumpkins. It was a great time and relatively cheap as well! Overall, we will be coming back again. read more

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This place strikes the right balance between orchard and outdoor activity. The corn maze, goats, playground and giant slide are a lot of fun. The admisson price is nice for large families. The fresh donuts are fantastic read more

We are frequent customers of this orchard and we love it! Great wine, fresh tasty fruit, and delicious baked goods make for a wonderful family day trip. Apples are in season right now; the honeycrisp are especially tasty. They have a great selection but our favorite wine is the award winning Sweet No No made with apples from the orchard. The Fields of Flight event is happening this weekend and it is a must see for anyone who enjoys hot air balloons. The evening event features a glow and band performances and the morning events are a great opportunity to watch hot air balloon competitions with a great cup of coffee read more

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We have been back and I think my review warrants an update. The setting of Ditmars is beautiful - rolling hills of farmland and the occasional cow grazing in a pasture. The apple selection for U-pick apples was pretty extensive and even though we went later in the season, it was easy to find trees with fruit. They could do a better job of labeling - as you wonder the orchard it was hard at times to identify which apple was what as it seemed the labels were only at one end of the row. I also thought the price was reasonable - when orchards are competing with grocery stores that can offer $.99/lb for apples, they need to be reasonable - Ditmars charges $8 for a 5lb bag. While technically they don't charge an entrance fee, which is advertised on their site, that statement is a bit of a stretch for me. If you bring your child and don't want to pay an entrance fee, they won't be able to ride the tractor, do the corn maze, play in the bounce houses, etc, so lets just be honest - they charge $9.95 for an activity band for the kids and for adults, if you want to do a tractor or corn maze, it is $5. That is a little steep in my opinion. I do enjoy the reasonably priced wine and tasty ciders - a glass runs $5. read more

Great local business with passionate owners. My party and I were in the mood for wine (yes, they serve wine!). We were offered samples, no problem. We ordered two bottles of wine ($15/ea.) and a large cheese and cracker plate which included smoked Gouda, Brie, etc. cheeses ($10). I was a little disappointed that more substantial food options were not yet available for the season. Note: In season they serve up amazing apple cider donuts ($0.75 ea.). As far as other foods available, they have honey, jam, and more; great gifts for those who live out of town. There are two options for outdoor dining/wine enjoying: the covered deck in the back with several tables, and the deck on the northwest side with ample sun. The view of the orchards is nice, and there are rides for the kids. Come for a great Iowa experience. read more

Ditmars Orchard & Vineyard - Glass of wine. - Farms Near Me - Council Bluffs, Iowa

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We visited for the hot air balloon festival this weekend and it was a blast. Traffic wasn't an issue and the $10 parking encouraged carpooling which helped a lot. I can't say much about the apple picking or any of the other activities but the festival was just perfect. Plenty of food, bathrooms (yay) and entertainment. read more

Ditmars Orchard & Vineyard - Farms Near Me - Council Bluffs, Iowa

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Lovely place 'in the neighborhood' where the wines are excellent and the apple cider donuts are will make you a repeat customer! You must visit!! read more

Ditmars Orchard & Vineyard - Farms Near Me - Council Bluffs, Iowa

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We took our grandkids there this weekend (Saturday) hoping for an afternoon of fun. Got there a bit after two. The web said they were open till six. Paid $40 to get in... walked outside to discover barricades and yellow tape stopping us from going to see the flowers and walk the corn maze. I asked a staff person if we could go to the maze and she told me that at 3:00 all the activities were going to be off limits! So we did a SUPER FAST run through the maze. Went in and had some water and mini donuts and asked to buy some goat food and were told no, the goat food wasn't being sold because of the balloon fest. Ok I get that this is a HUGE event for y'all but the LEAST your staff could have done was tell us before we paid that we'd only be allowed to be there for just over an hour! We drove from SouthWest Omaha and paid $40+ for just a little over an hour in the orchard. I feel as though we were taken advantage of!!!! read more

Cozy establishment with pumpkin donuts worth cheating on your keto diet for. A bit lacking in the apple-picking department.

My bf and I went to the bluegrass festival here last Saturday night with his two kids (10, 13). We took chairs, cards and a frisbee to keep the kids occupied. The ten year old played on the nice playground the entire time. The 13 year hung with us playing cards when he got bored - as teens do. The music was decent. The food was ok for the price. My bf and I split a bottle of wine, the howling coyote, and it was very good. We walked thru some of the apple trees. This was a beautiful place to hang out as a family, listen to live music and support a local winery. We look forward to going back. Hopefully the bluegrass festival grows in popularity, we would love to hear lots bands. read more

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We took an afternoon trip to Ditmars to enjoy some rural fall atmosphere. It was pretty nice! They have a small play ground and some little houses kids can play in. There is a small cafe and store. We bought peach preserves, cider, a few apples and some onion relish for about $20. We also had an apple cider doughnut, which we ate on a picnic table in the back. There were plenty of people there, but not the kind of overwhelming crowds you'd find at a place like Vala's. Overall I would call it a good experience and I'm sure we'll go back. read more

Watched the ballon festival and enjoyed some delightful wine! Wonderful experience except the traffic in and out was bad

Ditmars Orchard is one of the best places in the Omaha/CB Metro to grab a bottle of wine and some snacks and enjoy the outdoors and the serenity of rural western Iowa. Delicious wines, great views of the orchards and surrounding farms, awesome seating both in the shade and in the sun, and a great selection of great food items -- honey, bbq sauce, jams/preserves. If you're cruising by on Interstate 80 or want to get out of the Metro and relax, this is the place to go. The owners are incredibly helpful, generous and knowledgeable -- they make you feel like you're at home. Most of the wines are sweet or dessert wines, but if you're a fan of a dry red wine, have their Good Neighbor. It's delicious. Even better with a cheese tray. My only con is that you have to drive on a gravel road for a few miles to get there -- not good if you just washed your car. read more

I am giving them a three star because the orchard was nice, and the customer service was good. I liked that they served wine, but bummed they didn't make it. My biggest disappointment were the apple cider doughnuts. I am from Michigan where orchards wouldn't survive if they didn't make great cider doughnuts. I now live in Omaha, and we drove 30 minutes to get cider doughnuts here. They were the worst cider doughnuts I have ever had. They were way too buttery, the cinnamon sugar was melted by the time you ate them, and they were soggy (even though they claimed they were fresh out of the fryer). When it comes to cider doughnuts you should NEVER close the lid when they are hot. This melts the toppings and makes the soggy. The water is visible on the container if you closed them too soon. Just a tip to them. read more

Don't waste your time going this time of year to pick apples. They ask you to prepay $10.00 per each small plastic bag to pick their number 2 apples for them, so your time and labor that they would normally pay laborers to pick apples is worth nothing to them. Most apples remaining on the trees are worm filled or covered in scab. All of the first quality apples have been picked already and the remaining fruit that is laying on the ground beneath the fruit trees is creating a safety hazard. One step on a smashed apple and you could find yourself on your back and making a trip to the chiropractor. Most orchards where I grew up would gather the fruit quickly off the ground and use to make cider or sell as number number 2 apples. In addition, don't expect to find a nice selection of first quality apples in the retail shop. One bin of apples existed inside the store and they were unmarked just like the fruit trees in the orchard. Buyer beware, you will be paying at least $1.50 or more per pound for Number 2 apples that should be sold at 50 cents per pound or less, since you have to spend hours to find something only partially edible. read more

Horrible experience. They had no apples to sell or pick but they continued to sell bags for picking.Total ripoff

We decided to try Ditmar's as I have seen many people recommend it on Facebook. There was also a living social deal, so we gave it a try. The kids had fun on the playground, but that was really not worth my $15. We had to wait a long time for the tractor ride. And the whole reason we went was to pick apples and were told where we could find them and were given bags. But we never found any apples! Some trees were loaded, but they were all worm eaten and the rest of the trees were bare. Our LS deal also came with apple cider slushies that were not slushy, and apple cider donuts that were right out of the fryer, but were nothing to write home about. Their building is nice and the bathrooms clean. I think we'll stick to Nebraska City next year. read more

Terrific, relaxed atmosphere. Friendly staff and plenty of outdoor, covered seating. Can't believe we've lived 5 minutes from here for 14 years and this is our first visit. It definitely won't be our last. read more

This place is awesome. It's a shame it's been here for a while and I had no idea about it. I knew there was an orchard but didn't know they sold wine and an an excellent outside venue, both out in the sun and shaded. The outdoor venue overlooks the fields where I could see the grapes and fruit trees. My family and I came on a Saturday afternoon. We were the only ones there, though Council Bluffs had a holiday that day. My brother and I shared a bottle of the Good Neighbor. It was a delicious red wine that starts sweet and has a dryer finish. The rest of them shared Ashely's Blush, which is a sweeter blush wine. The 5 of us shared a cheese platter that had an assortment of cheeses and crackers. The large platter satisfied all of us. It was so peaceful out there and I can't wait to go back. A bottle of wine was $15. The owners even came out and talked to us. You could tell he was very passionate about his place. They do not offer a flight which was a little disappointing. nor do they have food year round. When we went in late May, they only had a cheese trays available. I am excited to try their food when the season picks up. I can imagine that the weddings here are beautiful. read more

Great place to celebrate autumn with family and friends. Plenty of good food and drink. Many products made from Apple's. Pumpkins are everywhere. Bonfires are available as are hayrack rides. My only complaint is the service to purchasing food was way to slow. There was only one employee working both stations. I will go back again to be sure. read more

Such a cute little orchard to relax after a long, stressful day. Fruits were good quality, very delicious. Try their jalapeno raspberry jam and apple cider doughnuts, they are AMAZING!!! Kids will have fun in the corn maze too. Great for groups and parties. read more

Today, Saturday September 12, 2015, we visited the orchard. We arrived at 3:30pm because we were coming for the 5:30pm Hot Air Balloon show. We were not told that there was separate admission for the Orchard and for the hot air balloon show. In addition, we were charged $5 for our 2 year old (who we found out as we were leaving, was supposed to enter for free, we saw a sign in the back, the front desk staff did not ask us the age of our children). Not only did the staff at the front desk did not greet us in a polite/friendly manner, she also did NOT inform us of the separate event fee. We only visited for the hot air balloon show and we ended up paying a lot more than we were expecting and we did not even get to stay for the hot air balloon show because we didn't know it was a separate fee. Ditmars' website did not have any disclaimer informing of the separate fees for the orchard activities and for the show. We were very disappointed. We are never going back to this mediocre place. Way overpriced. Plus the only activities were a small corn maze and an old noisy playground. Not minority friendly at all. read more