Five for the following: CT touristy…read moreHarvest Week Vegan wrap Apple cider But the breakdown PARKING I've been during the off season and it's painless to park here. Today was maybe the kickoff to harvest month and some events. IT WAS PACKED. Not to worry, everyone was civilized and there were plenty of attendants. Lots of parking all over. SERVICE Everyone to a person was ready for this crazy rush. Filled with kids and regulars, I think the staff knows what to expect cuz they were all pretty chill. FOOD First: The sandwiches and wraps came with chips AND AN APPLE. Perfect. Dad had the Cuban Sandwich (I've never seen it on a pumpernickel and rye swirl bread) but he loved it. Vegan Macintosh wrap with Portabello and hummus was fantastic. Hit the spot for a cool autumn day. GIFTS Maple sugar candy isn't made here anymore, but the candy is made by a larger company out of New Hampshire. DONUTS They didn't run out of apple donuts today, but they were definitely a hit with almost everyone. ACTIVITIES Today was an event day, with hundreds of families taking part in Clydesdale Horse wagon rides, kiddie train rides, and lots of other family activities. (Seasonal) If you're in the Middlesex area - put it on your list.

Wonderful visit to the Lyman PIck Your Own Orchards on a late Saturday morning in mid-September…read more We've visited lots of Pick Your Own Orchards over the years and most have transitioned over into a festival-styled space with offerings including hayrides, playgrounds and pettings zoos, all for a premium all-inclusive price. Depending on the family, this may not be ideal for some. Some also have, sometimes unreasonable, picking requirements...such as each member of the group over a certain age MUST purchase a picking bag...which, for a family of four, would result in an expensive family visit to the orchard with LOTS of leftover and unused apples. Again, this may not be ideal for some. Lyman was a breath of fresh air. Their entire operation is quite massive and separated: pick your own orchards, massive farm shop, golf center, and pub/grill are in different locations within their entire property. We arrived to the Pick Your Own Orchards area at around 11am on a lovely Saturday morning in mid-September. We expected it to be busy but it wasn't...there were lots ot parking (free) spaces in the dirt/grassed lot and even the picking orchards weren't very crowded...lots of space to pick. After parking, we went to the stand to purchase our picking bag. The options, currently, are $16 for half-peck bag, $26 for a full-peck bag and $47 for half-bushel. For our family, two adults and one small child, we shared a full-peck bag (no "per-person" requirement) which fit about 9 pounds of apples. After choosing our bag, we proceeded to the ochards to pick. There were Gala, McIntosh, Blondee, Jonamac, Spencer and Honey Crisp apples to choose from. Lots of trees to select from at that time...both on the higher and lower branches were available. All staff we encountered, including the parking lot and payment counter attendants were friendly, helpful and efficient. They post updates regularly (sometimes every few hours) on all of their social media platforms and have a hotline, which is very helpful, particularly for harvest and weather updates. Their detailed and thorough website has lots of information so you know what do expect during your visit. Again, great time here at Lyman's no-nonsense PIck-Your-Own Orchards. I can understand why they have been voted the (and among the best) orchards in Connecticut and the entire Nation. We also visited their Farm Store which was also great. Huge store with lots to choose from including fresh product, jarred jams and syrups, and sizeable hot food and bakery sections. Very reasonable prices throughout. After you are finished shopping, there are lots of tables and chairs toward the back of the building where you can sit, relax an eat. There is also a ice-cream window there with some interesting flavors. Would love to return to check out some of their other offerings. The two-hour drive from NYC was definitely worth it!

From the friendly staff, to great drinks, and amazing choice of food. You cannot go wrong here…read moreespecially with Michelle's help in the pick your own flowers. She knew exactly how to build a bouquet of flowers and used her vast knowledge on what colors paired with others. 10/10 highly recommended.

This place has the arrogance to charge $2 for the privilege of entering the orchard and paying for…read morealready overpriced fruit. What an absolute joke of an establishment. They've turned a quaint orchard into a dog and pony show amusement park. Shame on them

The family is just amazing. Down to earth and they all come together and support each other. So…read morethank you for letting me share in this journey of yours.

Hidden Gem! Amazing Pies and baked goods. By far the best Apple pie, apple crisp & cider within 100…read moremiles. They are selling cookies this year and are to die for!

Wonderful spot for picking blueberries and anything else that they offer. Friendly service and…read moregreat prices!!

Rude, expensive poison…read more So much pesticide on items like peach and blueberry! Local doesn't mean better. People have a false idea that local means old fashioned or organic. No, In fact I'd say it's worse, as I wonder if anyone is actually keeping an eye on these people as to the pesticide levels. They are terribly rude and overpriced on top of it! If you read the dirty dozen and the clean 15 it gives you recommendations for which items you should buy all means get organic all the time and which items you don't have to worry about. Peaches and blueberries with their thin skin are things that one should get organic. Support organic growers.

we arrived to the farm planning to get a tree and take some pictures until some guy came up to us…read moreasking if our friend with a camera is a photographer then got all nasty and kicked us out. Do not go here they have no respect and are very unprofessional.

This was the first year we cut our own tree (as adults). We had looked for a few places in the area…read moreand decided on Winterberry Farm. They had a few plots/areas you could pick your tree. We searched them as we wanted to find the *perfect* tree. The land and farm are beautiful - it felt like a mini adventure to get our tree. And compared to other places, it was very affordable. We found our tree and enjoyed celebrating our first Christmas in our new home. :)

Savitsky Farm is an amazing family run farm located on Cato Corner Rd in Colchester. They sell…read moreproduce, eggs, and more from their farmstand. On their property, Debbie also has a few small cottages for selling (mostly) vintage or handmade items. Savitzsky Farm is a staple at the Colchester Farmers Market. They're huge supports of local businesses; even selling some products at their farmstand. They give back to the community and help those in need. They even made/sold masks during the pandemic. This is a business that I am proud to support and promote.

Absolutely love this farm! We try to get our eggs here as much as we can. They are so big and so…read morefresh! This weekend they had a plant & veggie sale, and we definitely loaded up on plants, veggies and a raspberry bush for our garden! Very affordable, and we love supporting our local farms. They also have a little cottage where you can buy authentic vintage farmhouse decor. We took home a cute white pitcher & a milk bottle. The owners are so very friendly & helpful too, which makes the experience even more special.

Good stuff,fresh,tasty,healthy, let's support sustainable farmers,their livelyhood depends on…read moreit,strive to eat healthy.

Best Blue berries this season! Clean and bountiful! Can't wait for next season to pick more and…read moretry other fields

I came across this orchard at the latest strawberry festival at Olde Mystic Village! They had such…read morea nice booth and their strawberries and "Traffic Jam" were probably the best I have ever had! I will be sure to go back again next year!

Spent the day over at Dondero Orchards for a lunch date. My fiance and I got a BBQ chicken panini…read moreand chicken wrap here on Saturday. The storefront was so charming. Fresh native berries, cherries and snap peas, a sweet pup to greet us, and nostalgic honey sticks. This farm is a special place. We browsed the wonderful selection of homemade goods and purchased a few ready to go items on our way out. The Macaroni Salad, Potato Salad, and fresh salsa were all a perfect treat for lunch the next day. Oh yes and the strawberry fritters are a MUST. Pro tip* bring a cooler with ice so you can take some meal prep foods home! You'll be happy you did.

Cute little winery attached with farm store! I Was greeted by a friendly staff member! She helped…read moreme figure out which wine was right for me. Very personable staff at this establishment. Fair prices also.

My husband and I adored this little shop. We stopped by here to pick up some souvenirs and gifts to…read morebring home. We were greeted by very nice locals and a woman who either owns or works at the farm. It had a cozy Christmas charm and she gave us a few samples of their local fruit wine. I have never had wine besides wine made from grapes. I was very pleasantly surprised with the apple, peach, and blueberry fruit wines!! They were soooo good that we bought 4 bottles home. In the back of the shop is a Christmas tree farm. The men in the tree farm were very nice and offered me my own saw to cut down the tree of my liking. I was flabbergasted because I'm from NYC...saws are definitely not within arms reach at any tree farm...or anywhere...unless you're at Home Depot or something. I was very happy with my visit here and the merchandise we bought.

I called them up asking them to deliver a bouquet to a friend who just had surgery. They were very…read morepleasant and asked me my price range. I asked them to make something bright and cheery for around $70 total with delivery, and they did an amazing job.

driven by t&c so many times .. finally had a need for bug spray and wanted to check out their…read moreflowers. organic bug killer was in stock. bought some new perennials to fill out the garden. they do things a little different here - the tables covered with flowers are organized by color, which is helpful if you are trying to have a garden with just one color. they also have a little farm stand in the parking lot and all the produce was local and looks good .. and the stand also sells farm to hearth breads, which is good because usually the bakery isn't open when i am over this way.