This was my first apple-picking experience, and it definitely did not disappoint! If you're looking for a fun fall activity, this is a must-visit. One thing I really loved learning is that this is a family-owned business going on its 80th year! There's something special about supporting a business with that kind of history and tradition. I visited on a Tuesday, which made for a more relaxed experience without the crowds. However, if you visit on the weekend, you'll get to enjoy even more activities, performances, food vendors, and additional pig races. Unfortunately, we missed the 12:30 PM pig race, but there was still plenty to enjoy! We spent some time visiting the animals, including sheep, pigs, rabbits, chickens, and goats. The staff was incredibly welcoming and happy to answer any questions we had about the orchard, which made the experience even better. One thing I did notice was that some areas could have used some cleaning. There were quite a bit of rotten, smashed apples on the ground around the orchard, so a little cleanup would make a difference in the experience. Now, let's talk about the treats! You MUST try the cider float while you're here. It was SO delicious! And if you're a fan of apple desserts, do yourself a favor and get the warm apple pie with ice cream. Absolutely yummy! My biggest tip? Arrive early in the season if you want the best apple-picking experience. I'd love to return a little earlier next time to see more apples on the trees. If picking apples is on your must-do list, don't wait too late in the season, or you might miss out on that part of the experience. Overall, a lovely way to spend a fall day, enjoy some seasonal treats, visit the animals, and make memories. $14 entry p/p weekdays Large Apple bag $24 Apple pie & ice cream $6 read more

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I was specifically looking for one of the orchards on that road that serves food in the weekend besides the hot dog and burgers. Thought this was it based on their website. It stated they had 5 food different vendors and also hot dog and burgers on the weekends. What they did not specify was that you had to pay for admission ($22 on Sunday) to get into the area where the food vendors were my husband and I just wanted to buy apples and have lunch and not do the whole pick your own apples and all the rides for kids. So just a heads up if you're looking for lunch, you have to pay to get in. The free area only has the burgers and hot dogs. We did end up getting apple pies and they had about 8 varieties of fill your bag apples that day. 1/4 peck for $6, not too bad! Pickled up some apple butters and preserved as well. Quick check out line, and nice cashiers. read more

Hillcrest Orchards - Apple pie and 1/4 peck of different apples that I picked out - Farmers Market Near Me - Ellijay, Georgia

So I wanted to try a new venue for our annual fall field trip, and chose Hillcrest Orchards over BJ Reese, and let me just say I regretted my decision. Hillcrest Orchards at the very least needs to reinvest in their property. Perhaps at one time they were posh and polished but now, the attractions are run down and very dated. The entire property needs a facelift, paint and a good scrubbing. We enjoyed the pig races, of course, but the athletic area is worn down and pretty darn yucky. I think they can do so much better. Next year, we will return to BJ Reece! read more

It was a fun time for the kids. Expensive though...$12/person plus a $10 1/2 peck bag plus apple pie/fritter = $24 They had a trike track, jumping blobs (2), kids corn maze, slides, zip line, fair games, etc. My fav thing they had were the pig/duck races. I loved it but you definitely have to get to the spot at min 15 minutes in advance to get a seat and expect to be crowded. The apple orchard was well laid out and there were plenty of trees. They were short too which helped my 7 and 4 year olds. Overall a lot of fun. I believe though that BJ Reece will be our go to from now on. read more

Hillcrest Orchards - Pig race - Farmers Market Near Me - Ellijay, Georgia

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Price unbelievable for petting farm $14 per person!!! sick animal, rabbit with infection on his ear that looked like it wasn't being treated. no attendants to ask question, Rocky and very unsafe for seniors to walk! dont take your family there!! read more

Such a fun place for kids, lots to do. Petting Zoo, Hay Ride, zipline, pig races, jumping pillows, etc. Great apples, frozen cider and lots of fresh baked yummy treats. We come back every year. read more

We had such a fun time!! Apple picking season was over in October but there were still plenty of apples available for purchase. We took some home along with apple cider and some donuts, but the highlight was all The other fun things for kids to do. Petting zoo, zip lines, pig races, slides, playground. We had a great time... bouncy house and everything. Cool store cool play area it does cost extra money 8 dollars per person but totally worth it!!! Hours of fun for just a little money! Loved it!!! read more

Came here yesterday to pick some apples, but they were informing people that they don't have many apples left to pick because of the late April frost that ruined a lot of trees for this year. We just got some apple goods in the store though. The apple cider donuts are delicious! They taste so fresh! read more

Hillcrest Orchards - Apple cider donut - Farmers Market Near Me - Ellijay, Georgia

Insanely overpriced, rude staff, smelled horrible, and grounds are run down. This place has definitely gone downhill. Stay away!! It's not worth the effort or money. Hope a decline in sales forces some much needed change. read more

We had the best time out at the petting farm with the goats last weekend. The young man working out there was very friendly and helped us have a great experience thank you. read more

we made the best of the day, but it was extremely overpriced and way too many rules adults literally cannot do anything. There's no apple picking during the week and everything is run down. We do go for the apple cider, the donuts and the apple fritter and this time they were not nearly as good as they usually are. Very disappointing. Everyone that was working there was incredibly rude. I do have a large family but basically we paid $275 for gross apple products and to ride tricycles that were broken and slide on slides and pet some goats and they have a pillow that has to many rules, the game we're all broken And the playground is for under five which is for older kids, and actually under five shouldn't be on it because it was too big for them!! read more

My husband and I came last year in a random weekday after visiting Atlanta. The Apple cider donuts were amazing and the Apple cider so yummy:). We enjoyed shopping I. The store and of course brought home donuts for the family. This year we were staying in Blairsville and came out for the festival. We had such a great time picking apples, watching the kids enjoy the petting zoo, heck enjoyed it myself... I held a baby chick and almost adopted a kitten!). Enjoyed some hot apple Cider donuts and a glass of apple cider:). Of course bought some donuts and cider to bring home. Will def be back next year! read more

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Tons of fun things to do, from hayrides, cow cars, a jumping pillow, pig races, music, a petting zoo, etc. It was my wife, me, and our 3-year old son. Totally worth the admission price. I don't normally write reviews but I had to after reading some of the negative reviews, which said: - too expensive? I'd say there are a lot more activities than other places and the only things that have an extra charge is the bungee jumping I believe, or where you're actually buying something such as the apple picking. Yes, the apples are expensive, but if you are looking for a deal on apples, you're better off going to Kroger. - too many rules? Hey, there are a lot of dumb people, especially kids. Everyone needs these rule to keep things orderly, safe and keep things from getting broken. - rude employees? No one we met was rude. - run down? I didn't see that and things were working fine for us. - no discount for kids? First, kids who are not yet walking are free. Second, that's like asking why there's no kids discount at the zoo. Kids are the primary customer base. - too crowded? It was busy, but It's busy for a reason. We had little problem getting to do what we wanted. You do need to get to the pig races ahead of time to get a seat. read more

The 3rd weekend of October was the wrong time to go....unless you're a family with kids and don't care about messy, crowded places with tons of children running around. Then it might be your perfect place. There's animals and pig races, which the kiddos might like. But if you're doing this as an outing of single people in your 20's or 30's and looking for more of a "country getaway" type of feeling, it might be overwhelming. I walked in, and was immediately overwhelmed by the cramped feeling and too many children swarming the place. I had to leave ASAP. I went to BJ Reeces about a mile down, and it was similar with lots of families and children (I guess it's the weekend for apples) but because it was much bigger and spaced out, it felt less crampy. read more

Hillcrest Orchards is one of the many apple orchards in Ellijay, the "Apple Capital of Georgia." Ellijay is about a 1.5 hour drive north of Atlanta. You can take 400 or 75 (and 575) up to Ellijay. Apple-picking can be a fun fall day activity. I chose to go to Hillcrest based on word-of-mouth. Apple-picking at Hillcrest is available the last 3 weekends in September and every weekend in October. My advice: go as soon as you can (e.g. the 2nd or 3rd weekend in September). I went on Sunday and most of the apple trees had been picked clean from the previous 4 weekends. It was pretty disappointing. It costs $6 per person to get access to the grounds. After that, it costs $7 to get a 1/2 "peck" bag and $11 to get a full peck bag -- bags to fill your apples with. When we went, there were signs posted that said, "Very few apples left to pick." Well, we didn't drive all the way up to Ellijay for nothing, so we still went into the orchards. The apple trees yielded a few varieties of apples including Rome, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Gala. Admission to the grounds also gives you access to playgrounds for the kids, cow milking (yes, you can milk a freaking cow), a bee farm, a pig race (yes, a freaking pig race), tractors, and other country and farm-like activities. Check Hillcrest's web site for more details. There's also a petting zoo and go-kart racing, but I believe those activities cost extra. I think we picked maybe 3 or 4 good-sized red Rome apples. Nobody leaves empty-handed, though. When you make your way back inside, there is a country store with tons of pre-picked apples from the orchard. You can fill up the rest of your bag there. At this point, you might as well just go to Kroger or Publix, but hey, I'm a practical person. You come here for the apple picking experience. It was packed on Sunday, so be prepared for a bit of traffic on Highway 52 between Hillcrest and the nearby B.J. Reece Apple House. We were headed to a pot luck-ish sort of event later in the day and I really wanted to bring my friends some good, homemade apple pie from Ellijay. We couldn't find any at Hillcrest. So instead, when we got back to Atlanta, we found a good $5.99 apple pie at the Publix Bakery. read more

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My friends and I chose Hillcrest Orchards for our fall apple picking experience with our toddlers. I don't know what the other orchards in the area offer, but for my money I wouldn't go anywhere else. We had a great time. The drive up was easy and the sights were pretty. From my house, south of I20, it took about 90 minutes to get there. I wasn't prepared for the crowds. It was packed! We had to park waaaaaayyyy in the back. But we had strollers and wagons for the kids so it wasn't so bad. Admission is $7 and honestly I don't think we did half the things that they offer. We were there for about 4 hours. We did the pig races, wagon ride, big jumpy pillow, petting zoo and, of course, the apple picking. We did eat some food- hot dog and hamburger. There was a crazy line for roasted corn and grilled chicken, but I walked right up and ordered a burger. It was really good and huge. The best thing I ate all day was the hot apple fritter. I can't express enough how good that thing was. It alone was worth my 90 minute drive. It was so good that my two friends and I split one, and then we all went back and ordered our own. Yeah, don't go to HIllcrest on a diet! There are a couple of things where I could see room for improvement: Petting Zoo- you have to pay an additional $3 per person to get in. I'm okay with paying for my daughter, but I think it's pretty crappy to make the parents pay too. What do I care about petting a baby goat? Apple Trees- some were marked and some weren't, so I didn't always know what I was picking. Pig Races- cut out that stupid married couples race at the beginning. It was dumb and a time killer and little kids were getting antsy. Overall, we had an awesome time. People were friendly, there was lots to do and the kids loved it. We will definitely be back next year. read more

Hillcrest Orchards - The best apple fritter ever! - Farmers Market Near Me - Ellijay, Georgia

First of all, $14 per person to walk in. Complete ripoff. Then an additional $15 to pick the actual apples. We came here for the sole purpose of Apple picking, not all the extra activities for children (there are tons of those and they were all dirty and extremely crowded). The employee at the ticket counter was surly when we asked if we could only walk through the orchard and pick the apples. then we had to sign in like we were visiting a prisoner in county. Had we known any of this, we wouldn't have continued inside. There was NO reasonable social distancing. The market area was packed and no mask wearing was enforced. Not even the employees were wearing masks. The entire complex smelled like the petting zoo. And if you wanted to get any of the good apples, you were forced to ride on a wagon packed with other people, also not wearing masks. We were able to follow one of the wagons to get to the other side of the orchard where we FINALLY found apples. However, the entrance is the same as the exit which is super congested and a total nightmare to walk through. And then they check your bag as if you might be smuggling apples out? I grew up going to an apple orchard every fall, and to date this is literally the most uncomfortable experience I've ever had. read more

I had a good time here, but I felt it necessary to give what would've been a 4-star review one less star due to their complete lack of care in regards to the current pandemic. Mask wearing was not enforced, and there wasn't even an attempt at social distancing recommendations. It was very nerve-wracking to sit in a wagon full of people not wearing masks and trying to maintain social distancing from morons who seemed blissfully unaware of the pandemic thats been raging for months. I did think they had a lot of great options for the $14 admission. The museums were interesting, the mini golf looked fun (we did not participate due to lack of covid precautions), and there were lots of kid friendly activities. Apple picking was a good time and I enjoyed the maze, even though it was fairly simple compared to other tree and corn mazes I've done. I also tried their apple cider which was delicious and kettle corn which was also yummy. Overall, it was a nice experience, but it would have been nicer had I actually felt safe. read more

Very expensive. They charge you to get in, $14 per person, including children, and then you have to buy the bags for the apples on top of that. At most other u-picks you either pay for the bags or to get in, not both. No one wear's a mask. We asked the manager why the employees did not wear masks and she told us it was too hot out to make them wear masks. Staff were rude. We will not be back. There are plenty of other u-picks around where we have had much better experiences. Don't waste your time or money here. read more

Terribly overpriced!! Do not go here!! You will not get anything close to $18 worth of value from this place!! We had a group of 13 people and there is NO discount for children, NO discount for seniors, and NO discount for a group!! READ THE ONE STAR REVIEWS!! read more

Customer service was awful at the entrance. The older lady selling tickets would not let us buy tickets for my family of 6. We waited in the line for 20 minutes. She saw us in line. Two of us went to the car to drop off the goods we purchased in their gift shop. The lady saw them go to the car and would not let us pay for their tickets. She said that would be cutting in line! They arrived as we were paying for four tickets and we asked to pay for their tickets and she scoffed, rolled her eyes and said, "are you kidding me!" I asked her why she thought it prudent to be rude to customers. She kept saying ugly things to us and then told us "you can go somewhere else!" I will take her advice next time. We usually bring roughly 20-30 families with us when we visit Amicalola Falls. We usually visit BJ Reeces Orchards and have always loved that experience. I mistakenly told my family to try this orchard because BJ's didn't open until 1 pm on Sunday. Now I know, it would be 100% worth the wait to go to BJ Reeces next time. Hillcrest has a cute petting zoo, wagon ride, and we played ping pong. The smell is very overwhelming though (chemicals of some sort). We all left with headaches. It's $18 a ticket for mostly everything but most of the things are for young children and not teenagers to adults. Pretty much the only thing for young adults to do is the wagon ride, petting zoo, and play ping pong next to stagnant water in a creek. You can pay $10 or $18 to pick apples. We will not ever visit again nor will I recommend to my travel group. read more

What a fun place. In comparison to the other Apple farms , Hillcrest has many more activities to offer besides picking apples. They have a petting zoo ( rabbits, goats, kitties , you can also feed the goats ), a chicken race , duck race , pig race , and swimming pigs ( that was very funny ) and the kids seemed to love it ! Great fun for the whole family. And last but not least, pick your own apples. You can walk or jump on a tractor for a ride. Highly recommended for the whole family ! read more

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Long lines, overcrowded (vivid scare) no apples, they are all picked off trees. Asked 3 employees what was the different tastes, they all said either, I dont eat the apples, I dont know or pretended no speak english. Very dirty. Unkempt grounds. The apples in the market picked for you did not look healthy. White dust, worm holes. It's not worth $14. Entry fee. There is no sanitizer stations in covid! They dont wipe down tractor wagons in between 30 people loading and unloading. The traffic coming in from Dawsonville was backed up 5 miles at noon, beware, it's not worth it. There are gorgeous orchards and apples in NC, go there instead. Side note: cough up $7.00 for Cider!!! Very expensive . Photos show EMPTY TREES front and upper-back fields! read more

Hillcrest Orchards - $14 entry, trees are bare, unhealthy apples, then you pay for bag to pick what's on ground! - Farmers Market Near Me - Ellijay, Georgia

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**Family Outing Review** I decided to tell my 7 year old "hey! Let's go pick so apples!" He was so excited that he hopped in the car. (I should have Wazed it first having NO idea how far I was about to drive). Good long conversations about bugs to animals to bigfoots later, we arrived at Hillcrest Orchards. It was the first one we were passing and before the entrance, you could see families playing mini golf. My son was sold! $12 per person for all of the activities provided. Not bad at all once you get in and realize that they have a TON of kid activities. $14 for a medium bag to put picked apples in. It bad when you get 18 apples of different assortments in your bag. Milking a real cow, drinking amazing lemonade from a mason jar, fried pickles and fried Oreos, mini golf, bouncy things, hay rides, bike races, cow trains, and learning about moonshine. PRICELESS!!! The staff was beyond kind and knowledgeable! We walked out of there with smiles and laughter and discussions about baby goats and Apple mazes. Thank you for an AMAZING memory !!! read more

Hillcrest isn't what it used to be. I've been visiting off and on since I was a child but I'm not sure if we'll be coming back after this year. Entry prices are way too high, the place is super crowded, and the apples for sale in the store were all mealy when we tried them at home. read more

We wanted to stop at the Apple markets in Ellijay. Unfortunately this was our first stop. Horrible customer service. Plenty of employees hanging around, but apparently not interested in welcoming customers or asking if they need any help. Do yourself a favor and skip this location and stop at BJ Reece. They'll appreciate your business and will even tell you so. read more

Overpriced. U-Pick not included in admission. Mini golf course was subpar. Other than that, petting zoo, hay ride, and entertainment were ok. read more

Just spent a lovely day at Hillcrest. It's not just a u-pick experience- it has the feeling of a little county fair. So many activities for the kids- we didn't have time to do everything and they did not want to leave. The zip lines, "big" tricycles, and petting farm were the favorites today. And the place is clean, safe, and friendly. It's like how you imagine a farm should be when you're a kid. The actual apple picking is very well-organized- the u-pick orchard has many varieties planted together so you can select different kinds without walking for miles. We've been to other orchards in recent years but this one is our favorite. Admission was $18/person but I feel we had a fantastic experience that was worth it. Recommend arrive early though! read more

A bit pricey for a large family but have lots of activities going on, "petting zoo", pig races, playground, apple picking, and food to purchase. read more

Hillcrest Orchards - Petting small goat - Farmers Market Near Me - Ellijay, Georgia

Overpriced for admission. I really just wanted the baked goods so I went into the shop, made my purchases and left. Will give this place a change when I have kids that are seven or older and place to stay hours at the orchard. Unless they raise the price higher. read more

Admission prices very high. Expensive for a family. My wife and I have been going there for the past several years We stopped picking our own apples because it became more expensive than to just buy them inside. Too bad. Also we ate as we have always done at the cafe inside. The apple fritter has gone down in quality. It use to be darker with a lot of glaze on it. Now it looks like a pancake with very little glaze. I think it's time to look for a new location read more

I love this place. One of the best parts was the drive up here. it's about 25 minutes from the GA 400 outlets in Dawsonville. down, long, winding roads. with the mountain on the right. it's great for autumn driving. we passed Uncle Shucks and 2 minutes more of driving we were here! they have 3 parking lots and people to help guide the traffic. The line to get in was long as crap! but, some advice, they also let you pay to get in in the front store. if you go through the main line next to the orchards, you can only pay with cash. If you have a credit card you can only use it in the main store. What i love about this place is the sense of unity and fun-heartedness. what i dont like is that almost everything is a la carte. You pay the get in $5/person. If the child can walk- you pay. then you pay for a bag, from three different sizes. you then go to the orchards and fill the bag to the very top. great deal actually. however, if you are going as a family, the prices can definitely add up. it was 3 of us, and my little girl wanted to to to the petting farm- $3/person; and to ride the horses $5/person; and to milk the cow- free; and to see the pig races- free; and to get a funnel cake- $3; and to get a hot dog- $2; and some water $; i got the homemade apple cider (nothing special)- $2 and the homemade icecream (nothing special at all, tasted like the icecream you made in chemistry class with the ziplock bags- $1.50 for 1 scoop. and she wanted to jump on the inflatable jumping thingy- more money and a very long line. and we had to take the horse-drawn hay ride- more money. we sat down and ate turkey legs, hamburgers, hotdogs, ribbon fries, icecream and funnel cakes while watching old ladies clog and tell jokes! What a fantastic day!! would I do it all again...do i love me some bacon and beer??!! Heck yeah i would go! Note to Yelpers: bring cash and comfortable walking shoes. Go to the orchards last. pick up a schedule for the shows: cloggers and pig races. read more

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We have gone to Hillcrest Orchards the past few years and have loved it. Yes, it's expensive to get in if you just want apples and not the other activities, but that hasn't been a big deal for us. This year, we went to take advantage of the outdoors during COVID and their website made us feel comfortable that they were taking good precautions (and you can walk to the apple trees without having to take a tractor ride with strangers). The website and a sign when we got there also explicitly said that masks are required inside of the market, which was extremely important to us. The website also said that they're doing temperature checks prior to entry, which is not happening. When we got there, the regular outdoor entrance was closed (I guess it's weekends only) and we had to walk through the market to get to the entrance. The employee taking our money to get in was behind plexiglass but not wearing a mask, nor was the employee who put on our wristband after we paid (and she was not behind plexiglass). When we were done, the employee who took our money again had to interact with us (not behind plexiglass) to mark our bag of applies to confirm we paid. Then, on our way out through the market (the only way out), a total of ZERO employees were wearing masks (supposedly in a mask required area) and maybe 20% of the customers had masks on. I know that businesses here can decide for themselves whether to require masks (for better or worse), but if you're going to explicitly state that they are required, you better live up to your word because some of your customers are only there because of that. For anyone concerned about COVID, you should probably stay away this year. All the COVID precautions here are all talk and no action. read more

Just wanted to add some photos from our trip this weekend! It was another amazing year. The day started off rainy but by afternoon the sky was the perfect mountain blue I love. We found a pile of good apples in the You Pick orchard, the kids had crazy fun on the bungee bounce and I got to enjoy an amazing apple fritter and a sweet cider slushy! read more

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This place definitely has some capacity issues, but I'm not going to harp on that too much. It's good that the business is thriving and that (it looks like) the staff can't keep up. However, what CAN be helped is all of the staff just texting the whole time and allowing 15 year old kids to jump on the bounce attractions that say they're for small kids, or to completely not supervise the petting zoo area, or to not be around to help form lines for things like the tractor ride. I mean, it's easy. Don't know why no one could spare a glance away from their phones. read more

SO disappointed. Decided to visit during a weekday ONLY because their website clearly listed their covid19 procedures and it made me feel assured they took it serious and it could be a safe outing. Their website lists temperature checks and mask requirement for entering store and a suggestion for outside. They not only did NOT enforced their own rules, but NONE of their employees were wearing masks. It was beyond disturbing and we left. Was so upset to have driven all the way up there hoping to buy from their gift shop, but didn't want to give them another dime after seeing their lack of concern for the pandemic. read more

We came here last weekend to Apple pick. It is $14 just to enter, which I know there are other activities at the farm - but you are not given the choice. If you are 2 adults wanting to pick a full bag of apples, it'll cost you $43. We found some decent apples, but many picked over already. What bothered me most is that they say they are doing temperature checks and masks required indoors, however, there is no temp check and not even their employees were masked indoors. If you want to risk covid, get so-so apples, and pay extra for it - go here. read more

Really awesome place to visit! There is so much to do and their food products are top notch. I always spend too much money there, but I love their jams, jellies, fritters, etc. Also, don't forget to get an apple cider slushie! They are amazing!! read more

We went to Hillcrest every year or two while our daughter was growing up. They have a series of festival-weekends in September / October where you can go apple picking, etc. They have an expanding range of on-site activities including a petting zoo, a tricycle track, a large jumpee-air-pillow thing, hayrides, pig races, etc. It is always crowded and they charge a good amount for attending, but it was almost always a fun afternoon. Their small packs of apple donuts are great for snacking on en route home, also. Recommended if you have younger kids. read more

Can't give it any stars at all. Not trying to be Negative Nancy or Dean the Downer , but here is my opinion. $18.00 per person to walk through the Gate. Step behind the first Robber and get Robbed again for the apple bags. $10.00 for a bag that holds 8 apples tops. Or $18.00 for a bag that might hold 15 Apples. So $92.00 before I even touch an apple. Thought I was taking my family apple picking, ends up I get a full prostate exam instead. This place is not a good value. Save yourself 85 bucks and buy your apples at Publix. Enjoy your ride home ! read more