This place is amazing. An incredible store with so many things to choose from. Everything apple and…read moremore. You can actually watch cider being pressed from behind a window. They have a cafe/bakery where you can purchase pies, turnovers and donuts. Unless you have a handicap parking permit, it's quite a hike to park. I saw a lot of older folks struggling to walk up the hill. It's also a Harvest Host location where you can reserve an RV spot and park overnight in your RV spot for free.

While visiting North Georgia, one must visit at least 1 orchard…read more This time, it was Mercier which is quite large with fresh bakery, gift and food items, and of course, apples ! First of the season offered some of my favorites, September Wonder and Crispins. It was close to closing time, so no fresh baked goods remaining. However, cider donuts were in the fridge, looking like they were made at a local bakery. $9 for a dozen which is less expensive than most places. Very friendly and clean place.

I love aquariums and try to visit one when we travel. This one was great!!!!!!…read more Two buildings which focus on river and ocean life. The river life was from around the world and shared lots of info I never would have known. The displays are nice and the fish seem well taken care of. The ocean side is a bit smaller, but the displays are beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

We had a great time beating the heat and exploring the TN Aquarium for a fun summer Sunday…read moreafternoon experience. It an enormous place, to the point, it's actually split into two buildings. One building focuses on rivers and lakes, while the other highlights creatures from the ocean. Both were very impressive, and will take about 1-1.5 hours each to explore. We saw all kinds of creatures we'd never seen before in both the river building and the ocean, but I'd think the ocean building was by far our favorite because of all the brightly colored creatures, for the most part the ones found in the rivers are a bit more tame and muted in color. The tanks in both were well stocked, and there was plenty of signage at the tanks to help you identify different species. In addition to water life, they also had some lemurs on the top floor and a butterfly garden, which was full, but hard to get pictures of. They offered interactive experiences with several touch tanks through out the aquarium, and easy to find staff that could generally answer your questions, or were really good at making up answers. Pricing was a little on the high end at about $40 for adults and $30 for kids, and anyone under 3 is free. I understand it costs a lot to maintain, but it just adds up quickly. We still had a great time, and enjoyed the experience, and would recommend to others

We had a wonderful time picking apples at B.J. Reece. I recommend going when the temperatures are a…read morelittle cooler.

Top orchard in the area in my opinion. This popular orchard can be packed on the weekends with…read moretroves of cars and people enjoying everything they have to offer. Love the variety of apples when in season from sweet to tart to crispy to tangy! BJ Reeces also has a variety of fresh honey and jams/preserves of all different flavors. Love their dehydrated apple chips as they are so addictive. From novelty candies to fried pies and smoothies and apple cider and wines ....whats more you can ask for all in one spot. Their nostalgic barn feeling decor that's spacious and clean and organize is easy to get around. Offering tours of the orchard and hay rides and seasonal u-pick options makes BJ Reece Orchard a nice family friendly weekend destination!

Got out and enjoyed a day exploring the Zoo while we were in Chattanooga. We went early on a…read moreFriday morning, which was good as kids were back in school, so it wasn't too crowded. For basically being in the city, we were impressed by how large it was. I was expecting a much smaller zoo, and maybe it is land mass wise, but they manage to fit a lot in. It was a hot summer day, so we worried we'd miss out on a lot of the animals trying to find cooler spots to rest in, but many more were out than we expect, and a lot of the enclosures had both indoor and outdoor viewing areas, which helped allow us to see more, as well as get us out of the sun and cool down ourselves. They had a great variety of animals, with many varieties of primates. They had a reptile house, where you could go see or many different snakes and spiders, or if that's not your thing you could just as easily avoid it all together. We saw signs around the parking offering various talks about the animals at different times. We caught the chimp talk which was fun and they enticed the chimps to come for the chat with treats. All in all, it was a really fun time, and somewhere I'd recommend, especially with children. This was a much more impressive zoo than I expected.

We love the Chattanooga Zoo. I think it is incredible that a city this size has a zoo. The staff…read moreare very nice, helpful and a great resource for questions about the animals. The zoo is designed based on country and animals found In that geographical region. Many of the stations have QR codes you can scan to learn more about the animals in question. The animals all appear to have clean areas with fresh water. You will often see employees cleaning the areas. Today, we participated in the feeding of George, a resident giraffe. It was such an incredible experience. They do charge a fee for feeding the animals, but it is minimal and just another way to help support this incredible zoo. I would recommend going early, around 9:30, to beat the heat and crowds. Some of the concession stands may not be open that early, but who needs ice cream at 9AM? If you go later, they have misting stations located throughout the zoo to help you stay cool. They also have a petting zoo with a small train. I haven't participate in this yet, but it is available. There is also a carousel you can ride. As for parking, they have alot of spots and the lots are relatively close. Overall, I think this is a great activity to do if you are traveling through Chattanooga or even if you are a local. If you live here, I would recommend getting a membership so you can go as often as you want.

Magical Place!!!!! great restaurant - great coffee! I love the avocado toast. Service is amazing…read more Everything about this cafe is Amazing! The nursery is my favorite place!!!!

was fun! pumpkin patch is maxing! hot day. cute cafe. not a huge fan of the kids play area. there…read moreare animal sand goats but you can't feed them. hay ride is nice but you don't really see much. staff is great. lots of parking when we went. also sell plants etc. i would go for food and pumpkin patch!

From our very first interaction with Abi in the ticketing area, we knew we were in for a treat. She…read morewas incredibly kind, knowledgeable, and patient, making sure all of our questions were answered, even as more people came through. We really appreciated how welcoming and attentive she was. Then we met Mae in the reptile area, and she was just as wonderful. She was incredibly knowledgeable about the animals and even let us pet a few of them (We'll never forget you, Lt. Dan!) My wife and I had an absolute blast simply walking around and taking everything in before meeting Shelby, who seems to know everything there is to know about sloths and capybaras. She was delightful to talk to and made the experience even more memorable. What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon! A huge thank-you to Abi, Mae, Shelby, and everyone else who made our visit so enjoyable. We had an amazing time and truly appreciate all the kindness, knowledge, and enthusiasm you shared with us!

Visited here recently for my niece's birthday, and it was quite an adventure to say the least! Took…read moreus about an hour and half from the Cumming area to get there. We bought tickets online and they had our name and feed purchases ready when we pulled up. Greeter gave us our buckets and explained the rules. We were probably one of the first cars through, so the animals were sort of hanging out far from the road. First animal we see is an emu in the distance on my niece's side. We are so focused on looking at that one and trying to get her excited, that I didn't even notice one had sneaked up on my side of the car and literally stuck his head in the window and grabbed feed from the bucket on my lap which startled me a bit which then proceeded to startle my niece...and that essentially set the tone for the rest of our time there. Next we came to the zebras. We were warned that they were a little pushy and had teeth like donkeys. You're taught to hold the bucket outside the car, but they pushed themselves inside the window (on my niece's side of course) and kept trying to grab the bucket, which just ended up dumping half of it into the car. We also saw some quiet, polite deer in the woods as well as some antelope in the distance. Next, we saw some llamas (or maybe alpacas). They too are a little pushy, but not as bad as the zebras. I think one even stopped at my window and smiled to pose for me to take his picture before he helped himself to another half a bucket of feed. Then we get to the camel. All prior animals were able to literally get in our car. The camel is inside a pen thankfully....He comes to the edge of his fence and we pulled close enough to where I could hold the bucket out my niece's side. He immediately grabbed the bucket from my hand, held it over his head to eat it, then dropped the bucket on the ground. I'm thinking I have to get the bucket back because I don't want to get in trouble. Problem #1 is, the first rule is to stay in your car at all times. Problem #2, some of the emus have now followed us and are quickly approaching from the rear. I climb into the front passenger seat, open the door, grab the bucket and quickly get back into the car. Meanwhile, the camel has moved on. He got what he wanted and had lost interest, figuring he would just wait on the next unsuspecting victim in the next car. We pass some water buffalo and the longhorns and a couple of highland cows. An ostrich quickly runs up the road in front of us so we can't get away. He helps himself and seemed a little more polite and pretty than the emus, so I let him snack. Eventually, we found the parking area and petting zoo. Mind you, there are signs telling you not to pet them or feed from your hand...but still call it a "petting zoo." Fed the goats and a huge pig. Made our way to the giraffes and someone shared some lettuce with my niece so she could feed them. She didn't love it, but didn't freak as much. Then we go to the aviary. We had bought three sticks with sticky seed on it, all of which I was carrying when we entered. I think we walked into a Hitchcock movie.... Parakeets swarm us the second we enter. Land on the sticks, our arms and my niece's head. That went over well.... Tried to direct her attention to the pretty birds and bright colors. Figured we should just exit quickly so we did. Went to gift shop where she bought a stuffed highland cow and all was well again!

I know it was a great last-minute Saturday activity. It's very affordable compared to the zoo as…read morechildren under three are free. Highly recommend that you bring a durable stroller that is not an umbrella stroller because 85% to 90% of the trail is paved, however to get to some exhibits, you have to go uphill on gravel and dirt. It's mostly shaded by tree canopies so Ricart if it rains, you'll have a great time. They have several areas for picnics and you can bring your own food highly recommend that you bring your own water as well. The staff and volunteers were very friendly and super helpful throughout the part. It's a big circle so there's really no way to get lost and my kid really loved the bunny petting area. 10 out of 10 definitely would come back.

This place is awesome. I grew up visiting Yellow River Game Ranch and I see the name has been…read moreupdated to Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary. I saw so many impressive improvements since the last time I visited, pre-pandemic. The sanctuary felt very peaceful and it felt like a beautiful walk through a nice park.

Each year we try to go to a different pumpkin patch with the kids. This year we tried Pettit Creek…read moreFarms. While it was about 30 min from our home, it was easy to get to. However, as we pulled in to the farm we got a little worried because the area surrounding the farm were a little unkempt. But we continued on. There was plenty of parking. We paid our entrance fee and began to look around. The kids saw several things they wanted to do, but alas there was an extra charge. The treetop experience was $50+ a person, the swing ride was $5 a person, feeding the giraffe was $5 a person, riding a camel was $5 a person, etc. needless to say we did do the extras except the camel ride for the older two kids. Concessions were available and fairly reasonably priced. Fortunately the "hay" tractor ride was good with stops to see the camels, pigs and goats, and zebras (of course food to feed the animals was extra). Overall we had a good time, but I was not a fan of all the hidden extra costs. We did buy a few small pumpkins and gourds. If you visit plan to take plenty of cash with you. Would I recommend this place? Maybe. The exotic animals were cool but I think other farms do a better job of creating that "fall pumpkin patch" feel.

Oh did have fun! I brought my students and team here for a field trip. We were amazed to see the…read moreexotic animals camels, zebras, emu, etc. The students enjoyed the hay ride. We rode arose to tour the farm. The petting zoo was fun. We feed the calf and goats. They had us build a scarecrow which was hilarious! Lastly, the students ran through the hay maze, It wore them out. This place is a gem and great place to visit.

Love this place!! This place is a fun place to go to for not a lot of money! I think it is a nice…read moreplace and the animals are well kept. The layout is not ideal but it is still fun. I feel bad for some of the animals because they have a small enclosure like the bears. Other than that love the place!

This place is just sad. Half the animals on the map aren't there. The kangaroo enclosure had rats!!…read moreThe rats were going from the kangaroos food to the outside of the fence where we were standing, so I had to whip my son up and run away from the enclosure. It was awful and instead of feeling like I was having a magical experience with my family we just left feeling sad and thinking about how miserable the animals must be. Also we paid extra for a bag of food so we could use it at the "3" feeding shoots and there was only 1, so that's also a waste of money. This place definitely needs to be checked out for their conditions. Also if we aren't going to be able to see half the animals that are on the map then there should be some sort of discount involved. That's really beside the point though. I think nobody should go here and the place should be shut down and the animals transferred somewhere, where they will be takin care of.

I didn't went to the Farm but we got together from my work and order some I bought two one for me…read moreand one for my daughter the Strawberries were fresh big , juicy and sweet my husband couldn't stop eating I plan to make fresh home made Strawberry Ice Cream with the Strawberries that I bought I work at Kids R Kids Cumming South

Parking: Near entrance, gets filled up quickly! Cost: $16…read moregallon bucket plus $1 per person Things to do: There is a play area for kids which is a separate fee. The strawberries are very juicy and ripe! You MUST go when it opens! We got there at 10am when it opens and there was already a line forming so it is even safe to say come earlier and stand in line. Once the ripe ones are picked, they close. Definitely call ahead or follow them on social media for updates on that! They do not let you eat strawberries on the farm...not sure why it's a COVID/CDC thing so that is tough with a 1 year old who is obsessed with strawberries. I've heard other farms allow people to eat as they pick so I'm not sure what that's about.