This apple-picking orchard in North Carolina was named one of the nation’s best
One of the nation’s best places for apple picking is nestled in the North Carolina mountains, a new report finds.
Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard ranks among the top U.S. destinations for people to score their own bushels of the fruit, according to results released last month from the business review website Yelp.
The orchard was named one of the country’s 20 best places to pick apples after Yelp said it “identified the top spots to go apple picking in Canada and the US.” Then, analysts looked at several factors, including ratings and numbers of reviews from January 1, 2001 to July 7, 2021.
On its Yelp page, Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard is rated more than 4 stars out of 5, with some users raving about the opportunities to pick fruit at a site that also boasts a corn maze and apple-flavored treats.
Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard is in Hendersonville, a town in the Blue Ridge Mountains and roughly 25 miles south of Asheville. Starting Friday, visitors to the orchard can pick their own blushing golden, golden delicious or fuji apples.
“Keep in mind it is a light crop this year,” the business wrote Thursday in a Facebook post. “Prepicked apples available in the Apple House including Honey Crisp. Pick your own grapes and sunflowers, too.”
The apple orchard on its website says the property spans 38 acres and has been run by the same family for several generations.
But if you want to get your own fresh-picked apples there, you may want to hurry. Harvesting season only goes through October, according to Henderson County tourism officials, who call the area the “largest apple-producing county in North Carolina.”
It’s not the first time the region has earned wide recognition.
In June, the town of Hendersonville was named the best retirement location in North Carolina. To come up with that list, personal finance website SmartAsset said it examined local tax rates, social activities and health care availability, McClatchy News reported.
