Growing crowds challenge Northern California’s Apple Hill: ‘We’re not Disneyland up here’
Apple Hill — a collection of roughly 50 farms in the Sierra Nevada foothills — is a go-to place to experience the transition of seasons and everything associated with the fall. Each of the farms in the area has unique offerings, some specializing in apple cider doughnuts, others in pumpkin pie (and a few have both).
There are wineries, breweries and hard apple cider gardens tucked into the El Dorado County hills near Placerville. There are also Christmas tree farms, apple orchards, berry patches and play areas for children. What they all have in common are the scenic surroundings of Northern California nature.
And, during the busy months of September through November, they share another commonality: big crowds, which can be good for business, but also stress the local farms that are still adjusting.
“This region was never created or developed with the ideation of (agricultural) ecotourism,” said Johann Smit, owner of Hidden Star Orchards in Apple Hill, which specializes in hard cider. “You’ve got small plots of land, you’ve got windy and twisty roads, you’ve got an infrastructure that is not built or suited, or developed for an influx of tourists over the years.”
Apple Hill has been attracting tourists for 50 years, but its popularity is spiking since the COVID-19 pandemic, like many other outdoor industries. Although exact numbers weren’t available, this season has been among the busiest in years, said Apple Hill Growers Association president Pam Harris.
Crowds have been bigger after frost impacted the start of growing season in 2022, along with the nearby Mosquito fire that lasted from early September through mid October. This year, the crop yields have been robust following last winter’s historic rainfall, wildfire season did not harm the region and sales are expected to surpass last season.
The rise of social media has also helped Apple Hill go from hidden gem to tourism boom. Instagram and TikTok feeds have been flooded with the colorful leaves and slices of dutch apple pie dolloped with vanilla ice cream.
“Are there times when there are just too many people? Absolutely,” Smit said. “There isn’t a farm — as efficient as we are — that can ever squelch those lines that wait for hard cider.”
Apple Hill’s 50-year-old infrastructure is often bent by the weight of crowds, particularly on the weekends. Some roadways become congested and popular farms run out of parking, which is why officials suggest planning ahead of time and utilizing the less popular roads off Highway 50.
“Our farms are in a rural area. The roads are two-lane roads,” Harris said. “That’s part of the problem with people navigating on the weekends. If they stick to the real busy corridor on Carson Rd., there’s going to be a lot of traffic and a lot backups.
“My message to everybody is we have 50 farms in the Apple Hill Growers Association, and many of those farms are not on the main corridor. They’re on the little back roads.”
Harris said the first thing she would recommend for visitors is visiting AppleHill.com and using the map to plan a trip rather than winging it. She also suggested trying to come during the week if possible and using the website to see which farms are open as some are only open Friday through Sunday.
There are also multiple exits off Highway 50 to take beyond the popular Schnell School exit No. 48. Visitors can continue traveling east as far as Pollock Pines Exit No. 57, which provides access to the farms on the eastern side of Apple Hill. The most popular area is on the Carson Rd. on the western side.
“So I would just encourage (visitors) to get look at the whole area and get into the whole, and not just focus on that main corridor at Carson Rd.,” Harris said. “We have a couple of really big farms on Carson Rd. and I realize people want to go but if you’re going to sit in traffic for an hour, go explore, see what else is out there on a side road.”
Harris said Apple Hill is limited with its say over what happens with the roads in the area because it doesn’t have jurisdiction. The association collaborates with the El Dorado County Department of Transportation, but the price of major renovations would likely be too steep given the complex topography of the area.
Harris said El Dorado County received federal money to run a shuttle in the area before the start of the pandemic, but it didn’t last.
“It didn’t work as well as we would have hoped,” she said. “There’s always opportunities for other kinds of things that might get the number of cars reduced that are on the road, which would be great.”
In the meantime, it’s largely up to the individual farms to do what they can with crowds. Ideas such as having plans for heavy traffic, including traffic and parking attendants, should be considered. Many farms have also added third-party vendors, like food trucks, to increase options for visitors and spread crowds out to shorten lines.
“We’re not Disneyland up here,” said Jericho Kelsey of Grandpa’s Cellar, which specialize in baked good and has an assortment of apple pies. “But we try to get people in and out as fast as we can.”
