WNC orchard voted among top 10 apple orchards in the country in USA Today readers poll
North Carolinians looking to keep the doctor away don't need to go any farther than Henderson County. Growing more apples than any other county in North Carolina, there are currently 150 known orchards in the area.
One orchard ranked No. 4 in the top 10 best apple orchards in the country by USA Today in its 10Best Reader's Choice series. The family owned and operated Sky Top Orchard in Flat Rock, an hour south of Asheville, opened in 1982 and is run by husband and wife David and Lindsey Butler.
As popularity of the orchard has increased over the years it's evolved to offer fun activities for families; it has a hayride, bee train, an apple cannon, and boasts its famous apple cider doughnuts.
"People from Greenville, Spartanburg, Charlotte, Atlanta, Florida, Charleston and Knoxville, Tennessee, come out to the orchard. A lot of people know us. So, a lot of people come," Butler told the Citizen Times Sept. 16.
Here's what USA Today had to say about Sky Top:
"Sky Top Orchard offers its guests the chance to celebrate a nostalgic fall on the mountain. The cool summer nights and warm days create perfect conditions for growing over 22 varieties of apples, with the u-pick season lasting from July through the end of October. Gala, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Red and Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Pink Lady are just a few available varieties."
Sky Top has been operating for a little over 40 years, giving back to customers as much as it can, Butler said.
"We make sure our customers have a good outdoor experience and we raise a lot of varieties people like. We've added apple cider, cider doughnuts and Asian pears. We have lots of products people are looking for, and they are also getting back to nature," he said.
Sky Top is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. except for Thanksgiving Day, and will stay open until Dec. 3.
Butler said the orchard offers around 20 varieties to pick, including: Jonathan, Jonagold, Mutsu, Cortland, and Ida Red apples.
There are currently 4,300 acres of apple orchards in production in Henderson County, according to previous reporting from the Hendersonville Times-News.
Hendersonville just celebrated its 77th annual North Carolina Apple Festival, and according to the festival’s website, apples bring in an average of $30 million dollars or more a year. Since the mid-1700s growing apples has been part of Henderson County’s culture and heritage.
North Carolina is the seventh-largest apple producing state in the nation and Henderson County grows 80% of this state’s crop, according to the festival website.
North Carolina has over 300 commercial apple operations comprised of 10,000 acres of apple orchards, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture.
"Forty percent of the state's crop is marketed as fresh apples through packing/shipping operations and direct marketing outlets while the remaining 60% is utilized in the processing industry, mainly as apple sauce and juice," the N.C. Department of Agriculture website said.
Admission and parking are free at Sky Top. To learn more, visit the orchard's website Our Story | Sky Top Orchard.
Sky Top is located at 1193 Pinnacle Mountain Road, Flat Rock.
So, who did USA Today readers think have the top apple orchards?
Libby & Son U-Picks - Limerick, Maine
Milburn Orchards - Elkton, Maryland
Mercier Orchards - Blue Ridge, Georgia
Sky Top Orchard - Flat Rock, North Carolina
Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards - LaFayette, New York
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McKenna Leavens is the education reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at mleavens@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter @LeavensMcKenna. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Top 10 apple orchards in the country ranked by USA Today readers
