It’s (finally) fall here in Vermont, which means apple season! Happy Valley Orchards, located on Quarry Road in Middlebury, Vermont, has the best cider donuts in the area. Naturally, it’s a favorite spot of ours once the seasons change. Yesterday was the first chilly day of the fall, and sure enough, the parking lot at Happy Valley Orchards was packed. Goodbye lake, goodbye summer. Hello apple picking, hello apple pie.

Happy Valley is set on 16 acres, just a few miles outside of downtown Middlebury. In addition to the orchard and farmstand, Happy Valley also has a cider mill where they make their own fresh pressed cider, along with juice for Citizen Cider‘s hard ciders. Over the past year, they’ve been under construction on a massive barn and are going to be pressing juice year round to keep Citizen Cider going. Citizen has taken off in popularity in the last year, with a cidery and tasting room on Pine Street in Burlington. The ciders are earthy, mild and full of depth and flavor, likely due to the varieties of Happy Valley’s apples that make it into a batch. (More to come on Citizen Cider in another post…)

Happy Valley’s Apples

Happy Valley specializes in a variety of heirloom apples. Ever heard of Wealthy, Early Blaze, Dayton or Sansa apples? Me neither. If you want to taste a new variety (they have 70 of them!), just let one of the owners know, and they’ll cut one up for you to try or encourage you to bite right into one. They, of course, also have macs, ginger golds and honeycrisp, my favorite. At the farmstand, you can buy apple cider, gourds, pumpkins and mums, along with tomatoes and white peaches when in season.

Pick Your Own Apples (and Donate to Pick for Your Neighbor)

If you’re looking to make an afternoon of your visit to Happy Valley, you can venture out into their orchard and pick your own apples by the bushel. Pick too many? Consider donating extra apples to Pick for Your Neighbor, a Vermont initiative to bring more fresh and healthy produce to the Vermont Foodbank, while also helping to increase business for local orchards. Woodchuck Hard Cider, the nationally known cider company, which also happens to be located in Middlebury, is the underwriter for the program.

For the perfect Vermont activity in the fall, swing by Happy Valley Orchards: relax and enjoy the crisp Vermont air while you pick your own apples or peruse the farmstand. Make sure you don’t leave without a cider donut (or six) and a sweet honeycrisp. It’s not fall in Vermont without them.

Tips for Traveling Like a Local in Vermont

• Apple picking at Happy Valley is a great Vermont activity if you’re travelling with kids. You can pull your kiddos in one of their antique wagons (or use them for your apple haul).
• Not sure which apple is best for pies, apple sauce, turnovers? Ask the owners! They’ve made apples their lives and know the perfect blend of apple for whatever you’re cooking (or eating).
• Having a fall wedding in Vermont? Instead of cake (or better yet, in addition to), why not have cider donuts? You can order them ahead of time from Happy Valley. Last October for our wedding we supplemented our apple cake with maple frosting, yum, with cider donuts. They didn’t last long and are a favorite sweet treat of local Vermonters.
  

  

  

  Ginger gold apples instead of the farmstand, ready to be eaten.

  

  

  

  

  

  To pull your kids or bushels…

  

  Ever heard of the Sansa variety? Take a bit and experience it for yourself.

  

  Apples waiting for you at Happy Valley Orchards.

Happy Valley Orchards

217 Quarry Road, Middlebury, Vermont
Open every day, late August to late November, 9am – 6pm
802.388.2411