Hillcrest Orchards

Hillcrest Orchards at Ellijay is an attraction with an orchard attached, and it is worth understanding that before you go. The farm's own description leads with cow milking, swimming pig races, wagon rides and a petting farm, and puts the apples after them. It is open September to November, with u-pick apples in September and October only.

What You Can Pick

Apples, in September and October. The trees are kept small enough for children to pick from, which is a design decision rather than an accident and makes this the easiest of the Ellijay orchards to bring young children to.

What Else is Available

A great deal, and it runs on weekdays as well as weekends:

• Cow milking - 11am to noon
• Pig races - 12:30, with duck and goat races too
• Petting farm, wagon rides and a ball zone
• Jumping pillows, big slides, playgrounds and spin chairs
• A shop that reviewers rate highly for the range and the quality

Good to Know

Admission is charged at around $22 a head, and it is the main complaint people make. A recent visitor reported paying full price for a three-year-old. The orchard publishes no price of its own, so confirm it before committing a family, and go in expecting a day out rather than a bag of apples.

Take the biggest bags you are offered. More than one picker has been struck by how much fruit ends up on the ground unused.

The farm photographs well and knows it, so charge your phone. That is the orchard's own advice, not ours.

Pro tip: come on a weekday. The full activity list runs Monday to Friday, the pig race and cow milking included, and the Ellijay orchards get very busy at October weekends.