Those of you living in the Sacramento area are probably familiar with Apple Hill, an association of small working ranches, farms and wineries just off Highway 50 near Placerville. From March to December, but especially during the fall season, thousands of locals visit more than fifty small ranches to buy apples, enjoy delicious fruit pies, drink home made apple cider, picnic and relish a step back in time to a simpler life many of us remember with fondness. There are even Christmas Tree farms!

So, as we try to do at least once every year, Dawn and I made the short drive up the hill this passed Columbus Day. The weather was perfect, everything was in bloom — it was a beautiful day! Dawn had decided we would alter our usual route and visit some of the farms we’ve missed on previous trips. And she’d done a little research into a rare treat that had somehow eluded us all these years — apple cider donuts! According to her research (on her iPhone while I drove), the very best are those made fresh at Rainbow Orchards, so that was one of our first stops. Here’s the quote by Andy P. that led us there:

“Apple cider doughnuts from Rainbow Orchards. As you bite into one of these warm doughnuts, while smelling the subtle aroma of wood smoke from the cabins and homes in the area wafting down through the pines of the mountains, an incredibly pleasant, indelible memory will be created; a memory that your subconscious will beg for you to re-create year after year.”

Our verdict? Oh my God, they’re delicious! Probably the best donuts we’ve ever tasted! The secret, we concluded, is to get them hot, the minute they’re made if possible. What an amazing discovery! Other farms offer these guilty pleasures; I’m told Abel’s Apple Acres, on the main road and perhaps easier to find, offers donuts just as good. If you do nothing else in Apple Hill, you must try these heavenly delights!

We shopped for gifts, bought some jams and other condiments and, naturally, picked up a fresh apple-strawberry-rhubarb pie. There was even a scarecrow contest featuring creations by local Scout troops! We finished at Primus Vineyards, one of our local favorites, enjoyed some barrel tasting and took home a little wine. It was a wonderfully relaxing day.

We’d brought our cameras so we snapped several images as we meandered through farm country; I’ve posted some of them in an album for your perusal and enjoyment. As always, your constructive comments are welcome.

If you’ve never visited Apple Hill, there’s still time this season and it’s well worth the short drive from Sacramento. Maybe we’ll see you there — in the apple cider donut line at Rainbow Orchards or Abel’s!