When you’re driving through the gorgeous, rolling hills of Apple Hill in El Dorado County, stopping at apple orchard after apple orchard along the way, you’ll drive past El Dorado Orchards and your kids will shout at you to STOP!
All it takes is one glimpse of the famous Apple Hill Train chugging around a large pond through beautiful red and orange fall trees, and you’ll soon be pulling into their ample parking lot.
For more than 40 years, families have been flocking to El Dorado Orchards on the weekends to enjoy Apple Hill’s only train ride. When you climb aboard the Apple Hill Train, you’ll go for a ride around two ponds, through a tunnel, and past the El Dorado Orchards picnic area and apple trees. You’ll also see numerous ducks and geese roaming around the tracks.
El Dorado Orchards Craft Fair
When you stop at El Dorado Orchards, you can also walk through what they claim to be Apple Hill’s largest craft fair — and they’re not kidding. The local crafters and vendors sell almost everything you would ever need, and are stacked in like sardines one after the next.
With handmade crafts, trinkets, clothing, jewelry, candles, bath products, toys, baked goods, snacks, foods, kitchen items, and face painting, the vendors practically dwarf the actual apple and fruit offerings.
In fact, we only saw a small area with fresh fruit, like apples and pears, in boxes that was really tiny compared to the impressive displays and options provided by other nearby orchards. Lets be real though, we don’t visit El Dorado Orchards for the fruit, we visit the orchard so the whole family can go for a train ride!
Food, Drinks, And Snacks
If trucking all across Apple Hill has left you hungry, you might be doing something wrong… Just kidding! But seriously, if you haven’t yet had your fill of apple pies and hot Apple Cider Donuts, El Dorado Orchards has you covered. Here’s you’ll find smoothies, snow cones, tri-tip and pulled pork sandwiches, and other tasty options.
We were a little overwhelmed with all of the crafters and totally missed visiting (or even seeing) the El Dorado Orchards Bake Shop. If you can find it, they have apple pies, blackberry pies, caramel apples, and apple cake, as well as apple cider, apple sauce, and apple butter.
Christmas Tree Farm
After Thanksgiving, the El Dorado Orchards Tree Farm opens for business on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Here you and your family can create or continue a family Christmas tradition. Choose from a Fraser Fir, Nordmann Fir, or White Fir and cut your own family Christmas tree in the Beautiful Apple Hill Area of California!
Know Before You Go
- El Dorado Orchards is located at 2881 N Canyon Road, Camino, CA 95709 in El Dorado County. They are not part of the Apple Hill Association, so you won’t find them on the Apple Hill map.
- They are only open on the weekends, beginning the third weekend in September and going through the second weekend in November.
- The El Dorado Orchard train is the only train in Apple Hill.
- If the tracks are wet, the train won’t run.
- Our other favorite Apple Hill farms and orchards are Apple Ridge Farms, Rainbow Orchards, Boa Vista Orchards, Mill View Ranch, High Hill Ranch, The Fudge Factory, and Abel’s Apple Acres.
