Our family, well the kids and I, have been visiting Apple Hill almost every year since Carter was born in 2006. Over the years, Apple Hill has become a fun and delicious autumn tradition.
But this year, when looking at the Apple Hill map, I realized that we haven’t been doing all of Apple Hill. Because Apple Hill is typically a weekend Day trip for us, we only have one day to visit the apple farms, which means year after year we had fallen into a routine of visiting the same farms like High Hill and Fudge Factory, Boa Vista, Rainbow Orchards, Abel’s Apple Acreas, and El Dorado Orchards, over and over. So we made a plan this year to visit Apple Hill orchards we had never been to before.
Delfino Farms, Home of Joan’s Apple Bakery was the first stop on our Apple Hill adventure. We arrived mid-morning, so even though it was a weekend, there was still plenty of parking! The first thing we saw a long row of wooden bins holding a variety of gorgeous gourds and pumpkins — and of course we bought a few of each because the prices were so much better than the grocery stores and places near our house! We also snapped a couple photos with the scarecrows…
But our noses were leading us elsewhere. Delicious scents of fresh baked treats were wafting out of Joan’s Apple Bakery, practically begging us to indulge in a sweet dessert. Inside the bake shop we had a chance to chat with the super-friendly staff a bit. They helped us decide on an apple crisp topped with homemade cider sauce to share and it incredible. The texture of the apple crisp was perfect and the cider sauce took it over the top. Of every sweet treat we tried during our apple-filled day, this was by far the best thing we ate!
After devouring our apple crisp at a picnic table overlooking a big grassy field and the Delfino Farms pumpkin patch, we stopped in the Apple Barn to snag a few fresh apples before continuing our day.
Delfino Farms has been an Apple Hill staple for more than 50 years and now it’s one of our must-stop Apple Hill farms. We’re actually already looking forward to next year when we can visit Joan’s Apple Bakery again — but this time, I’m not sharing my dessert!
About Delfino Farms
Delfino Farms has been serving Apple Hill visitors since 1964. Edio and Joan Delfino originally named the farm Kids Inc. after their seven children and today the second and third generation of Delfinos, those who once grew and sold pumpkins, are now continuing the family legacy and creating fresh products from fruit grown on the farm.
The bake shop, offering visitors a variety of mouth-watering baked goods and treats, was also renamed to Joan’s Apple Bakery to honor the memory of Joan Delfino. All of the baked treats, including their famous famous Walkin’ Pie, still follow her original family recipes and are made just the way she taught the family.
Henrietta Stitch Hard Cider
It was a little too early for us to try a Henrietta Stitch Hard Cider, but if you visit in the afternoon, go for it! The cider is branded and named after Joan Stitch Delfino’s mother Henrietta Stitch who said her name sounded like a chicken’s name.
Henrietta Stitch Hard Cider is a California-style dry hard apple cider made from apples grown by the Delfino Family on their family farm. The hand bottled, hand labeled cider, made from a blend of Arkansas Black and Granny Smith apples, is light, clean, tart, and dry sparkling.
Know Before You Go
- Delfino Farms: Home Of Joan’s Apple Bakery is located at 3205 North Canyon Road, Camino, California 95709 and is Apple Hill Farm #5 in El Dorado County.
- Open Friday through Monday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm from September through mid-November.
- Defino Farms was formerly called Kids Incorporated after the Delfino family’s seven children. It was renamed to honor the family legacy and open the doors for what’s to come.
- Don’t leave without stopping in Joan’s Apple Bakery and grabbing a delicious baked treat — just be sure it’s covered in cider sauce!
