A year later, Hendersonville Apple Orchards as good as new

Damaged but undaunted, Western North Carolina agribusinesses is back and better than ever

In the mountains of Western North Carolina is an agrarian paradise that is the product of perfect climate and the right soil. The mountain fields around Hendersonville are ripe with apples, grapes, pumpkins and cabbages each fall and the cornfields remain tall and green, because of the later growing season, I suppose. In the late spring and early summer, it’s berries and other offerings. But it’s the fall when Hendersonville’s crops really shine.

It’s been more than 15 years since we started doing annual autumn apple picking trips to Hendersonville. We’d gone to Indiana for a family wedding. To kill some time, we took Sofia – who was three at the time – to Huber’s an agrotourism business, restaurant and winery not far from my aunt and uncle’s house. She loved it so much, we decided to look for something closer to home when we got back to Tennessee.

U-pick-em orchards didn’t exist on the Tennessee side of the mountains. However, we found the Hendersonville area – about an hour and a half from the house – had several and we made the trip with much success.

Sofia’s 20 now, a junior in college, and we still make our trip to the orchard every year. The younger two of our kids have been going all their lives. When the fall comes, they start asking when we’re going apple picking. It’s one of the highlights of our fall social calendar.

And so, amongst the thousands of other worries I had in the wake of Hurricane Helene, I did wonder about our little family tradition. I knew, of course, that it took a backseat to the people of the area who’d lost everything, some of them even their lives.

I knew then and still do now that our tradition wasn’t nearly as important as the very serious damage that was done. Still, I was relieved when orchards announced life was returning to normal. And so, I wondered just what would be different when we made our trip this year. The answer? Not much. I found Hendersonville and its agritourism just as enticing as ever.

Were there ANY differences?

It’s really hard to say. I noticed a patch of downed or dead trees – not apple trees – in the woods behind the orchard. However, they could have like that before the hurricane and I wouldn’t have noticed. There were a few missing apple trees at the back of the Snapdragon rows, the stakes sitting twisted out of the ground. Were they hurricane casualties? Again, hard to say. It’s certainly possible.

As for the other differences? Who knows? The orchards like Stepp’s and Grandad’s make changes each season. Was the large pumpkin patch on the edge of the corn maze at Grandad’s an aesthetic decision? It’s not like the hurricane last year would have affected the cornfield itself. But maybe losing part of that field in the storm allowed them to do something different? And maybe the pumpkin patch was right there last year and I just don’t remember it because we spent more time at Stepps.

Speaking of Stepp’s, there’s a whole line of trees gone along the entrance driveway. Were they lost to the storm or taken down for another reason? It is hard to say. I didn’t like them being gone, it made the orchard feel too spread out and open. I liked the feeling of seclusion and isolation those trees provided. But it’s a relatively minor concern. The rest of the Stepps’ facility was as charming as ever.

Probably the biggest difference is getting there. The storm did a heckuva number on I-40. There is still some MASSIVE road work being done on the North Carolina side of the border. After the setback in the spring, the interstate is open all the way through. However, there are sections that its down to one lane. We got up early on a Sunday and didn’t hit much traffic on the way to Hendersonville. But the ride back, late in the afternoon, featured quite a bit of congestion and a few places where we basically came to a complete stop.

Apple picking? What’s the attraction? Why would I do farmwork while on vacation?

I can’t speak got everyone but it is a family tradition for us, and it is a huge piece of nostalgia for me.

As a boy in rural Southern Indiana, I grew up riding my bike around to friends’ houses, passing apple orchards and a few pears. In fact, my great-grandfather on my mom’s side had been an orchard foreman, when my grandmother was young.

I don’t think I ever picked an apple off those trees though. The rule was if they’d fallen to the ground, they were fair game. And the sweet apples would make for a nice snack on a long bike ride. But you had to be careful. The fallen apples, going soft and turning to mush, proved a sweet beacon for yellow jackets and bees. If you weren’t paying attention while looking for a good apple amongst the fallen, you could get got. But that smell of fallen – maybe rotten – apples is a huge trigger for me. You know that scene in the movie “Ratatouille” where the food critic Ego is transported by to boyhood by a single bite? It’s like that but with the smell.

For everyone else? There’s a lot to like even if you’re not emotionally connected to apple orchards. First of all, you don’t have to pick them. In fact, it’s cheaper if you don’t. They have huge bins of all kinds of apples you can just buy and save yourself the effort. But apples are – in a way – secondary to the experience. The view at Grandad’s over the orchard and corn maze to the high mountains in the distance is spectacular. I could sit in a rocking chair and soak up that view for hours. I don’t know scientifically if there’s something to the brightness of the sky at higher elevations. But the blue sky and rolling white clouds at Grandads are always just about the most vibrant I’ve ever seen.

In addition to the apples and picking, most of the orchards have more to do. Both Stepp’s and Grandads have apple cannons where you can blast bargain bin apples out of pressurized cannons. Apples don’t make fantastic projectiles and break up disappointingly often, but it’s still fun. And depending on where you go, there’s a variety of other U-Pick-em options including pumpkins, grapes, and flowers. Some of the places will have inflated pads for bouncing and jumping, hayrides, BBQ trucks and a wide variety of apple baked goods, sauces, ciders and more.

My kids love the apple cider donuts but I’m an apple turnover man.

Is there anything else to do in Hendersonville?

I really like Hendersonville and nearby Flat Rock, too. A lottery win might result in me moving back to my native North Carolina. Downtown Hendersonville is utterly charming and filled with fascinating stores and restaurants. Some of our favorites include the Mast General Store and Mezzaluna, a great little dining place.

Hendersonville also has a neat little railroad museum as well as an aviation museum that’s enjoyable. We like to head over towards Flat Rock as some of our favorite restaurants are close to the Hendersonville/Flat Rock line.

If you’re into poetry, there’s the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock. I always thought of him more as an Illinois man but apparently he settled in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Big U-Pick-em apple guy, apparently.

Our basic itinerary for a Hendersonville trip is to get up early and head that way, spending three hours or so in the orchard before heading downtown for lunch and a little exploration and then the drive home. It makes for a perfect day in the mountains.

Have you visited the Hendersonville area? Let us know what you think in the comments!