A visit to Community Orchard is in order, where they feature apples and pumpkins in a jam-packed family itinerary full of fun.
The orchard lies along the beautiful Des Moines River Valley, where the orchard grows over 5,000 trees and includes more than 15 varieties of fresh-from-the-tree-picked apples.
It all started in the early 1940s when Dr. Paul Otto and his wife Edna purchased a dairy farm. One day they invited their friend, a horticulture professor, to their farm.
Start the day with one of the orchard’s tours, either a tour of the apple orchard or the pumpkin patch. The tours are best suited to groups of 10 or more.
The tour is educational, where you’ll learn the inner workings of the orchard. Then, see how they make tasty ciders—beginning with sorting the apples, grading, pressing, and bottling the final product.
Check out the bakery kitchen, where you’ll find a feeling of teamwork as the bakers peel and slice apples, roll out the dough, and pile the apples a mile high in the pie.
Then, you’ll reap the benefits of their work in one of their many desserts, including a variety of warm apple pies, apple dumplings, apple turnovers, and apple streusel muffins.