As the leaves on the trees change colors, it’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy fall activities. I recently visited Center Grove Apple Orchard in Cambridge, Iowa, where they offer a variety of experiences. Before arriving at the orchard, it is recommended to buy your tickets ahead of time because it’s $7 less per ticket. Upon arrival, you’re greeted by the main building which provides numerous photo opportunities and a selection of delicious baked goods.
After passing through that building, you’ll discover many animals to interact with. Initially, we noticed many activities geared toward children such as race cars, playgrounds, and a corn pit. We decided to hop on a hayride up to the apple trees. Here, you can purchase a bag to fill with apples. They offer various apple types such as gala, golden and red delicious. There were many rows of trees with fresh apples. Once we were finished, we couldn’t resist trying an apple cider donut at one of the stands, which was amazing.
Observing other visitors with buckets of flowers, our curiosity led us to the flower gardens. Here, you can buy bouquets of 6-12 flowers or fill a bucket with as many as you like (which is what we chose to do). You are given scissors to go around and pick the flowers that you want. This was an incredible experience, selecting from the vibrant array of small flowers. The fields seemed endless, and they even had sunflowers. While it was a challenge to find the best-looking sunflowers, the bouquet we created was nothing short of beautiful. It took us over an hour to choose and cut the flowers we wanted, but it was an unforgettable part of the trip. We walked away with at least three dozen flowers for $15.
We wrapped up our visit with a hayride back to the main building, where we couldn’t resist purchasing a dozen apple cider doughnuts before heading home. Center Grove Apple Orchard was an outstanding fall activity, and I’m already looking forward to visiting again next year.
