Apples, Blueberries, Cherries and... Goats?

A look inside New York's oldest U-pick orchard

By Angela MacMurray

Nothing can bring you home quite like the smell of Grandma’s apple pie. However, Hick’s Orchard and their fresh cider donuts can certainly come close.

Located in Middle Granville, New York, this Adirondack orchard holds opportunities for a variety of pickings. Whether you choose to pick blueberries, raspberries or cherries on a warm summer day or perhaps enjoy a fall afternoon devoted to enjoying the oldest New York state U-pick apple harvest. Either way, Hicks orchard is a family owned and operated business dedicated to providing eager pickers their very best experience.

“The entire orchard has a sense of family to it, it's just a generally good place to be."

Orlando Hicks first purchased the land on Slyboro Corners in 1865. However, it was not until after 30 years of traditional North Country farming that Mr. Hicks decided to make a significant change. In the year 1895, Orlando Hicks planted his first apple orchard upon the property once cluttered with cattle. The property shifted from generation to generation of Hicks as time carried on.

Monica Ciccone of Hudson Falls, NY, brought her son Roman to Hick’s for his first apple-picking experience. “It was a bit rough pushing a stroller through the orchard fields, but it was entirely worth it,” she recalls. “The entire orchard has a sense of family to it, it's just a generally good place to be.”

As you turn onto Slyboro corners road you notice instantly the gigantic red apple barn facing you. It is not hard to miss and certainly hard to ignore. As you are directed into a field full of cars, a green tractor toting a wagon awaits you. The John Deere tractor escorts visitors over to the cider barn where the real magic happens. Approaching the barn, a fenced in skyscraper filled with various houses and stairwells is playing home to dozens of sheep. Big, small, black and white, they eagerly accept our arrival as they line up to the quarter dispenser filled with their feed.

"I’m sure we will be coming back in a few weeks; even if it’s just for more donuts.”

Inside the apple barn is the sweet aroma of freshly baked cider donuts. Made fresh, the donuts are one of the key attractions outside of the U-pick apple orchard. The barn is also filled with a variety of fresh picked apples as well as freshly milled cider. A plexi-glass frame holds a double barrel of buzzing bees as they work feverishly to produce honey. The entire barn is filled with the essentials to satisfy any craving after a long day of apple picking.
           

“We come every year for the opening weekend,” states Tina Fitzgerald a 44 year-old Kingsbury resident. Her daughter Nicole and she were enjoying some warm cider donuts and certainly were not leaving empty handed. “We picked 4 bushels of apples so far today, I’m sure we will be coming back in a few weeks; even if it’s just for more donuts.”

Have you ever visited an apple orchard?