We went apple picking last weekend. We went to Homestead Orchard 11802 Charles Road, Woodstock, IL 60098. We picked 2 kinds of apples (including Macintosh which is my favorite because it is so versatile). My husband also picked raspberries. This place is great as just a simple apple orchard. It is not a huge place with a petting zoo, bouncy castles, donuts and all of that. The owner was very friendly and talked about apple varieties with me while my husband was picking raspberries and my daughter was swinging on the wooden swing. We went with friends of ours, so 4 adults, a 3 year old, 2 1 year olds and a 5 month old and we had a ball, but we simply did out picking and left, no lines and no hassles.
I saw that someone recommended All Seasons Orchard to you. We went there 2 years ago. This is a huge place and when we went they had huge lines to go along with it. Both to get the bags to pick apples and to get donuts in the food area. Also, they were a litte soup nazi-ish for us when we went. They sell the bags to you before you go pick the apples, so you pay for a full bag, whether you plan to fill it or not. They have 2 different bags depending on which kind of apple you want to pick and the cost is different. We bought the less expensive bags and the woman then told me that after we picked our apples someone would search our trunk to make sure that we hadn't picked the other kind of apples. It wasn't a bad place, it was just crowded and had a bit too many rules for us.
My favorite large orchard, with bouncy castles, hay rides, etc. is County Line Orchard 200 S County Line Rd, Hobart, IN 46342-2603. It is a little farther than Homestead Orchard was, but not much. We drive to Michigan and Ohio to visit family and we like to make this a stop. They have a lot of different types of apples, and a great corn maze. They get really crowded as well, but they seem to manage it better than All Seasons (in my opinion).
Have fun!
D.
