Mercier Orchards

My dad has a house on a lake in South Dakota. Yes, you read that right, South Dakota. He's got acres and acres of land and a few apple trees right up by the house. Every fall they would produce so many apples that come Christmas when I would go up to visit, he'd open up the freezer and show me all of the apples they'd stashed away just begging to be baked into a pie. I never got to see the apples on the tree or pick them myself but since that time it has been on my “must do” list.

Unfortunately, there aren't any apple orchards in Florida so when we made the trip up to Ellijay, Ga for the Apple Festival I secretly hoped we'd end up at an orchard. It was a Saturday, and it's Fall, which means one thing down here in these parts: college football. I knew I would be pushing it to want to spend the afternoon prancing up and down lines of apple trees when big games were being played so you can imagine my excitement when Todd said “let's go!” to my apple picking suggestion. We grabbed an attractions guide on our way out of the festival and looked at a map of the orchards around Ellijay. “Let's just go north”...and that is how we ended up at Mercier Orchards.

The gravel parking lot was packed when we pulled up just a few hours before closing. We found a picnic table waiting for us where we bought two large bags to put our apples in. I think it's called a peck but you really should be asking the farmer's son about the lingo.

We hopped on the tractor and took a ride up the hill. On the way up, our guide told us the history of the orchard and all of the different fruits you can pick at Mercier's (don't tell Todd but we will be going back during cherry season). He also said, “And eat as many as you want! Wipe it off on your shirt and try it!” And boy did we ever take advantage of that! Mercier's only uses fertilizers once a year in the spring so come fall when the u-pick season is in full swing, the fertilizers have been washed away making the apples safe to eat without washing.

The tractor dropped us off at the top of the orchard where we could see for miles. We regretfully took off as soon as the tractor stopped and didn't listen to where each variety of apple was located so we spent the next 2 hours saying “Which one is this? No wait, that was the other row!” Truth is, there wasn't a bad one in the bunch. Despite it being the end of the harvest season, the trees were still full of apples. Each one we picked tasted better than the last and I can honestly say after tasting an apple right off of the tree...I don't know that I'll ever be able to buy them from a grocery store again. I lost count of how many apples we ate while we were out there but it's safe to say we both left very, very full. We got back on the tractor for the trip back down the hill just as the sun was setting. Mercier's truly is a beautiful place.

Before leaving we made a stop in the country store at the front of the property. If you don't want to pick your own apples or you're there outside of the season, they offer many different varieties already sacked up for you. There are shelves and shelves of jams, preserves, and other canned goodies. They have a deli, a bakery, and samples throughout. If you're lucky, you'll even get a chance to meet Mrs. Mercier herself! She's approaching 100 years old and was working just as hard as everyone else. Maybe an apple a day really does keep the doctor away.

8660 Blue Ridge Drive (Highway 5), Blue Ridge, Ga 30513 (706) 632-3411