Apples and Pumpkins and Sunflowers, Oh My!

For anyone in the west Chicago suburbs (or passing through), let me tell you about this awesome gem called Kuipers Family Farm. As I recall, we first found Kuipers as a way to go out with friends while social distancing — specifically in the orchard, so I’ll start with that.

There are somewhere around 40 different types of apples available, which you can pay to pick 1/4 peck paper bag of, per person. (The picture below is about 3 of those, for reference, including the full bag.) Each week has a different selection of apples to pick, depending on what’s in season, which means you can feasibly come back 3 or 4 times over autumn and get new flavors every time. Which are available is visible both on the board outside the orchard and on their website, which also offers a “Notify Me” option for when specific types are in harvest. Both of these have a 1-5 rating scale, giving each apple a score for its popularity raw, in baking, and for applesauce. There’s also a policy I’m rather fond of: you’re welcome to taste test the apples as you pick, so long as you finish the whole apple. This lets you go “wow, that one is really good!” and use your limited space accordingly.

I’d give you directions from the orchard to the sunflower area, but honestly between the train looping it and the seven acres of flowers… you can’t miss it. Now, seven acres might sound a little excessive, I admit, but according to the website there are over 20 different varieties of sunflower there. So if you’re up for a bit of a hike, wander through the various paths in the fields, stop for photo ops at the random tractors scattered throughout, and when a specific sunflower catches your eye, take note of where it is, because admission to the sunflower area comes with 1 bloom included — that is to say, you get to take home one flower of your choice, or more if you pay a little extra.

Kuipers also has a pumpkin farm. Unfortunately, I’ve never done that part of the experience, so I can’t tell you much more than the website says — they’ve got a ton of fall activities, from a corn maze to pig races and a petting zoo, to, of course, picking your own pumpkins. What I can tell you is that the Orchard Store, which is kind of in the middle of everything, is a magical little experience and you will leave with some sort of food. Like apple cider donuts. Or mint chocolate fudge. Mmm. *cough* Anyways, since I don’t have any pumpkin photos for you, have another sunflower pic!