Family Fun at County Line Orchard

The start of fall is always an exciting time of year for my family. Every year to welcome in the new season, we make the one hour drive from Chicago to County Line Orchard in Hobard, Indiana for a day of apple picking and family fun.

Our first stop when we arrived was to jump on the tractor that takes visitors around the apple orchards. The tractor stops at each orchard, letting people get off to go pick their favorite variety of apples. Once our bags were overflowing we hopped back on the tractor to conquer the corn maze.

After running through a maze you need to refuel and their gift shop was the perfect place to eat an autumnal feast. Between the corn, caramel apples, cider and fresh baked goods, the place smelled like a fall paradise.

There is so much more to do at County Line than just pick apples. You can tell they designed the orchard to be family friendly just by the amount of activities there are for kids. A must-do is a ride on Moo Choo, a tractor that pulls barrel cars around the farm.

Peter the Dinosaur is also a hit with the younger crowd. Peter is a friendly dinosaur that entertains kids with his pumpkin eating antics. The kids also loved the mini farm. They got to play with kid-sized tools and pretend like they were working on an actual farm. After played pretend, we took the kids through the mini farm petting zoo then called it a day.

Driving through the Indiana country back to the city was peaceful and relaxing, especially with the kids passed out in the back seat! If you're looking for an easy day trip with the family or a great fall date spot you must visit County Line Orchard. The kids are already begging to go back!

By Monika Dixon