Apple Harvest, Cider, and Orchard Camping!

What screams fall more than an apple orchard? A cider festival at an apple orchard and camping amongst the apple trees!

With record snows in Steamboat in October, the farm crew took a trip down to Paonia to visit Big B’s Delicious Orchards during their annual Ciderfest event! It is a beautiful facility and we were so excited to share in the festivities!

We use Big B’s raw apple cider vinegar in our farm made shrubs, so it was about time we went down for a visit with their farm.

The orchards are nestle right outside of Paonia and the owner lives in an awesome dome house on the property. There is a cute farm shop where they sell their vinegars, ciders, merchandise, and other goods from local retailers and artisans, a small cafe featuring dishes made with local ingredients, and the coolest stage built on the back of an old timey truck bed where they have live bands! Needless to say, it was a glorious and memorable celebration of fall!

On the day of the fest, there were over 10 local cideries pouring tasters of their featured styles. Having a husband who is a brewer, I usually drink beer so it was great tasting the varieties of ciders and really understanding the nuances of them! Aside from the tastings, they had live music all day, face painting, axe throwing, food vendors, and three amazing giant rope swings!

I also got some knitting in and a chance to take some great beanie pictures in the orchards for my knitting business :) As the sun began to set, scattered fire pits were lit throughout the event area and the music carried on. After camping in the orchards that night, we made our way back to Steamboat with our case of apples in hand and a few choice bombers of cider.

I’m not usually a big fan of dessert, but I’m a sucker for a good apple crisp/crostata/pie/fritter with some vanilla bean ice cream! I’ll share the recipe soon ;)

Happy Eating!

Chereen