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The Best Last-Minute Apple Hill Trip: High Hill Ranch (Traffic Hack & Tips!)

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Pumpkin season at High Hill Ranch: scarecrows under the pines, a giant apple, one shared trout, and the donut line. The traffic hack is at the end.

Halloween pumpkin patch day trips Bay Area and Sacramento | High Hill Ranch

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If you are looking for a last-minute fall day near Sacramento, or a quick stop off Highway 50 on the way to Lake Tahoe, High Hill Ranch in Placerville is the one we use. Come for pumpkin season. Under the pines there is a scarecrow on a hay wagon, a giant red apple for photos, and a green pond at the bottom of the hill. The traffic hack is farther down this page. The pictures come first.

A scarecrow, hay bales, and sunflowers on a wagon at High Hill Ranch — Pumpkin season under the pines: a scarecrow in a flower crown, hay, and sunflowers.

Pumpkin season is the reason to go

The ranch dresses the pines for the season. Sunflowers, hay, and a scarecrow in a straw hat are set out as photo props, with a few pumpkins tucked into the wagon. We stop there before anyone asks about food. If the only things you do are take that picture and get in the donut line, the trip still works.

A giant red apple sculpture at High Hill Ranch — The giant red apple is the photo stop. We pause here before the food.

A scarecrow photo prop at the High Hill Ranch pumpkin display — Straw hat, straw hair, and a scarecrow built for pictures.

Fall at the ranch

Season

Aug 15–Dec 24

The Apple Hill growers list we checked.

Hours

9 to 5

Daily. We open the ranch site again that morning.

Pumpkins

Photo stop

Scarecrows, hay, and sunflowers under the pines.

Dogs

Welcome

On a leash, the whole time.

The pond that makes the day

The pond is the other picture that makes people stay. It sits in a bowl of pines. Families put chairs on the dirt bank. On a bright day the water goes green and still.

The green fishing pond at High Hill Ranch, ringed by pine trees — The pond in a bowl of pines. On a bright day the water goes still and green.

The trout are big, and this pond is not catch and release. You buy whatever you pull out, by the pound. We turn it into one shared fish. The kids share our poles, and if they land it, everyone gets an extra donut.

A trout held up after being caught at the High Hill Ranch pond — One fish is the plan. This pond is not catch and release.

A large trout from the High Hill Ranch fishing pond — The trout run big, which is why paying by the pound adds up.

Bring a pole from home if you have one. The rental poles are the plain red ones with bobbers, kept by the shed. Skipping that rental is the easy save.

Red rental fishing poles with bobbers at High Hill Ranch — Rental poles are the red ones with bobbers. We bring our own and skip the fee.

When I checked the ranch activities page, a day pass to fish was $5, a pole with bait was $7, extra bait was $1, and fish were $12 a pound. The pond was listed as open from early to mid-September. We read that page again the week we go, because those prices and dates move.

Pond prices we saw

Pond prices we saw
Item	When we checked
Day pass to fish	$5
Pole with bait	$7
Extra bait	$1
The fish	$12 a pound
Pond dates on the page	Early to mid-September

Not catch and release. These numbers move. Open the activities page the week you go.

Donuts, fritters, and cider on ice

There is a reason the donut line wraps the building. I am usually not a fan of super sweet treats. These were soft, not overly sugary, and you can taste the apple. We do not leave without one. Pie with ice cream is the second order.

The donut and fritter line outside the High Hill Ranch bakery — The sign says donut fritters and points at the building. We join the line.

An apple donut held in front of the High Hill Ranch pond — Soft, sugared, and full of apple. The pond is a fine place to eat it.

Hold a fritter next to a donut and the fritter wins on size. It is packed with apple chunks. One fritter is enough for two of us to share.

An apple fritter beside smaller donuts in a paper bag — The fritter next to the donuts. The size is not a close call.

A broken apple fritter showing chunks of cooked apple — Apple chunks all the way through. One fritter is enough to share.

Two more things leave with us. Half-gallon jugs of High Hill Ranch cider sit on ice, labeled 100% juice. The sign over the counter splits the room into a donut line and a caramel line, and it calls both an Apple Hill tradition since 1960. The Honeycrisp bin we stood over was marked $2 a pound. The Fudge Factory sign, just past that, sells caramel apple sundaes and fudge apples under a red umbrella.

Jugs of High Hill Ranch apple cider sitting on ice — Half-gallon jugs on ice, labeled High Hill Ranch and 100% juice.

A sign pointing to the donut line and the caramel apple line — The counter splits into a donut line and a caramel line. The sign dates the tradition to 1960.

A bin of Honeycrisp apples marked two dollars a pound — The Honeycrisp bin we stood over was marked $2 a pound.

The Fudge Factory sign at High Hill Ranch beside an outdoor stand — The Fudge Factory sign, with caramel apple sundaes under the red umbrella.

The rest of the ranch

A wooden maze fills a corner under the trees. The walls are low enough that you can still spot a child, and high enough that they feel lost. We send them in while the donuts are warm.

A wide view of the wooden maze at High Hill Ranch — The maze from the entrance. Wooden walls under the pines.

Children walking inside the wooden maze at High Hill Ranch — Inside, you can still spot a child over the walls.

Pony rides are the ask we hear in the parking lot. The board at the gate listed $15 cash, 10 to 5, Friday through Monday. The ranch page says Friday through Sunday and a 90-pound limit. We read both before we promise a ride. The ride itself is one short circle, with a handler walking the pony.

Children riding ponies in a circle at High Hill Ranch — One short circle. A handler walks the pony, and the kids take a turn.

The pony ride sign at High Hill Ranch listing the price and days — The gate board listed $15 cash, 10 to 5, Friday through Monday.

Two versions of the pony ride

Two versions of the pony ride
Where we read it	What it said
Sign at the gate	$15 cash, 10 to 5, Friday through Monday
Ranch activities page	Friday through Sunday, 90-pound limit

We read both before we promise anyone a ride.

The blue tractor pulls a wooden wagon on weekends and holidays. Hay is already in the bed. We ride before anyone is hungry, or right after the line has done its work.

A blue tractor pulling a hay wagon full of families at High Hill Ranch — The blue tractor pulls a wooden wagon, with hay already in the bed.

A donkey pen sits on the walk between the rides and the fair. The lane through the ranch is a craft market, strollers included, with Crafter's Barn and the Woodshed Gift Shop along it. Picnic tables run under green umbrellas, dogs included, and a quieter set of tables sits back in the pines.

Donkeys in a pen at High Hill Ranch — The donkey pen is on the walk between the rides and the fair.

The busy craft-fair lane at High Hill Ranch — The lane through the ranch is a craft fair, strollers and all.

Picnic tables shaded by tall pines at High Hill Ranch — A quieter set of picnic tables sits back under the tall pines.

Picnic tables under umbrellas at High Hill Ranch, with families and dogs — Long tables under green umbrellas. Dogs are out here too, so the leash comes with us.

The traffic hack

If you already want to go, here is how we skip the worst of the line. In peak season, right around Halloween, Google Maps usually sends you to the first entrance onto High Hill Road from Carson Road. That turn is where Gatlin Road meets Carson Road, and that is where the cars stack up.

The Carson Road and Gatlin Road corner, the first turn into High Hill Ranch — The first turn, where Gatlin Road meets Carson Road. When the cars stack up here, we keep driving.

Skip this turn

The first entrance, where Gatlin Road meets Carson Road. That is the line the map chooses.

Use this one

Stay on Carson Road and take the second entrance onto High Hill Road. You come into the lot from the other side.

Stay on Carson Road and drive past it. The second entrance onto High Hill Road is farther along. It brings you into the parking lot from the opposite direction, and the line is usually much shorter.

Carson Road farther along, the second way into High Hill Ranch — Farther along Carson Road. This second way in usually has the shorter line.

What goes in the car

A few things go in the car before we leave home.

In the car

Cash for the craft booths and the pony board
A cooler for the cider and the pie
A dog leash
Your own fishing pole, if you have one
The ranch website, opened the morning you leave

The address we use is 2901 High Hill Road, Placerville. The Apple Hill Growers listing we checked runs August 15 through December 24, open daily from 9 to 5. We still open the ranch site the morning we leave, because the pond dates, the pony days, and the hayride schedule move.

Photo album

旅の写真

Scarecrow, hay, and sunflowers under the pines.

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Pumpkin season

Scarecrow, hay, and sunflowers under the pines.

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