Royal Oak Farm Orchard

So, this place is kind of in the middle of nowhere. Beware of that. From Chicago, it takes over an hour to get here and you’re closer to the Wisconsin state line than anything else.
This orchard is perfectly reasonable and there’s a lot of space. If you go too late in the season (read: late September, early October) there’s like NO apples left, so think about that as you make your plans.
There’s a decent amount of stuff on the grounds to do, especially for kids. There’s a country store and a restaurant which have awesome stuff in them.
This orchard is a bit too Jesus-​y for my taste, so keep that in mind if you plan a visit. There’s a lot of biblical verses plastered on walls and fences and a lot of religious folk with tons of kids running around. Not necessarily my idea of a fun time, if you know what I mean. In the future, I’ll probably go somewhere else that’s a bit closer to civilization and sells more alcohol than this place.

Wow these punks jacked up the prices! Guess what kids if you want to pick apples you have to buy your own bag, you can’t share with mommy or daddy. This poor lady in front of me and my man had six little kids all dying to go on that hayride and pick apples! She went nuts and I don’t blame her when she was told that all six kids would be charged per bag!!! And they were like all under ten!!! This used to be a great ma and pop shop and some stupid rich kids took over! Hey everyone don’t waste your time coming here!!! Greed is what they practice not wholesome family fun. Also they claim to be religious since grandma and Grandpa left its changed for the worst ever!!! Glad to find out that grandma and grandpa are still there… that way everyone’s well taken care of, thanks for the comment Dennis! Oh by the way DITCH that hat… gitter done!

I love their apple cider doughnuts but that’s the only thing I come for. It’s a great place for the kids here lots of stuff to do and animals to see. But, the pick your own apples is so expensive it’s outrageous. And you can’t buy just one big bag and share, no everyone has to have their own bag per orchard policy. So you have to spend $ 20 on a bag full.

The place is very clean, went on a Sunday at the end of October, not crowded at all, plenty of parking. The place is decent clean bathrooms compared to some other places with only port o potty’s. I was able to purchase 6 pumpkin donuts for just over $ 6.00. We went for the kids, so we took part in purchasing tokens, what was unfortunate, was that on the carousel ride, the sign for tokens read 2 and under are free, however they made us buy tokens for the adult that went with the 2 year old, for both the carousel and the train ride. We spent $ 24 for them to ride each ride twice. I just thought that was expensive, but after being in the car for over 2 hours, we bought the tokens for the kids to have fun. A very relaxing facility, felt like I was on a farm far away from the business of the city. The pumpkin patch they had, was almost non existent, however you could tell this was more of an apple orchard. So I will be back in the future for the apples. They have a huge store, with toys and games and gifts and a bakery with fudge, caramel apples, donuts and breads.

We have been coming to this orchard for the past several years, and we have always had great fun here. We used to love this place since it is out in the country and it is big, so you don’t really notice the crowds once you’re in the orchard. We have always loved walking among the apple trees and breathing in fresh/​apple-​scented air. This year however, they have tractors running seemingly non-​stop, and the air is no longer fresh, nor can you smell the apples. The place is no longer peaceful and quiet, either.
Their prices used to be very fair, but that’s no longer the case. This year they added an apple tree maze, and they charge $ 6 per person just to walk through it and pick 2 apples per person. It sounded very interesting, especially since they have «activities» inside the maze and a game (answer the questions). However, my kids found the activities rather boring and the questions were way too hard. As a party of 4, we spent $ 24 and my kids (ages 7 and 10) did not enjoy it so much as to justify the price. To get into the U-​pick this year, EACH person has to have a bag. That would have cost us $ 36. Since we did not need that many apples we decided to walk around the orchard, enjoy the beautiful day, relax, and take pictures by the apple trees. I have pictures of my kids by those apple trees since my daughter was born. Sadly, this year as soon as we entered the garden, we were confronted by an extremely rude staff member, were accused of trespassing, and were told to leave the garden. We have not noticed any signs saying the area was off-​limits or that it was «private», therefore we figured it was ok to just walk around and take some pictures. My daughter got scared of the «guard» and started to tear up, and my son was nervously asking me «what have we done wrong?» The person however paid absolutely no attention to them and just kept ushering us out. When I tried to explain that we already paid for the maze and had a receipt to prove it, and we just wanted to enjoy some quiet time away from the apple-​picking crowd, the guard refused to even look at me or respond in any way. We were completely saddened and shocked that the orchard owners employ such rude and disrespectful staff members, who treat their customers, and especially families with young kids, as thieves. Judging by all the bible verses they have posted all over their buildings, they are supposed to be Christians/​Catholics, but this treatment of customers proves that they are just hypocrites. We have already told several of our friends and relatives about our unfortunate experience at this orchard, and they decided to visit other places instead.

Love this place! Everyone is so friendly, and the apple selection cannot be beat. After reading Dennis’s explanation of the new price structure, I have a better understanding of why it was done. My only suggestion would be to somehow streamline the restaurant’s long, slow lines.

I enjoyed visiting royal oaks farm this year quite a bit. We took our 8 month old with us and enjoyed walking around the orchard with her. I wish they’d had fuji apples available the day I went but they had a great variety of delicious apples to pick from. I had my baby in the carrier and I was unable to reach a ton of apples but my partner was more than able to reach at 6’1 plenty to take home with us. I appreciate that there was no admission or parking fees afded on and that all the money spent didn’t feel like a waste. We took home honey, a squash, apple cider donuts, 1 and ¼ pecks of apples and a gallon of apple cider for about $ 70 dollars. They have an apple tree maze we did not partake nor am I sure if it was free or not and our baby is not quite old enough for other kids activities but walking around the orchards and enjoying a tractor ride or two was awesome! One thing I wish would change-​We weren’t sure after spending an hour and a half or so we could or wanted to fill our ¼ bag but no refunds.

I am kicking myself for never going here before! People were very nice and apples were the most delicious I’ve ever had. It’s a little pricy for apples but worth the memories and fun. My only suggestion would be for them to mow the grass more frequently down the apple tree rows. It was damp last weekend when we went and the long grass soaked us. Going back for pumpkins next weekend :)

Did not like the new price structure, you have to pay for everyone that goes into the orchard. If the business is losing 4 apples per person they reflect that in the price of the bag, do not charge for each person. We would have to buy 1 ½ pecks of apples, way more then we intended to buy normally. We will not be back after going there for years.

This is the place to be in the fall. There are things for all ages. Petting zoo, orchard maze, cider, a restaurant and of course lots of apples.
The maze is fun and you get to pick and eat apples while in it.

Just wanted to express my disappointment after visiting Royal Oak. After a 45 minute wait in line (only 3 people in front of us but our cashier had to chat about everything from the weather to the movies before handing out apple bags.) We finally get our bags and head out to the apples. We were told that we may find some black spots on the apples but that they are «totally fine.» Well, we couldn’t really find any apples that weren’t covered in gross black spots all over them. We head back with half empty bags (12 $ –adult and 6 $ kids) and because picking was so bad, the kids wanted to do the apple maze. We approached the girl at the desk and she said it is 6 $ a kid to walk through the maze. Are you kidding me? She told us that there was a game the kids could play in it. We paid and on our way in, we heard two other families complaining and telling her they were very angry about the experience. I was right to be worried… The game was intended for older teenagers and served no purpose for our young children. We walked back out immediately and tried to get our money back. The woman said NO. We walked right out less than 2 minutes later once we realized it wasn’t appropriate for our little ones but she said NO. When I asked what the answer was to the maze, She said «today is my first day and I have no idea.» Not surprised they other families were complaining too. Don’t get it. How do you tell sell someone on inappropriately entering a maze that is not age appropriate for them, sell them on participating in a game that they couldn’t possibly complete, and then not even know the answer to the game. Ridiculous. I called a manager and explained our experience and she was totally defensive, offered no apology, and told us she hoped we visit the farm again. I surely won’t be and don’t encourage anyone else to either. Lots of nice apple farms out there, do yourself a favor and skip Royal Oak.

I have been visiting here for at least eight years, but this year the experience was really different. We understand the price changes on the apples. Farming is tough and we see a lot of people being disrespectful and tossing apples that ultimately the farm loses. However, our gripe is that we used to go there because it was huge and we could enjoy picking apples without a crowd, even on a Saturday or Sunday. This year, the entire orchard was roped off so we couldn’t even walk straight through. Huge trucks were carrying people around the orchard and dropping them all off at the pickable sections. They’ve always had these, but there was only one or two periodically. This time, we couldn’t hear the nature through the whirring of the truck engines. And every time we made it to a new section on foot to pick the apples, a truck would drop off 30 more people right there and we’d be in the midst of a huge crowd. Some people need assistance walking, we get that. But ALL the people? Highly unlikely. It makes it so commercial and so hectic!
In addition, there were more ropes in the barns guiding us through the area instead of letting us walk across and we ended up running into MORE crowds. This place used to have a really cool, country farm feel with a ton of nature and was really relaxing. This year, we got our apples and got out as fast as possible because it was so noisy and felt so commercial. I even bought a gallon of cider to take home to make into hard cider and found out I couldn’t because it had chemical preservative in it. :(
Royal Oak, please go back to fewer trucks, fewer ropes and crowd leading, and please consider leaving your cider fresh. We drove 90 minutes from the city to visit and were so disappointed. :/

Royal Oak is our yearly family destination for apple picking! Their cafeteria has the most amazing chicken pot pies, too :-) The kids love the playground and petting zoo and the adults love the cinnamon apple donuts and adorable shop. And I love that I can get my donut and apple fix every Tuesday and Saturday at the Woodstock Farmers Market!

This place has had recent price changes!!! We have been coming to this place for years. We are unfortunately going to look for another place for next year due to the price changes that have occurred. Every year we would buy 1 – 2 big bags for $ 25. The experience is just amazing kids loved this place and still did as of yesterday. But we cannot afford the ridiculous prices. People where complaining left and right. Each kid now needs a bag ¼ 3yrs up $ 6! Plus you are paying $ 12 per adult. Each get a ½ bag. $ 20 tokens for $ 50!!! This place was empty no wonder. WILL NOT BE RETURNING.

Had a fun time at this apple orchard with Church friends. The have a tractor that takes you around the farm, a cute shop and restaurant!

This place was exactly what we were looking for this past weekend.
We were babysitting our Grandson, who is just under 2 years old, and we were looking for something that would be entertaining for all of us.
We were able to feed the alpaca’s, goats, chickens and ducks, ride the carousel, ride the train, let my grandson slide down the slides (100 times :-), buy apple cider donuts, and get an apple cider slushie — all for around $ 20. I was so tempted to also buy their pumpkin donuts, but my waistline needs to stop growing at some point!
The staff was very professional and the day was just perfect.
Kids under 2 get to ride the attractions for free, and that was very helpful for us. Adults are $ 2.50, which is reasonable.
For a farm, this place is very clean and inviting. I would definitely recommend going here to take in the experience — especially if you have small children and are looking for something to do outside.

Can’t beat $ 20 for a large bag of nice apples. Love that the playground area is free, as is the petting zoo. There aren’t a ton of things to play on, but free is wonderful! Delicious donuts. The joy of this place is its simplicity. Nice picking. Pretty chill. Apples were not spotted or pitted like other places. Some of the staff could brush up on their people skills, but overall, will go back. Kids loved it!!!

Beautiful, serene and just a lot of fun! My family and I decided to come here, not sure what to expect. We researched apple orchards in the near area. We found this one and were pleasantly surprised! Nearly everyone at Royal Oak Farms was friendly and beyond helpful. We decided to go with the u-​pick because we wanted to give little man the experience of picking apples! It was so wonderful. The grounds were well marked with which trees could be picked from, and the little map they give you easily shows how to get to and from the trees. Cindy, the lady who works in the U-​pick area was just about one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life! They have a beehive that has plexi-​glass around it so you can see inside! My son enjoyed this most of all, i think. Needless to say this entire visit was incredibly informative. After spending time in the wonderful orchard, we decided to drop by the restaurant for lunch. Very simple cafeteria style place (the workers weren’t the friendliest… but whatever)…
The selection wasn’t huge but what they did offer looked great and smelled even better. I opted for the chicken pot pie (which I felt was priced a little steep at $ 10.99) but in their defense it also came with apple bread and fresh apple sauce. We ordered the beef hotdog and chips for my son (which was around $ 3) not bad at all. The pot pie was amazing! Whoever makes that crust needs a raise and a kiss. My son enjoyed his hotdog and mom said the strawberry rhubarb pie was awesome (which came with what looked and tasted like homemade ice-​cream)! Mmmmmm…
After lunch we decided to quickly check out the gift shop to try and find those apple cider donuts everyone kept raving about. The gift shop had a little bit of something for everyone … baked goods, candies and fudge, syrups and spreads they even had purses, scarves, a book section… I could go on and on. Mom and I opted for the apple bread because we really enjoyed it at the restaurant. I tried the donuts and the toffee fudge (both were great) but opted to only take the apple bread with me this time around! Little man was getting tired, so I decided not to check out the play area/​petting zoo this time. We will definitely do that and the hayride once we come back to visit again.
overall we had a wonderful time, I could have stayed in the orchards for hours if they had let me, it was really a beautiful place. I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars because I felt the prices were a little steeper than expected. The prices aren’t horrible and you can definitely save money by selecting pre-​picked fruit if picking apples isn’t your thing? We opted to pick our own, spent the money, picked a ton of apples and still felt good about our time here.

I can’t believe I’ve never reviewed Royal Oak, or that there are so few reviews. So that others may know the awesomeness of this apple orchard, I will absolutely tell you more. :)
We try to get here at least once a season, sometimes more, for the apple picking season. Typically, you get the best haul mid September to mid October, but this naturally varies depending on the year’s harvest. Otherwise, it can literally be slim pickens, or I guess just a little more time consuming trying to get the higher apples when trees have been picked over. We’ve been going for about five years, but I know people for whom this is a tradition every year since childhood. How fun! And no matter the lateness of the season, we’ve always left with a good bag of apples. We’ve also had varying degrees of success with raspberries, and pumpkins are always plentiful.
In addition to the «U-​Pick», there’s a farmers market with pre-​picked items) and a country store with a variety of items from fresh gourds, to summer sausage and cheese, to salsas, and of course apple cider, apple cider donuts (YOU MUST!), and apple butter. If you’re looking for country kitsch in your home décor, you will find an abundance here at the country store. There’s also a country restaurant that we hear yummy things about (homestyle cooking like biscuits and gravy and more), but I have yet to actually eat there.
However, there is more to do at Royal Oak than eat and shop. ;) They have many fun activities for children, and in fact offer up school and group field trips/​tours. There is a playground, petting zoo, a carousel, a miniature train, a teepee, tractor rides and hayrides, and bonfires some evenings! Not to mention the beautiful 126 acres that kids love to run around on.
Parking is free on the weekdays, a couple bucks on Saturday, and they are always closed on Sundays. You’ll do more walking during the week since they don’t run the tractors to take you to certain areas of the orchard like they do on Saturdays.
We love a nice fall day (like today was) spent at Royal Oak, just enjoying the fresh air as we pick fruits and veggies, nibble on fresh, steamy hot apple cider donuts and take pictures. You just can’t have a bad day here, in my opinion.
Bushels run about $ 16 each, and for us today, that meant about 40 – 60 small to medium sized apples. My half dozen donuts today were $ 4.50, and worth every penny! :) Many of the store items are overpriced, so I tend to stick to items that are truly unique to the farm or area, such as many of the apple bakery items, local meats and cheeses, jugs of cider, etc. They are always closed on Sundays, and are NOT open all year, just late summer through sometime in mid autumn. They charge a couple bucks for parking on Saturdays, but weekdays the parking is free. I think the tractor rides are only on Saturday. If you are able to, I think you’ll find going on a weekday is much more enjoyable, as Saturdays are sometimes wall to wall people/​kids.
Trust me, a good tine will be had by all. =)

I came here over Labor Day weekend to pick apples and had a mixed experience.
Pros:
–The apple orchard is huge. We picked a peck for 16 bucks (about 10 – 12 pounds of apples). We probably spent about an hour in the orchard and that was with only two varieties of apples available. We sampled a couple of the apples as we picked, and they were certainly delicious.
–The landscape around the farm and orchard is pretty scenic – lots of large, older trees mixed in with farmland.
–The food at the little restaurant is pretty decent. I had an egg salad sandwich that was very tasty. We also bought a box of the cider doughnut holes in the store, which were delicious.
Cons:
–The petting zoo is pretty terrible. There are a few goats, a couple of sheep, and a couple of calves. There are also quite a few chickens and geese (that you can’t exactly pet). Unlike petting zoos I’ve been to elsewhere, you can’t really mingle with the animals here. They’re kept behind a wooden fence inside a barn-​type building, so you have to pet them through the slats. Also, the number of flies in the building is beyond belief.
–If you didn’t realize this orchard has religious overtones before you arrive, you certainly will about 3 seconds after you enter. Not only is there a miniature Noah’s ark replica for children to play on, but there are literally about 100 signs throughout the restaurant and store displaying biblical quotations, etc. They were even showing a church service/​gospel choir on the TV in the restaurant. It was a bit much.
I had a pleasant experience coming here once, but would probably go elsewhere next time – preferably somewhere with a better petting zoo.