Curtis Orchard & Pumpkin Patch

Landmark review:
It only took 1 year before I got to experience Curtis Orchard. I can see why so many people are fans of this place. Unlikely many other attractions where you have to pay money for admission and more money for activities, they allow you to explore for free and you only pay for what you buy or play. My son enjoyed the pony rides 5 dollars, playground free, and the giant slide 1 dollar. You can actually get an all day pass for 25 dollars as well. (Play-​All-​Day Wristbands — $ 25 each (includes two pony rides, five rounds in the Wicked Orchard Shoot-​Out, and unlimited play on all other activities). Does not include face painting or Wayne’s Kettle Korn. The purchase of a child’s wristband includes a free wristband for one adult.) There are a lot of other activities as well including a corn maze, obstacle course, and wagon ride. For the little ones it was nice to pick and chose which ones he wanted to go. The other major highlight is picking your own pumpkin or going into the apple orchard to pick apples. We did not do this during our visit. Finally the store has everything from apple cider to apple cider donuts. Expensive, but tasty!
Hidden deals: Get the fresh bags of imperfect apple cider donuts. They really look the same, but they come in a bag and are simply delicious.

This place was an amazing slice of hometown autumn joy when I was a child. I visited Curtis Orchard for the first time in over a decade a few weekends ago… and I am sad to say that this place has taken a turn for the worse. What happened??? It has turned into an over-​commercialized sorry excuse for a pumpkin patch. The children attractions are gimmicky and over priced. The donuts are dry and lack a decent coating of cinnamon sugar that they once had. They even put a quarter machine on the little train that travels around the ceiling of the store dining area… that thing used to travel around the entire store for free, NO MONEY REQUIRED!!! Shame on the owners and what they have let it become.

Were back this past weekend– first time in YEARS– and the place is still just as lovely (but OMG, so much HUGER!!) as always. Watched my little niece as she fed the goats, played with other kids, and pretty much enjoyed every single piece of playground equipment, then a whole pile of pumpkins, before we spoiled the heck out of her with stuffed animals!
I’m revising my earlier comment about the store being heavily overpriced. We got two of the CUTEST stuffed animals (one of them a Gund Teddybear) for such great prices. A fox, named Sophia, had a hole big enough to put your finger in, but she was just too precious not to buy. They offered to replace it for us once they got their new shipment in! That’s right! They let her keep it (I bought it, of course), and are going to replace it for her in under a week. I thought that was tremendously generous! On top of it, the woman who made such decisions was gone at the time (when I went through the line), but the staff at the cash register got with her upon her return, found us on the farm, and took our details so they could let us know when new Sophia’s were in! Spectacular service!
After a hot few hours, we all sat around a huge table, refreshments in hand (again, very affordable), in a half-​darkened (by our choice, they offered to turn on the lights) part of the restaurant, and laughed and gabbed the afternoon away. All in all, what a lovely trip it was with family and friends in such a special place!

Curtis Orchard is a fall staple for going pumpkin picking and buying apple doughnuts with cider. The atmosphere still feels the same to me as it did when I would come here at age 5. It’s so homey and has a general happy vibe.
The reason I am rating them four stars is for two reasons:
1. Everything is pricey
2. The crowds in the small store is a nightmare when you go during the fall season. With the amount of people that go to Curtis Orchard, they should really look into expanding the store so people have room to breathe.

Love going here to pick apples and get cider! The apple donuts are really really good! Those go so fast in my home!

Cool place. Fun activity for the family. Face painting was enjoyable my 4 year old. The bouncy house lines were disappointing, not really set up for multiple kids at the same time, poor flow. There is lots to do for kids, but my son seemed to get bored with the activities much quicker than other places. Reasonable prices.

I had a really nice time when I recently visited this place. I purchased some of the delicious apple cider to enjoy at home. The air smelled truly delicious outside.

I had a great time here. I came with my girlfriend, brother, and mom. We did the ‘U pick’ and picked from the 3 types of apples they had available. The store inside is really cool too. Lots of preserves, mixes, etc to choose from that they make. The staff was really friendly too and prices are affordable. The petting area and moon bounce are good for kids.

Let me start by saying that Curtis Orchard sells delicious food. The apples, cider, jams, jellies and so forth are great.
There are some great options if you want sugar and salt free products that still taste amazing!
However, the prices are high. If they were more reasonable I would visit much more often.

Its a great place to take your kids. They learn about how fruits grow. My daughters enjoyed picking apples and it is not pricey as well. It can be crowded sometimes but it is fine if you plan to go to the orchard. There are some other kids activities (like pony riding) that get affected by the crowds.

Cool place. Fun to go to. Great for kids and family. Amazing donuts and caramel apples! If you have nothing to do one day, stop by. It never gets boring here.

I enjoy going here once and awhile but honestly, I think this place is more for young kids. The ambiance is pretty hokey. And it can get really crowded with terrible lines. The price of the apples is ridiculous, especially for picking apples. For about a large ziplock bag full, it costs $ 10! And the apples are covered with pesticides. That being said, it’s kind of a «fun» place. I can’t comment on the food here because I don’t eat it (I have Celiac Disease and cannot have anything with gluten) although before I was diagnosed, I remember the doughnuts were quite tasty. I think I’ll be going out to Wolfe Apple Orchard in Montecello in the future, even though it’s a bit further of a drive.

I have been here many times. The kids love it and they do not charge to get in. However, they basically charge for everything else. There are your basic pumpkin patch staples like a corn maze and a tour of the pumpkin patch. They also have face painting, pony rides, inflatables (2), playground, mini golf, a barn with a hay loft the kids can jump out of. Also kettle corn cooked outside and a bluegrass band playing.
The inflatables were very frustrating to me because they only let one child through the obstacle course at a time. The person overseeing it is a kid probably in high school. We waited and waited for the little kid who went in front of my daughter to get done. He seemed to have disappeared. Everyone just stood there and did nothing to encourage the child to come out. I would say we waited for 10 to 15 minutes before the grandmother finally decided to go see where he was. What I am getting at here is that the person supervising the inflatable should have had more of a backbone and spoke up to the Grandmother or the child so the other kids did not have to wait such a long time. Thankfully my daughter had way more patience then I did because I was fuming.
This was the first time I ate of the Flying Monkey. The line was long and it went slow. But, it was worth it. The green beans were really good. I wish I knew what they put in them. I also had the Au gratin potatoes and I personally like them. They were fresh and not greasy. I overheard someone say that the chili was the best chili they have ever had. I did not try it. Everything looked good to me.
The apple donuts are good but not my thing. They are about $ 10 per dozen which marks them expensive in my book. The cider is $ 8 a gallon.
I did not pick apples or pumpkins so I can not comment on those aspects of the orchard. But all in all I really enjoyed our time spent here and I thought the food was good.

I live about 45 miles away from Curtis Orchard but really didn’t discover it until my daughter had my first grandchild. She lived about 45 miles the other way and we met in the middle at the Orchard for my grandson’s first visit. Since then going to Curtis Orchard is a MUST HAVE in the fall — we have been going for nine years now!
They have evolved over the years from a plain orchard and pumpkin patch to a fun and accessible destination. They offer pumpkins already picked to choose from in the front OR you can walk back to the patch, pulling the provided wagons, and pick out one for yourself. The walk is fun, and the kids love roaming around the patch (yes, she added a granddaughter a few years later). Once the perfect pumpkin is located, the kids love to «wash» it off in the provided troughs of water.
Then the fun begins for Grandma — they have a lovely store with lots of cooking accessories, kids items, decorative items and the best thing of all — home made apple/​cinnamon donuts! They have a café that has expanded in the last few years with a great food menu. I love the BBQ. They have home made pies, cobblers, caramel apples. You can eat these things there or you can take them home. I think I made three trips over this year and got the donuts and pies (those come either baked or frozen to be baked at a later time) for everyone in the family.
For the kids, on the weekends, they offer a large play area, petting zoo, pony rides, balloon slides and bouncy houses… I’m sure I missed something because the kids love to play and are all over the place. They also offer a hayride that is totally safe. They go through the orchards, out to the pumpkin patch and back and that is also a must have.
This year I found out something I didn’t know — that they offer guided trips for schools. I went over with the grandkids classes to visit and got a behind the scenes look at how the apples are harvested, washed and pressed for cider, as well as a great presentation on how bees are a vital part of the apple’s life.
I can’t say enough good about the Orchard. I haven’t ever tried to pick the apples as I always pick up a bag of honeycrisp that they have picked and are for sale in the gift shop, but I know that is available. We look forward to our trip there every year and will definitely be going back. Best pumpkin patch in Central Illinois!

The fall is not complete without a couple trips to Curtis Orchard. We usually go at least twice during the football season.
They have AMAZING apple doughnuts, a spectacular apple selection, mums, pumpkins, gourds, pies, and almost anything else you can imagine.
Sometimes we pick our own apples and other times we are in more of a time crunch. Either way we are always pleased with the selection.
When you are in Champaign, you should find a way to work this into your visit. Enjoy!

If you’re in the area, it’s a nice fun place to spend an afternoon in. Picking fruit or pumpkins is fun if you’re with family or a couple friends and the food items are quite addictive, especially their donuts.

If you would’ve asked me to rate this place when I was in high school, or before that, it would’ve gotten 5 stars, hands down.
But now, it’s overly corporate and maxed out. Every time I go there in the fall, it’s completely packed and almost unbearable. I miss the days when the old-​school donut maker was there with just a few simple picnic benches. Now they have a full lunch-​bar and cafeteria-​like room. Then of course there’s the rest of the property, which is updated and completely unrecognizable to those of us who had such nostalgic, childhood ties to it.
That being said, I still have a strong emotional attachment to the place. Above all, they still manage to crank out some awesome apple cider, apple donuts, honey, and other produce. I also go there to pick pumpkins if I’m ever in town around Halloween. I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else.

Apple Doughnuts.
If that doesn’t make you go then there are Honey Crisp Apples, Pumpkins, handmade jams and cider.
And then, there’s pie!
It is a fun place for adults and the kids I have seen there seem to be LOVING it!
Give it a try before or after a football game.

Tip: Don’t go pumpkin picking when it’s over 80 degrees! This fun outing turned into slave labor very quickly. The urge to sing spirituals was overwhelming.
Grab a rickety red wagon and walk the dirt path out to the pumpkin patch and pick your pumpkin baby. It’s dusty and dirty so leave your fancy duds at home. Most of the pumpkins were easy to remove from the vines but some of them required a bit of tugging and yanking so I suggest bringing a pocket knife or Wolverine.
In addition to pumpkins you can get all sorts of gourds for eating or decorating and they have some pretty strange shapes. Let’s just say we giggled like 12 year olds at certain shapes. I know, I know, grow up!
Other Highlights:
Apple donuts are the shizz!
Giant sized rocking chair makes a great photo prop once you’re able to push the families and kids out of the way.
No so high lights:
Lines can get crazy and they move like molasses
Pricing for some of the items in the store are insane and laughable.
The dirty pumpkin washing basin, no way to keep it clean of course but I still don’t like it.

Oh, Curtis Orchard. This place, in many ways, defines «home» for me. I bought every Halloween pumpkin here as a child, can remember preschool «field trips» to watch in awe as they made their old-​fashioned donuts, sat with the inevitable litter of kittens while I sucked down my cider slushie… memories.
It’s a great place for a family trip, so amazingly kid-​friendly in so many ways. Loving the new (er) additions of the petting zoo, maze, playground, enlarged store area… yeah, it was just a tiny little building in my childhood memories.
Anyway, it’s a wonderful way to spend an hour (or three) with the family. Get a donut and a cider slushie, at the very least.