24/04/2023
NEW post from the PNW "Best Stops on the Hood River Fruit Loop"
If you like booze, farm-to-table food, lavender, and picking fruit, this post is for you! This destination in Oregon is hands down, one of our favorite places ever.
The Hood River Fruit Loop is a 35-mile scenic drive and rural farm experience that includes distilleries, cideries, wineries, breweries, u-pick fruit orchards, lavender farms, fruit farm stands, bakeries, and more. All surrounded by a beautiful landscape with lovely views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood.
There are 28 stops on the Hood River Fruit Loop. My informative guide has all the details, but here are our favorite places to stop.
Apple Valley Country Store - to find homemade jarred products to fill your pantry and to taste freshly baked goods. Must order huckleberry cinnamon rolls (spring - summer), pear dumplings (fall), and their famous Tillamook huckleberry and marionberry milkshakes.
Fox-Tail Cider & Distillery - excellent selection of ciders and distilled spirits. The vodka, Brandy, and gin are created from Fox-Tail’s apple ciders. So every spirit is 100% apple based. Must order their famous cider-tasting tray, the spirit sampler, or both.
Grateful Vineyard - a boutique winery, a small craft cidery, and a microbrewery with breathtaking views of Mt. Hood. The cider and beer are made from their 100-year-old apple trees, cherries, peaches, and pears. The high-elevation sparkling wine is unique thanks to its estate vineyard location, with an alpine elevation and lower temperatures.
Hood River Lavender Farms - pick a bouquet or frolic through lavender fields with views of snow-capped mountains. You can also visit their charming farmhouse gift shop to bring home lavender merchandise such as moisturizing lotions, essential oils, handmade soap, bath bombs, therapeutic wraps, and more – all produced from the organic lavender grown on the farm.
Kiyokawa Family Orchards - has the largest u-pick orchard in the Hood River Valley, with over 150 varieties of apples, pears, Asian pears, cherries, stone fruit, and more. Their farm stand is just as massive and impressive with freshly picked fruit ready to eat.
Mt. View Orchards - a three-generation sustainable, 50-acre apple and pear farm with over 125 varieties. They have one of the best u-pick apple orchards in the country with panoramic views of Mt. Hood.
Packer Orchards - their bakery is “Pear-Fect” to find freshly baked goods and homemade jams, salsas, pickled veggies, and more. The bakery uses its sweet orchard pears for homemade jams and baked goodies to help reduce and, in some cases, eliminate the need for added sugar. Highly recommend you get one of their GIANT cookies and a fruit empanada.
Stave & Stone Winery - vineyard tasting room has breathtaking views of Mt. Adams behind rows of grape vines. The winery has an excellent selection of award-winning pinot noir ranging from medium full-bodied to a pinot noir rosé and a refreshing rosé bubbly. You can choose from three different flights and order delicious bites of food while enjoying scenic views of lavender fields, vineyards, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Adams.
The Gorge White House - a fourth-generation family-owned and operated farm that offers hard ciders, wines, farm-to-table food, u-pick fruit, flowers, and more. The farm-to-table food cart prepares delicious locally sourced burgers, refreshing sandwiches, and fruit-forward flatbreads. I know it sounds different, but I highly recommend the blueberry & sausage flatbread and pear quesadilla. Some of the best food we've ever had.
The Old Trunk - a family-friendly antique store with a soda fountain, soft-serve ice cream machine, fruit stand, and a quaint garden of flowers and berries. Known for their 1950's antique shake machine for soft-serve berry shakes, sodas, fantastic vintage vinyl collection and rotating funky antique inventory. So grab something sweet and look around the store because you never know what hidden gems you will find.
https://www.oursweetadventures.com/best-stops-on-the-hood-river-fruit-loop/
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