There are plenty of places around Hendersonville where you can buy a bag of apples in the fall, but Grandad’s Apples ’N Such is the kind of place where a quick orchard stop can easily turn into most of an afternoon. We recently visited with our third-grade daughter and did the full fall experience: picking apples from the orchard, walking into the pumpkin patch to choose a pumpkin, and finding our way through the corn maze.

What surprised me most was that Grandad’s still feels like a farm. There are plenty of attractions for families, along with a large market and bakery, but once you walk away from the barn, you are standing among apple trees, pumpkin vines, and rows of corn. Behind it all are the mountains of Western North Carolina, which make the farm especially beautiful on a clear fall day.

There is also considerably more history here than you might realize while eating a cider donut. Grandad’s has operated at its Hendersonville location since 1994, but the Lancaster family’s farming and apple-growing story stretches back generations. Today, Grandad’s describes itself as a fifth-generation family farm, with fourth-generation apple farmer Pat Lancaster continuing the family tradition on more than 120 acres. Pat’s wife, Leslie, and their daughters, Kaylin and Kayce, along with their families, are also involved in the operation.

Grandad’s Started Much Smaller Than the Farm You See Today

One of the most interesting things about Grandad’s is that this property was not always the large apple destination it has become.

A newspaper account published in 2003 described Pat and Leslie Lancaster converting a former cattle farm into a roughly 30-acre apple orchard in the mid-1990s. At the time, Grandad’s was primarily a retail and U-pick operation. Visitors could pick apples or buy them from the farm store, along with cider, local crafts, and apple turnovers on weekends. The orchard was growing about 15 apple varieties.

That gives some perspective to what visitors see today.

The farm now says the Lancaster family farms more than 120 acres, while the Blue Ridge Farm Direct Market Association lists more than 40 apple varieties, along with pumpkins, peaches, pears, and lavender. Grandad’s has also added a bakery, pumpkin patch, corn maze, apple cannon, cow train, and other seasonal activities.

But this is not simply a fall attraction that happens to have some apple trees around it. Grandad’s remains a working orchard, and that becomes much more obvious when you actually go into the fields.

Picking Our Own Apples

Apple picking was one of the main reasons we came, and for a child this age it is probably one of the best parts of visiting.

Instead of choosing apples from a supermarket display, our daughter was able to walk between the trees, see how the fruit grows, and pick her own apples. It is simple, but that is really the appeal. There is something different about carrying home apples that you actually took from the tree yourself.

Grandad’s offers U-pick on select weekends rather than guaranteeing it every day, and the available varieties change as different apples ripen. The farm also keeps bins of freshly picked apples at the market for visitors who do not want to pick their own.

Check this before making the drive if apple picking is the main reason for your visit. Do not assume that because Grandad’s grows a particular variety, that variety will be available for U-pick when you arrive.

The apple season here is not one single harvest. Different varieties mature from late summer well into fall, so two families visiting several weeks apart can have completely different apples available.

The Pumpkin Patch Is an Actual Pumpkin Field

This was another part of Grandad’s that I liked.

There are enormous bins of pumpkins near the main farm area, and they make a great fall backdrop with the mountains behind them. But you can also head into the actual pumpkin field.

We took our daughter into the patch and let her choose her own pumpkin. There were pumpkins scattered among the vines across the field, so this felt much more like pumpkin picking than simply selecting one from a display beside the parking lot.

Grandad lists pumpkins among the crops grown on the farm, and U-pick pumpkins are offered during the fall season. The farm also grows other crops, including peaches, pears, mountain cabbage, and lavender.

For children, the experience also includes an unexpected little lesson. They get to see a pumpkin growing on a vine rather than encountering it for the first time sitting in a grocery-store box.

Then We Tried the Corn Maze

The corn maze was probably the most purely fun thing we did.

From outside the field, it does not necessarily look intimidating. Once you walk into it, that changes pretty quickly. The corn is tall enough that you cannot simply look across the field and figure out where you need to go. You walk along narrow dirt paths with corn on both sides and repeatedly decide which direction looks promising.

We had our third grader with us, and I think elementary-school age is about perfect for it. She was old enough to help figure out where to go instead of simply following us through the maze.

One thing to know before you go in is that the corn maze is a paid attraction. A sign at the entrance even reminds visitors that they must prepay. The maze is one of several activities at Grandad’s that may have a separate charge rather than being included simply because you are visiting the farm. Current listings also identify the cow train and apple cannon as additional-cost activities.

I would allow more time for the maze than you think you need. That is sort of the point.

It Is a Farm Experience Without Feeling Like an Amusement Park

That may be what I liked best about Grandad’s.

You can spend money on activities if you want to, but you do not have to turn the visit into an expensive attraction checklist. We concentrated on the things we actually came to do: picking apples, choosing a pumpkin, and going through the corn maze.

Between those activities, there is plenty to see just walking around the farm.

The setting helps enormously. The orchard and fields sit against the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the pumpkin area, in particular, has beautiful mountain views. There are also places around the main farm area where families can slow down instead of immediately moving to the next attraction.

Grandad’s is currently listed as a 120-acre family farm, although the main barn and market sit among about 30 acres of apple and peach trees.

Do Not Skip the Barn and Country Store

Even if you come primarily for U-pick, go inside the market.

This is where Grandad’s feels like an old-fashioned roadside farm market. Shelves are packed with jams, jellies, apple butter and other preserves, along with local honey, cider and assorted country-store products. Old farm tools and equipment decorate the walls, and the building feels much more connected to the agricultural side of the property than a modern gift shop would.

Grandad says its cider is fresh-pressed on the farm in the fall. The market also carries locally produced honey and canned goods along with products made from the farm’s harvest.

It is worth walking through even if you do not plan to buy anything.

Of course, that plan may not survive the bakery.

The Bakery May Ruin Your Plans to “Just Look Around”

Grandad’s bakery is one of the major attractions in its own right.

The farm advertises hot apple cider donuts throughout the day, along with apple pies, turnovers, cider, cider slushies, and other seasonal treats.

We photographed the bakery menu during our 2026 visit, which gives a useful snapshot of what things actually cost when we were there. Apple cider donuts were $2 individually, $7.75 for a half-dozen, and $13 for a dozen. Fried apple pies and apple turnovers were $3.75, as were the regular cinnamon rolls. A whole apple pie was $20.

One of the more unusual choices is the Mountain Glacier, which combines an apple cider slushie with vanilla soft serve and caramel.

These prices can obviously change, so I would treat them as a record of our September 2026 visit rather than prices guaranteed for a future trip.

A Fourth-Generation Apple Farmer Carrying the Farm Forward

The family story makes more sense once you have walked around the property.

Grandad’s officially dates to 1994, but Pat Lancaster did not simply decide one day to become an apple farmer. Grandad’s identifies him as a fourth-generation apple farmer, and the business now describes the property as a fifth-generation family farm as Pat and Leslie’s daughters and their families participate in the operation.

The 2003 newspaper account is especially interesting because it captures Grandad’s before many of today’s attractions existed. Pat and Leslie had transformed former cattle land into approximately 30 acres of apple trees, and their daughters were still young enough to be described as fixtures around the farm store. Vindy Archives

Today, those daughters help operate the business.

That is a pretty remarkable change to see documented over roughly three decades: a relatively small U-pick orchard and farm store growing into a 120-plus-acre agricultural operation and one of the recognizable orchard destinations along Hendersonville’s apple-growing corridor.

Yet the fundamental idea has remained largely intact. People are still coming here to buy apples from the family that grew them.

Why Hendersonville Has So Many Apple Orchards

Grandad’s also makes more sense when you look at the larger area.

Hendersonville and the surrounding Henderson County countryside are apple country. Drive along Chimney Rock Road, and you will encounter multiple orchards and farm markets. Grandad’s sits at 2951 Chimney Rock Road, only a few miles east of Hendersonville. Hendersonville, NC

The combination of mountain climate, elevation, and agricultural tradition has made apples an important part of the area, and Hendersonville celebrates that heritage each year with the North Carolina Apple Festival.

Grandad’s represents the modern version of that agricultural tradition. The apples are still the foundation, but direct sales, U-pick, and farm experiences help keep families coming to the orchard instead of encountering Henderson County apples only after they reach a supermarket.

That shift was already underway when Grandad’s was profiled back in 2003. The article described local growers increasingly selling not only fresh apples but also the experience of picking them directly from the farm. Vindy Archives

More than 20 years later, that is essentially the day we experienced.

How Long Should You Spend at Grandad’s?

If you are stopping only for apples and cider donuts, you could easily be finished in less than an hour.

I would not plan it that way with children.

If you want to pick apples, visit the pumpkin patch, complete the corn maze, explore the market and bakery, and give the kids some time to look around, I would allow two to three hours. During a busy fall weekend, I would give yourself even more flexibility.

For us, having a third grader was a particularly good fit. She was young enough that picking apples and searching a pumpkin field were still exciting but old enough to really participate in the corn maze.

For families coming from the Upstate, that makes Grandad’s substantial enough to be the centerpiece of a fall day trip rather than simply somewhere to stop on the way to something else.

What to Know Before You Go

Grandad’s Apples is located at 2951 Chimney Rock Road, Hendersonville, NC 28792. For the 2026 season, the farm currently lists hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, with the bakery operating during farm hours.

Those hours don’t mean every activity runs all day, every day. U-pick apples are offered on select weekends and depend on what is ripe. Pumpkins are seasonal, and activities such as the corn maze, cow train, and apple cannon have their own schedules or charges.

I would check the farm’s latest update the morning you plan to visit, particularly if you are driving there specifically for U-pick.

Grandad’s Apples official website

Also, wear shoes you don’t mind getting dirty. You are going into an orchard, pumpkin field, and corn maze, not walking around a paved theme park.

Is Grandad’s Apples Worth the Drive From Upstate South Carolina?

What made Grandad’s work for us was that there was enough to do without losing sight of why we went in the first place.

Our daughter picked an apple from a tree. She walked through a field looking for a pumpkin. We got turned around in a corn maze. We explored a farm market full of preserves and local products. And all of it happened with the mountains in the background.

For a third grader, those simple experiences were probably more memorable than adding another dozen elaborate attractions.

And knowing the history makes the place a little more interesting. The Lancaster family was farming long before Grandad’s Apples opened in 1994. Pat brought another generation of that farming tradition to this property, starting with a much smaller orchard on former cattle land. Three decades later, his daughters and their families are helping operate a farm that has grown to more than 120 acres.

So yes, you can come to Grandad’s for a cider donut.

But if you bring the kids, go farther than the bakery.

Pick the apple. Walk into the pumpkin field. Get lost in the corn.

That is the part of Grandad’s they are likely to remember.