A crisp apple straight off the tree tastes better than anything you can buy shrink-wrapped at the store, and in Illinois you can grab a whole afternoon of that kind of fun for less than the cost of a movie ticket. All across the state, family farms open their gates to visitors who want fresh donuts, wandering corn mazes, and a pumpkin or two to carry home.
Best of all, a crumpled fifteen-dollar bill stretches surprisingly far at these spots. Here are 15 sprawling farm stands and markets where cheap and memorable go hand in hand.
1. Tanners Orchard, Speer, IL
Four generations of the same family have kept this Speer orchard humming since 1947, and that kind of staying power shows in every corner of the place. The large country farm market brims with apples, cider, pastries, honey, dips, popcorn, and salsas, the sort of shelves you could browse for an hour without noticing the time slip by.
Wagon rides carry you out to the orchard, where you can pick your own apples and pumpkins or grab ones already gathered from the patch. Back near the store, the Back 40 Fun Acres and a petting area full of small animals give kids plenty to burn off energy on…