Fall Found In Hood River, OR

Fall in Hood River is magical! Probably the biggest draw to Hood River during the fall is its famous Fruit Loop. The Fruit Loop is a 35-mile, self-guided tour. The drive itself is filled with breathtaking views of Mt. Hood and orchards that lace the whole area.

​Although some stands are open during the summer for fruit such as blueberries and cherries, I feel the Fruit Loop is in its prime during the fall. Majority of all stands are open featuring the best apples and pears you can find. Once you taste an apple from one of the orchards here, it's hard to ever taste a store-bought apple the same way again. They just can't compare!

We tend to find a Saturday or Sunday early in October each fall to head out to Hood River with my whole family. It's about 1 1/2 hours from Portland, so it's an easy day trip. We often start in the morning and get there around lunch time. Our first stop is always The Gorge White House. We love to grab lunch here and do cider tastings. 

This place can get quite busy on the weekends in the fall, so we try to hit it on the earlier side. We will put in our order for food at their food cart, find a table outdoors, and then send someone inside to get our cider tastings. I did notice that they have added a lot more tables due to the pandemic. I hope this is a change they will keep. They now have tables extending out into their orchard and flower fields. They were nice tables with umbrellas providing great shade. 
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Waiting for our food at The Gorge White House
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Cider Tasting at The Gorge White House
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Map of the Fruit Loop
You can either taste the ciders one at a time, or do a flight of all eight flavors. We enjoy the flight and often share it. They also have wine tasting there, too. But we tend to save our wine tasting for somewhere else. More on that later!

The food can sometimes take a while, because good food can't be rushed! And, this place is usually very busy. It's one of the first stops on the Fruit Loop and it's becoming more well-known each year. We have tried everything from the burgers, flat breads, grilled cheese, quesadillas, and the tots. The tots are awesome, so make sure to order some of those! The pear and caramelized onion flat bread was the perfect fall meal. They use local pears and it just feels right to eat that while in Hood River.

We sometimes will backtrack to Pearl's Place. My parents have been going here since I was a baby. This has become more of a tradition than anything for my dad. He will often stock up on some apples here. He usually gets red delicious apples, which I highly suggest AGAINST. When in Hood River, don't get the same kind of apples you can get at the store. There are too many different and much tastier varieties that you will never see at your local grocery store. Again, it's more tradition for my dad and he's a creature of habit. We always have to give him a hard time as he loads his box of basic apples into the car. But he always has to make this stop no matter what!
Next, we head to our main destination for the kids. This is Packer Orchards and Farm Place. During the fall it is a great place to stop for some fun for the whole family. During a non-pandemic year, there is a corn maze, hay rides, pumpkin patch, corn kernel pit, and so much more. They also have an amazing bakery. You will want to grab some fresh donuts to eat while you are there, and pick out some cookies to take back home with you. My personal favorite is the lemon and chocolate one. There is food on site, along with a ton of other baked goods and other items to purchase in their gift shop. I could go on and on about all the awesome and tasty things that are there to buy, but you will have to check it out for yourself!

Packer Orchards actually has two locations. We used to go to the one right on the side of the highway, but after they bought this large farm, we now skip that one and go there. It's not too far off the highway and is always a highlight for the kids. If you want all the fall fun, go to the farm, and if you're just looking for some yummy baked goods and in a hurry, you could stop at their location right on the side of Highway 35. 
After giving the kids some fun at Packer Orchards, it's time for the adults to have some fun. Again, we tend to backtrack and head to Mt. Hood Winery. This is a fun stop to try some wine right off the main road. They have a beautiful outdoor patio, and if it's a beautiful fall day, it's the best spot to sit and enjoy the amazing views while you enjoy your wine. 

Mt. Hood Winery has a variety of red and white wines, so there seems to be something for everyone. When we were there last, they didn't have a set tasting and allowed some flexibility in the wines you taste. This was a welcome change to most wineries that only provide you with a set tasting menu. We were also able to enjoy them outside while we took in the view, rather than having to stay at the tasting counter. 

We tried several and enjoyed them. The most unique wine we tried was their Puerto Montana, which is a port-style wine. It was essentially dessert in a glass. My husband loves port and enjoyed this one a lot! My parents ended up buying a bottle that we saved and drank on Christmas Eve later that year during dessert.

Their tasting room is large, open, and they have nice clean bathrooms, which makes it a perfect stop to use the restroom before continuing on the rest of the Fruit Loop.

After the winery, there are fruit stands EVERYWHERE! You can do your research to find the ones that appeal to you most, but we have found our favorite. We tend to bypass all of those others and head straight for Kiyokawa Family Orchards. We love their selection of apples and in a non-pandemic year, had samples of each apple and pear they offered. The kids loved to try them all and pick out their favorites. 
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Carrying part of our apple haul from Kiyokawa Orchards to the car.
Out back behind the store is a fun play structure for the kids to play on. Again, this was during pre-pandemic times, so things might not be of use depending on how things are with the Coronavirus. 

After sampling all of the apples, we stock up on all sorts of varieties along with some jugs of fresh apple cider.

Another fun stop we will sometimes make is at a place called Apple Valley Country Store. Here they have a variety of unique jams to buy and also serve up some pretty good huckleberry milkshakes and pie. Again, during pre-pandemic times, you could taste all of the jams. Right now, I know things are limited here.

​Depending on what time it is, we either head back home or stop in town for dinner. Restaurants during this time of year are often busy. One of our usual stops is Full Sail Brewery. It's very family friendly. My kids love their mac n' cheese, I'm a huge fan of their hummus plate, and my husband loves their fish and chips, in which they use salmon instead of the usual cod most restaurants use. And of course, they  have lots of beer to try if you aren't already worn out from the cider and wine earlier in the day.
Overall, I can't recommend Hood River in the fall enough. It is like a fall dream in which everything you could imagine fall to be, it is. There is something to do for everyone and allows you to make some pretty awesome fall memories with your family. With the pandemic happening, it's always important to check and see how things are changing. They have changed drastically since last fall, and I assume they will change even more this fall as things are constantly changing.