Red Apple Barn — Attraction in Talking Rock

We went there on 10/04/2025, and we had a blast. We decided to come here on a Saturday so we can beat the crowd on Sunday. The place was crowded, however the crowd doesn't take our experience down because how well prepared this farm is.

The admission includes a 5 minute tractor ride to the orchard and back, cutting 4 flowers for each person, a donut, a cup of Apple cider, and access to the area. There were four different sizes of bags we can choose from, and they sell weaved baskets separately for the customers to keep. The employees were very friendly and helpful.

The tailgate of the truck bed lowers when they load and unload the passengers, which really impressed us because we had two strollers. We parked them in the middle of the tailgate and people around the area still have enough leg room to get comfortable. They really designed it well, and the visit was a lot easier because we had the strollers with us in the orchard. Also, they had a very frequent traffic of tractors so we never had to wait long when we needed it. There was never a line because the tractors were constantly running back and forth. There were a lot of people in there around noon, but the flow was controlled really well.

There are still plenty of apples on the tree, though some trees are pretty much picked out, there are still trees deeper in the orchard had a lot of fruits on them.

They have playgrounds for kids and it was a great thing to have for people with kids. We never made it to the petting zoo but other reviews said they can feed cow apples, which sounds pretty cool.

This place is really well organized with very customer friendly environment. They had a few signs of “in God we trust” to appeal to the visitors' conscious. I would never take more than what I paid for but I always hate to go to a place full of signs warning people do not steal or do not do this and that, or places where people watch the customers like a thief. I appreciate the effort they made to make this place so wonderful and laid back.

At the end of the visit each person was given a donut and a cup of apple cider. They were delicious, full of flavors, freshly made, and not too sweet. This place was at the end of the road full of apple farms, and they really had a great design to help them earn customers. The price was affordable. The admission was around $10 per person, and the bag of apples we got was around $12, which fit enough apples for us to eat for a week. I really enjoyed my visit and will definitely come back next year.

We tasted a couple of the apples we picked and they are great too. We wished to buy an apple pie and get some apple cider but the line was too long, the kids were tired, so we had to leave. Hopefully they can have a quicker checkout for their wonderful products.

To the business owners, thank you for your service, and keep up...

I was that the apple festival this weekend and stopped by the stand that Red Apple Barn had in downtown Ellijay. I was given a sample of their apple cider and I was told that they had only three frozen gallons left and I could purchase one, leave it there and pick it up after I was finished with my other shopping. There seemed to be some confusion as to whether or not the remaining container was mine even though my name was on it because the girl looked inside the bag repeatedly and had to ask her mother three times if this was supposed to be mine. I was in a hurry and didn't think anything of it and didn't look in the bag until I got home where I realized that I had paid $10, which is full price, for half a gallon of apple cider. The cap was not sealed and half of the so-called frozen cider was missing from the container and definitely not frozen.

Prior to discovering that I had been ripped off my companions and I had decided to stop by their main shop where I was denied entry with my service dog. I watched as another dog also wearing a service dog vest was denied entry with their owner as well. A sign on the door stated according to Georgia law no dogs were allowed and I did clarify that this also meant service dogs and was told indeed it did.

So, this business apparently has no problem not adhering to federal law regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act which of course overrides any state laws no matter what type of establishment we're talking about and they don't appear to care much for even state laws regulating health and safety when it comes to selling food because I was sold a half empty open container of apple cider and it wasn't even frozen. So my service dog is too dirty to enter the store but it's okay to sell me an open half empty container of unfrozen apple cider that's been obviously used to give out samples and exposed to I can't even begin to imagine what. Based on this completely unsanitary experience I can only wonder what other laws and regulations they're choosing to ignore. Scary thought when it comes to food.

The only positive thing I can say is that the employee apple pickers are extremely helpful and were very gracious helping me navigate the store with a disability since I was not allowed to use my service dog, once again a clear violation of federal law. Had I not been there to purchase something for someone that wasn't with us I would have immediately left and never returned. Unfortunately, the excellent customer service of one individual is not enough to make me a customer again or recommend this...

SUMMARY: Nice place for a family outing to get a variety of delicious, local apples, but some gaps in visitor experience will have me opting for another farm next time. DISCLAIMER: This review is reflective of a visit on the last day of the season, and may not be accurate to the experince during peak.

BASICS: Easy drive from the Marietta/Smyrna area, with a large field for parking. You pay $10.75 admission that comes with a tractor ride, 1 apple, 1 small cup of cider, 1 apple donut, 3 flowers (though we were not given ours). You can add-on additional apples in a bag or basket for the ones you pick from the trees or from large bins of pre-collected ones.

PROS: Several varieties of apples to pick from, both the classics found at the grocery and those you can't find anywhere else than a local orchard! And they were DELICIOUS! You can definitely taste the difference - so worth it! Most staff are very friendly, especially the ladies at admission. There's several activity stations for kids and kids at heart. The market has a variety of local goods to take home and they had a great cup of fresh boiled peanuts for sale.

CONS: There are significant gaps in the visitor experience that can easily spoil the visit. Namely, navigating the orchard. The digital maps provided were hard to read and the signs were incomplete. The lady giving the directions was not clear, and we got lost twice, which was particularly difficult with a baby in tow. The other visitors also seemed to be operating on guess work. And when we approached a woman about it, we were merely told, "You gotta go back to the paths. We put up plenty of signs but people dont read them."

Other things to consider: Be prepared for a decent hike through the fields - not suitable for strollers, wagons, wheelchairs, or assisted walking needs. The basket is priced higher than the bag that holds a similar amount of apples (paying for the novelty, is my guess). If you sit at the front half of the tractor, be prepared to get dust kicked up everywhere. And while I appreciated that the small cup of cider and donut were local, it tasted pretty average.

OVERALL, my family had a great time together, but the excitement and energy was driven by our positive attitudes rather than the actual experience provided by the staff. If you're paying for the apples separately, the price of admission seems to solely rely on novelty, which doesn't seem worth it to me. I will pay extra to support local small businesses ANY day, but novelty is worth nothing without a thoroughly cared...