Visman's High Hill Ranch

User Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

Iam writing this review from the prospective of the crafters at High Hill Ranch in Apple Hill. Each year the ranch is open to the public from September through December to sell their harvest of apples in the form of pies, caramel apples etc. ,and to attract more customers to the ranch High Hill rents booth space to crafters to sell their items. Some crafters rent the whole 3 month season while others only rent a few weekends with the premium selling time being the month of October. For a crafter to book the premium weeks the crafter also has to book some off time in September or November and this is only fair. The competition to rent space for crafters at High Hill is great and strict guidelines and rules are supposedly enforced by the craft coordinator, the person who assigns the rental space to the crafter, and who has the ultimate power over the crafters. I found that the two basic rules are lacking enforcement for the crafters, 1. If your craft booth is assembled and up you have to be open to sell, and 2. All items sold have to be handmade.These rules are only enforced at the whim of the craft coordinator, depending which crafter is in his favor at the time. The owners of High Hill ranch have three large barn like buildings, they sell cheaply made goods from China to the public in what the crafters refer to “buy and sell” products, in order to ‘milk’ the public for every dollar under the guise of “handcrafted” items. This is unfair competition to the crafters who spend hundreds of hours each year making their selected quality crafts to bring to the buying public at High Hill Ranch. The owners of High Hill Ranch treat the crafters with contempt and distain, not realizing the crafters bring in thousands of customers and hundreds of thousands of dollars to the ranch each season. The crafters are designated a parking area at High Hill ranch to ease public parking congestion and help the loading and unloading of merchandize. The crafters are continuity cursed, berated and threaten with eviction by one owner of High Hill ranch if they do not park their vehicles up front in the customer parking on High Hill Road, his reasoning, he is preventing traffic accidents, and forcing crafters a long walk to the craft area, carrying large loads of merchandise. Many crafters are retired and some are handicapped and the long walk from the forced parking area is most difficult. High Hill ranch DOES NOT provide any handicapped parking anywhere on the property, and restrooms are a joke for the volumne of people, a violation of ADA.
I would NOT be a customer or a seller of crafts in the future at High Hill Ranch, I will take my dollars elsewhere. I will say this about the ranch, the employees are deciated and hard working. I was truly inpressed with the handcrafted items that were made.

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User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The first out of town drive I took after getting my license (1967) was to Apple Hill. Now 41 years later I still enjoy the drive (trafic or no trafic). For the past 20 years My husband and I have taken our daughter (now 20) each year when there is a fresh snow fall along with a few extra trips just for the carmel apples and apple donuts. What wonderful memories in mind and in pictures. The beauty of the vista is worth every mile of the drive. On one of the monday holidays we take a ride to the hill and pick up unique christmas gifts. This is just a day for the two of us to enjoy the day and beauty of the hill. High Hill Ranch has always been our favorite. Even the fishing is fun. Our daughter caught 5 large trout at age 5 the same day her dad caught 1 so small we had to realease it back to the pond. Thank you to the family and the staff of High Hill Ranch for giving us a beautiful place to mske lasting memories. It is 9/6/08. The gas prices will not stop us from another season of memories.

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User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

People drive hours just to come here!: High Hill Ranch has the best cheap apples, as well as carmel apples, apple pie, burgers and a number of other things. People drive for 3 hours from the Bay Area just to visit here.
The locals tend to stay away from this place on the weekends, you could be waiting for up to an hour and a half just to park, but on the weekdays it is a great place to take your kids and let the pick apples and run around the little lake they have there!!

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