Natural Choice Vacation

Try this word association exercise. Say the word “Cortland” to someone and see what response you get. More times than not, the response will be “apple”. And while the Cortland apple is one of Cortland’s claim to fame, not a single apple orchard of any kind, let alone Cortland’s, exists in Cortland County. But if it is apples you are looking for, you will find them by the bushels at the ultimate autumn destination, Hollenbeck’s Cider Mill.
Located on Rt. 392 in Virgil, Hollenbecks has been pressing cider for over 75 years. On weekends you can actually watch owner Bruce Hollenbeck go through the traditional hands on method of producing the cider. Layering the canvas sheets and chopped apples on pallet after pallet, once the stack is the right height the pressing begins and the cider flows. The demonstration never fails to impress the crowd and is of special interest to the little ones.
There is also the chance to watch the production of that perfect complement to fresh cider – warm donuts. A conga line of doughy rings make their way into the deep fryer to eventually surface as a warm donut that is hard to resist.
As if donuts weren’t temptation enough, the cider mill has a separate bakery specializing in the obvious – apple pies. Hollenbecks also has various cheeses, jellies, gift items and bin upon bin of every variety of apple imaginable.
Coupled with a drive through the hills of southern Cortland County, a trip to Hollenbeck’s Cider Mill is a great fall family outing.

That might be a slight exaggeration but even though Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer, there are still some great events to come in Cortland County.

Say Marathon and most people think Maple Festival. Actually, Marathon’s 1890 Union Fair predates the Maple Festival and just might be the oldest festival in Cortland County. If you’ve never been, the Union Fair is a celebration of the county’s agricultural heritage. The festival features the largest horse parade in the northeast, a quilt show, baked and can goods, vegetables, flowers and livestock. Always the Saturday after Labor Day, this year the Union Fair will be September 11, a great opportunity to get reacquainted with our agricultural roots – so to speak.