Eight Decades of Apples: Inside Mercier Orchards, Blue Ridge's Family Farm
Founded in 1943 and now in its fourth generation, Mercier Orchards has grown from a 27-acre roadside apple stand into a 300-acre Blue Ridge institution — famous for u-pick, fried pies, and hard cider.
If Blue Ridge has a flavor, it’s a warm fried apple pie from Mercier Orchards. For more than 80 years, this family farm just outside downtown has grown from a 27-acre roadside apple stand into a 300-acre North Georgia institution — and one of the best reasons to visit Fannin County in any season.
- Founded: 1943, by Bill and Adele Mercier
- Now: Fourth-generation, family-owned
- Size: About 300 acres, with 50+ apple varieties
- Where: 8660 Blue Ridge Drive, Blue Ridge (Fannin County)
- Known for: U-pick, the bakery, and on-farm hard cider
From a roadside stand
Bill Mercier came to Blue Ridge in 1941 as the county agricultural agent. Two years later, he and his wife Adele bought a 27-acre orchard and the old apple house — still visible from the parking lot today — and began selling apples by the road. The farm passed down through the family; Tim Mercier returned to run it in 1972, and in 2023 Mercier marked its 80th anniversary, “80 years and four generations later.”
What to pick, what to eat
Mercier’s calendar follows the seasons: strawberries in spring, then blueberries, blackberries, and peaches through summer, and the big one — apples — in late summer and fall, with dozens of varieties available for u-pick. Even when nothing’s ripe for picking, the farm market and bakery are the draw: fried apple pies, apple cider donuts, fritters, fresh cider, apple butter, jams, and a deli, plus mountain views from the porch.
Mercier grows, presses, ferments, and cans its own hard cider on the farm — one of the first Georgia orchards to do the whole process in-house, starting around 2011. The lineup runs from a crisp Mountain Apple to a peach cider and a bourbon-finished “Sneaky Jack,” alongside house fruit wines. There’s a tasting room if you want to make an afternoon of it.
Plan your visit
Beyond picking, Mercier runs wagon and tractor tours of the 300-acre farm in the warmer months, plus blossom tours in spring when the orchard blooms. U-pick availability changes week to week with the weather and the harvest, so check the farm’s current calendar before you load up the car — especially on fall weekends, when the place is busy.
Timeline
Cover photo: fresh-picked apples (illustrative), by George Chernilevsky via Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Sources include Mercier Orchards, Explore Georgia, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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