This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

Cider Hill Family Orchard is a u-pick apple orchard on the far western edge of Kansas City, Kansas, in the Piper area of Wyandotte County. Jeff and Joan Shearer bought the property in 2011 and named it by family vote. Apple season runs August into November: visitors ride an apple wagon out to the rows, pick their own, and come back for cider donuts, kettle corn and cider slushes at a cottage store. There is also a pumpkin patch, a fishing pond, hayrides and a train, and an event barn that hosts weddings and reunions.

Description

Cider Hill Family Orchard is a u-pick orchard at 3341 N 139th Street in Kansas City, Kansas, out past the Piper area on the western edge of Wyandotte County — far enough west that it reads as countryside while remaining inside the Kansas City, Kansas city limits. It is one of the few working orchards operating within a major municipality in the metro.

The orchard’s core season is apples, August through November. Visitors ride an apple wagon out to the rows and pick their own.12 Blackberries and cherries come in at other points in the year, along with sweet corn, and the fall brings a pumpkin patch.12 A cottage store on the property sells the orchard’s own draw — cider donuts, kettle corn, apple cider slushes — alongside a short savory menu of pulled pork sandwiches and chicken fingers.1

Around the picking, the Shearers have built out the kind of low-key farm-day infrastructure that keeps families on site for an afternoon: hayrides, a train ride, a fishing pond, duck feeding, swings, a fire pit, and photo spots.12 The property also runs as an event venue year-round, with an Event Barn seating up to 250, an open-air Event Pavilion, a Guest House cottage, and the orchard grounds themselves used for weddings, church retreats, class reunions, family reunions and company picnics.12

Goods and services

  • U-pick apples — the primary crop; season runs August into November12
  • Blackberries and cherries — at other points in the growing year12
  • Sweet corn2
  • Pumpkin patch — fall12
  • Cider donuts, kettle corn, apple cider slushes — the orchard’s signature concessions12
  • Pulled pork sandwiches and chicken fingers — savory food service1
  • Cottage store1
  • Apple wagon rides out to the orchard rows12
  • Hayrides, train rides, fishing pond, duck feeding, swings, fire pit12
  • Event Barn — up to 250 guests1
  • Event Pavilion — open-air1
  • Guest House — cottage accommodation used for events12
  • Weddings, church retreats, class and family reunions, company picnics2

History

Jeff and Joan Shearer purchased the 38-acre property in the spring of 2011.2 The name was chosen by a family vote — the account of the naming is the one detail the orchard’s public history consistently foregrounds, and it fits an operation that trades on being a family concern rather than a commercial attraction.2

No earlier agricultural history of the parcel was located in this pass, nor whether apple trees were already established on the property when the Shearers bought it — a relevant question, since a 2011 purchase and a mature u-pick apple crop imply either existing plantings or roughly a decade of establishment before full production.

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Cider Hill Family Orchard — official site — asserts: address 3341 N. 139th St., Kansas City, Kansas 66109; grows apples, blackberries, cherries and pumpkins; apple u-pick August through November; cottage store selling cider donuts, kettle corn, apple cider slushies, pulled pork sandwiches and chicken fingers; attractions including hayrides, fire pit, train rides, duck feeding, swings and photo opportunities; Event Barn accommodating up to 250 guests, open-air Event Pavilion, and Guest House cottage; special events year-round; hours August Tue-Sat 9am-5pm, September/October Tue-Sat 9am-5pm and Sun 12pm-5pm with Monday closed except Labor Day; a customer testimonial naming Joan as owner. This is the primary currently-operating proof — the site publishes a current season calendar. (Fetched 2026-08-14.) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16

  2. Visit Kansas City, Kansas (Wyandotte County CVB) — Cider Hill Family Orchard listing — asserts: Jeff and Joan Shearer purchased the 38-acre property in the spring of 2011; the family voted on the name, producing “Cider Hill”; produce includes blackberries, cherries, apples, sweet corn and pumpkins; apple season begins in August and lasts until November; visitors ride the Apple Wagon to the orchards, visit the pumpkin patch, and fish in the pond; cider donuts, kettle corn and apple cider slushes are sold; the event barn and guest house are used for weddings, church retreats, class reunions, family reunions and company picnics. Companion state listing: Kansas Tourism — travelks.com. (Content accessed via search-surfaced summary — see method note; both listing pages are JS-gated to direct fetch.) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15

Categories

On the record — ks.city/registry/cider-hill-family-orchard · record updated 2026-08-14