The AppleHouse's Last Fall in the Old Barn, and What Else Is Changing Along Chanhassen's Highway 5

The AppleHouse sits on Rolling Acres Road, about a mile and a half west of the Arboretum's main entrance on Highway 5. The University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum describes the building as a metal pole barn at its Horticultural Research Center. It has served as the AppleHouse since 1979, and the Arboretum now calls it too small for the shoppers and staff it handles. This October is its last apple season there. The Arboretum's fall page says so plainly: "This is the last year in our current location."

The barn isn't the only thing changing. The Arboretum's holiday light show has a new name and a new format this year. Downtown Chanhassen's main park is open in pieces. A brew pub has new owners with its kitchen still on the way. Two big buildings are rising in the city center, with their opening dates set for later seasons. Fall 2026 around Chanhassen is a season between versions, and the calendar is easiest to plan once you know which things are ending and which are just starting.

A Pole Barn With About a Month of Full Hours Left

The AppleHouse's address is 7485 Rolling Acres Road, Victoria. It sits just past the Chanhassen city line, but for Chanhassen households it's a Highway 5 neighbor. KARE 11 reports it is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Nov. 5. As of today, Oct. 4, that leaves about a month of regular apple-season hours in the old building.

What's on the shelves is the reason the place has lasted. The AppleHouse is the storefront for the Horticultural Research Center. It sells Minnesota-grown apples, including varieties grown at the research center itself, along with pumpkins, squash and gourds also grown at the Arboretum. The Arboretum's variety page lists more than 20 apples, including Honeycrisp, SweeTango, First Kiss, Triumph, Kudos and Zestar. It also notes that availability is seasonal and runs while supplies last, so any given variety may sell out before November. Beyond the apples, the shop carries frozen pies, pastries, fudge and packaged foods. While supplies last it also has Goldy's Smokehouse meats, ice cream and Bee Lab honey from the University's College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.

The old building's final year also brought a few new things:

• Featured apple tastings, new for 2026. On Mondays and Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the AppleHouse sets out a featured apple of the day to sample.
• North Star Donuts, serving fresh donuts, coffee and cider Tuesday through Sunday through Oct. 31.
• The Holiday Boutique, which takes over the building starting Nov. 6, with fresh apples and gourmet foods still stocked next to gifts and holiday decor. The University's events calendar lists the boutique from Nov. 6 to Dec. 20, open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Taken together, that means three different last days in the old barn. The donut counter closes Oct. 31. Full apple-season hours end Nov. 5. The final boutique day is Dec. 20.

Where the Apples Go Next

The replacement is called Betty's Apple House, named for longtime Arboretum supporter Betty MacMillan. It is being built near the Farm at the Arb, inside the Arboretum's main grounds. The planned main access is from 82nd Street off Highway 41, through a new northbound access corridor. The Arboretum says the new building will stay free and open to the public, and the current AppleHouse keeps running seasonally until it opens.

The new building is a major upgrade. It will be nearly three times the size of the pole barn, with separate areas for apple sales, a café and creamery, sorting and processing, a learning lobby, and indoor and outdoor classrooms. A glass partition will let visitors watch staff sort and grade apples, and exhibits will cover the history and science of fruit breeding. The Arboretum's Summer 2026 project update said the roof and exterior were complete, interior framing and drywall were underway, and the access road and parking lot were nearly finished. The official target is the 2027 apple season, and the Arboretum's August magazine story narrows that to fall 2027. No exact opening day has been announced.

The front door is also moving. As part of the same Building a Better Arboretum effort, the main entrance will shift west on Highway 5 to Minnewashta Parkway, and the current entrance will become an exit with a right-merge route. Anyone who has turned in at the same spot on Highway 5 for years will be using a different intersection once the work is done.

The Evening Show Changed Too

For years the Arboretum's holiday evenings meant Winter Lights. This season it is replaced by Northern Lights, which the Arboretum calls an all-new experience. It swaps the old traditional string lighting for professionally designed projections, uplighting and synchronized sound. Northern Lights runs evenings from Nov. 20, 2026, through Jan. 3, 2027, from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m., with 18 new interactive installations.

General-public tickets go on sale Wednesday, Oct. 7, three days from now. The Arboretum points out that members get early access and discounted tickets to Northern Lights. It also lets visitors apply the cost of fall gate admission toward a membership, so a pumpkin-season visit this month can count toward the holiday show.

The daytime fall program still runs in its usual form for now. Scarecrows, Pumpkins & Harvest Fun runs daily through Nov. 1. Pumpkin Palooza started yesterday and runs through Oct. 31, displaying more than 500 varieties of pumpkins, squash and gourds. The Arboretum's own fall list includes the Farm at the Arb's corn maze, Discovery Booths every Saturday, and the Dakota Sacred Hoop Walk among the fall colors.

Downtown Is Partway Through Its Own Rebuild

Downtown Chanhassen is going through the same in-between stage. At City Center Park, 7700 Market Boulevard, residents can now use the new playground, the pickleball courts and the refreshed skate park. The city says some pieces are still unfinished. The splash pad is not open, the pickleball court lights don't work yet, and landscaping and finishing work will continue. The city also says shade at the playground will improve as newly planted trees grow. Until then, it suggests the covered outdoor living room just north of the park building, or the park building, City Hall or the library during open hours. The pickleball courts are open for October play even without lights. Night play and the splash pad will have to wait for a later season.

The Chanhassen Recreation Center at 2310 Coulter Boulevard has the city's own fall calendar. The Halloween Costume Swap takes drop-offs from Oct. 12 until 2 p.m. Oct. 15, and shopping runs from 2 to 6 p.m. on Oct. 15. The city's 42nd annual Halloween Party follows on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with trick-or-treating, games, hayrides, bounce castles and crafts. The Artisan Fair comes on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It's free, with more than 35 area artists expected. The fair lands the day after the AppleHouse becomes its Holiday Boutique, which makes a good weekend for early gift shopping.

The city's longest-running stage has its season set. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres opened ANNIE on its Main Stage on Oct. 2, with a run through Feb. 27, 2027. Stevie Ray's Comedy Cabaret has a new holiday comedy, Dashing Through the Snow Plows, scheduled Nov. 28 through Dec. 31.

Opening Soon, Not Open Yet

Several downtown projects have names and plans but nothing to visit yet this fall.

The former Hackamore Brewing space at 18651 Lake Drive East is now Lake Drive Tap, a planned brew pub that received its liquor licenses from the city this summer. Its website still lists a full kitchen as "coming soon," with no opening date for the restaurant side.

Near West 78th Street and Market Boulevard, the Roers redevelopment is building The Harlow and The Bennett. Plans call for five commercial spaces totaling nearly 15,000 square feet. The timing has moved once already. A May message from the mayor forecast late fall 2026 for The Harlow and said its ground floor would include a sit-down restaurant with patio seating. The city's September 2026 update now lists December 2026 for The Harlow and September 2027 for The Bennett.

The Chanhassen Community Center broke ground on Aug. 31, and site work picks up this fall. The city expects it to open in September 2028. Farther south, near Highway 212 and Powers Boulevard, the Avienda development plans Coborn's Market & Table as its grocery anchor, with a 2028 opening. Proposed changes to Avienda, including fuel pumps and expanded entertainment uses, go before the City Council on Oct. 12. That is a review step, not an opening.

The Next Eight Weeks, by Date

The last boutique day in the old AppleHouse is Dec. 20. After that, the Arboretum's next apple season is scheduled to open at Betty's Apple House, off 82nd Street.

From Excelsior, we've watched these Highway 5 traditions shape the seasons for families all over the West Metro. When a landmark moves, it can change how a neighborhood feels day to day. If new entrances, new buildings and a new downtown park have you wondering what your own home is worth in a changing Chanhassen, Stafford Family Realtors would be glad to put together your complimentary home valuation, with no obligation.