When entering the Louisburg Cider Mill, dirt roads and the smells of apples greet you, along with something else that isn’t too pleasant. The cider mill is located off of I-69, in Louisburg, Kan. about 45 minutes away from Shawnee.

Before you actually reach the mill, there are many sale tents, where you could buy things like homemade soaps, lotions, cupcakes, roasted nuts, the list goes on. When you finally make it through the tents, a folk band plays a lot of country songs. I personally felt like I didn’t belong just because my personality screams city. But for those three hours that I was there, it was really fun and it is for anybody to go and enjoy.

People go to Louisburg for mainly two reasons, the cider and the delicious cider doughnuts. I personally went more for the doughnuts. The first thing that I went to do was, go into the small little barn where they press the apples to make cider. There was a glass window in between the mill and the people, but when you walked into the barn, the smell of the apples and cinnamon was overwhelming and totally delicious.

After you visit the mill where they make the cider, they have a quaint little country store where you can see how the cider is packaged and see how they make the doughnuts. Beware, you cannot get through without shoving your way. The store has everything from the cider to apples, spices and their own pancake mixes. Literally everything country was packed into this small barn-like place. Louisburg Cider Mill also makes a brand of root beer called Lost Trail. I decided to go ahead and buy a bottle. It was priced at $1.75 and one of the best kinds of root beer I have ever had.

Some of the things that I did not like about the cider mill were the massive amount of people and the smell of the Apple Wastewater Lagoon. There were so many people there that when you wanted to sit down and talk with your friends while eating your doughnut, you couldn’t. Also in the country store and in the actual mill, it was packed with people. Then, the Apple Wastewater Lagoon is where they dump all of the excess apples and all of the waste products that go along with the mill. I would describe the smell as a dirty diaper. You had to go around it in order to get from where your car has to be parked to where the actual mill is. A very unpleasant smell, but these were really the two things that were not appealing.

Louisburg Cider Mill has a pumpkin patch and a corn maze, priced at $8. Over all it was a great experience, even with the wastewater lagoon that smells like a dirty diaper, the doughnuts and the cider are definitely worth it.