The University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum's AppleHouse has sold apples out of the same steel pole barn since 1979. The barn sits among the old oaks of the Horticultural Research Center at 7485 Rolling Acres Road, about a mile and a half west of the Arboretum's main entrance on Highway 5. Before that, apples were sorted and sold from an old wooden storage barn just behind it.
This fall's apple sales were the last ones in that building. In its August 2026 post on the new home of the Honeycrisp, the Arboretum said this would be the final season of apple sales in the current space before Betty's Apple House opens in fall 2027. The barn has now moved into its Holiday Boutique, which runs daily through Dec. 20. That makes the weeks between now and Dec. 20 the last time Victoria's apple landmark is reached off Rolling Acres Road. The replacement's front door will be on 82nd Street, the same street where the city is holding its tree lighting this year.
What the old barn is selling until Dec. 20
The AppleHouse Holiday Boutique is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day through Sunday, Dec. 20, according to Explore Minnesota's event listing. Seasonal stock takes over from the bushel bins. The Arboretum lists:
- Seasonal decorations and gifts
- Gourmet goodies for holiday meals, including packaged foods, frozen pies, pastries and fudge
- Goldy's Smokehouse meats, ice cream and Bee Lab honey from the University's College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, while supplies last
- Apples and Arboretum-grown squash, also while supplies last
The apples run out when they run out. During the regular season the AppleHouse sells University-developed varieties from the Arboretum's production orchards, including Honeycrisp, SweeTango and Haralson. If one of those is on your holiday list, go early in the boutique's run, not the week before Christmas. Arboretum gift cards work at the AppleHouse, and digital ones can be bought by calling 612-301-7619.
Staff also sort, grade and bag orchard apples on site, and the Arboretum says the barn hasn't kept up with what shoppers and staff now need.
Where Betty's Apple House sits, and why the entrance moves
The new building is going up near the Farm at the Arb, inside the Arboretum's main footprint. From there, shoppers will look out over the research orchards where apples are bred. It is named for longtime Arboretum supporter Betty MacMillan and has nearly triple the floor space of the current barn. It has separate areas for apple sales and retail, a cafe and creamery, apple sorting and processing, an immersive learning lobby, and indoor and outdoor classrooms.
The sorting line is the part longtime regulars have never seen. In the new building it will sit behind a glass partition, so shoppers can watch apples being graded before they reach the sales floor. Annie Klodd, the Arboretum's Manager of Interpretation, said in the Arboretum's August post:
"We want people to feel pride and excitement about shopping at the home of the Honeycrisp apple."
Exhibits will cover the University's fruit breeding at the Horticultural Research Center, which goes back to 1908. The retail side will add more University-made products, including CFANS ice cream. The Arboretum says the new building will stay free and open to the public.
The biggest change for anyone driving there is the approach. On its Building a Better Arboretum page, the Arboretum says the main access to Betty's Apple House will be from 82nd Street off Highway 41, with visitors driving north along a new corridor through restored landscape. Access from the Highway 5 Regional Bike Trail and an internal drive from the Oswald Visitor Center area are planned for later.
Here is where construction stood at the Arboretum's latest update:
| Phase | What the Arboretum reported |
|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Crews broke ground near the Farm at the Arb |
| Winter 2025/2026 | Foundations poured; building construction underway |
| Summer 2026 | Roof and exterior complete; interior framing and drywall underway; new two-way entry road off 82nd Street and parking lot nearing completion; event lawn in progress |
| Target | Opening for the 2027 apple season |
A separate project is rebuilding the Arboretum's main entrance. As of August 2026 it was 65 to 70 percent complete and on track to open in 2027 alongside Carver County's Highway 5 Improvements Project. By the 2027 apple season, the Arboretum plans to have both a new front gate and a new apple house.
82nd Street already has the city's December
Light Up Victoria moves to Lions Park, 1505 82nd St., this year. The city lists it as a new location. This fall the city also moved its Halloween games and activities to the Victoria Lions Pavilion at the same address, while trick-or-treating stayed with downtown businesses.
Light Up Victoria is Thursday, Dec. 3, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. It's free and hosted by the City of Victoria and the Victoria Business Association. The program runs on a tight schedule:
- 6:00 to 6:15 p.m.: Welcome and the official lighting with Mayor Debra McMillan
- 6:15 to 6:20 p.m.: Holiday carols with the Holy Family Vocal Group
- 6:20 to 6:50 p.m.: Performances by Studio West Dance Center
- 6:20 to 7:30 p.m.: Winter activities
New this year is a Holiday Pop-Up Market of local vendors, alongside a luminary trail, photos with Santa and hot apple cider from OMNI Brewery and Taproom. Other stops include a hayride, iceless curling, a light tunnel, a fire engine and snowplow decked in holiday lights, a llama walk with HomeTown Bank, and a s'mores station. The Victoria Lions Club is collecting new, unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots. If weather forces a cancellation, the city will decide by 4 p.m. that day and post it on the event page. The makeup date is Thursday, Dec. 10.
So this December, the city's tree lighting and the Arboretum's future apple house share a street, and the old barn is still selling on Rolling Acres Road.
Driving to either one while Highway 5 is under construction
The road between those two points is part of the reason this season takes some planning. Carver County's Highway 5 Improvements Project page lists these current closures:
- Highway 41 south of Highway 5 to 82nd Street stays closed through the end of the construction season. The county's detour uses Highway 5, Bavaria Road (Highway 13), Highway 18 and Highway 15 (Galpin Boulevard).
- Rolling Acres Road is closed between St. Moritz Street and Interlaken, including the Interlaken intersection. The county's detour uses Highway 5, Highway 7, Highway 11 and Bavaria Road.
- Highway 5 is down to one lane in each direction from east of Century Boulevard to Highway 41.
The closed stretch of Highway 41 ends at 82nd Street, the road Betty's Apple House will eventually open onto. The county says properties with no alternate access north of the Rolling Acres closure should come in via Highway 7, and those south of it via Highway 5. Check the county's local access maps before heading to the AppleHouse or Lions Park.
One night this week matters more than the others. Starting as early as 8 p.m. tonight, Thursday, Nov. 12, the signals at the Highway 41 and Century Boulevard intersections of Highway 5 switch to all-way stops while crews shift lanes to work in the median. Flaggers will be on site, and the county expects normal signals back by Friday morning, Nov. 13. The work is weather dependent and may be rescheduled if it rains.
The rest of the month, in order
After Dec. 20, the old barn's holiday run is over. Here are the other dates on the Victoria calendar between now and the new year:
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 12, from 8 p.m. | All-way stops at Highway 5 and Highway 41, and Highway 5 and Century Boulevard | Highway 5 |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday, with shop and restaurant activities and specials | Downtown Victoria |
| Thu., Dec. 3, 6 to 7:30 p.m. | Light Up Victoria; makeup date Dec. 10 | Lions Park, 1505 82nd St. |
| Through Sun., Dec. 20 | AppleHouse Holiday Boutique, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily | 7485 Rolling Acres Rd. |
| Dec. 5 through Dec. 31 | Lowry Nature Center December programs | Lowry Nature Center, Carver Park Reserve |
Lowry Nature Center's December lineup on Three Rivers Park District's program calendar includes St. Nicholas Geocaching, Winter Fire Building and Hot Cocoa, Lucia Day natural ornaments, a guided winter bird count, and a session called "Last S'mores of the Year." Once there's snow, Lowry is also the starting point for 3.9 miles of snowshoe trails and a sledding hill. Carver Park Reserve grooms 11.3 miles of classic and skate ski trails, and skiers 12 and older need a Three Rivers pass. Snowshoeing isn't allowed on the ski trails unless posted.
The AppleHouse has been in the same barn on Rolling Acres Road since 1979, and its last day there for this holiday season is Sunday, Dec. 20.
Projects like Betty's Apple House and the Arboretum's new entrance change how a part of Victoria is reached and used. A broker who has watched those shifts for decades factors that into what a home nearby is worth. If you'd like a pricing read on your Victoria home that accounts for what's being built down the road, Steve Pemberton is glad to walk through it with you. What's My Home Worth?
