Southern California's best apple orchards!
Oak Glen
One of the most wonderful things about living in California is the changing of the seasons. Many of the rest of the country would beg to differ that the only season we see in sunny Cali is summer. Quite the contrary. Now, I’m not saying we are as drastic as the Midwest or the East Coast with their changing of the colors and seasons, but we do have our own version of fall here on the West Coast. Would you believe me if I told you that we even have apple orchards near Los Angeles that grow all different varieties of apples including Red Delicious, Roman, and even Honeycrisp apples. Delicious! One of my favorite items to eat during the fall are apples dipped in caramel. I could eat a whole container of Caramel in one sitting. In fact, I love apples so much, I wanted to pick out my own, straight from the source. I have only been apple picking once in my life but that was on the East Coast. I wanted to explore and find orchards that were near my home City. About one hour or so East off of the 10 freeway I found exactly what I was looking for. In the gorgeous valley of Yucaipa, California lies a cute area called Glen Oak where there are several orchards you can go apple picking at. It was an absolute blast and there was so much to do including Cider Pressing, riding in a haywagon, and picking out some fresh jam. If you’re looking for some pretty incredible orchards in Southern California check out my favorite orchards listed below:
Riley’s Farm
The first stop on our apple picking adventure was to Riley’s Farm. It was such a cute spot that has a barn, cider pressing machine, and a store on site (I bought a jar of delicious apple jam there). We went on a Sunday so the lines were pretty long. I’m not gonna lie… if you have the opportunity to visit during the week, you should. We waited quite a while to purchase our items since there were many families there. All in all, we scouted the entire area for both large and small apples, Roman and Red Delicious, and we didn’t go home empty handed. I think I took about 3 pounds of apples home with me so it was a win/win situation. Definitely stop here for great photo ops and yummy apple treats!
Willowbrook Farm
If you’re looking to pick not only apples but also berries, look no further than Willowbrook Farm. Here, you can make your own fresh apple cider, pet some of their cute farm animals they have on property, and pick some of their amazing winesapp apples that are grown from 100 year old trees (planted in 1910!). This is one of the most fun and popular orchards so be sure to arrive early! There is only street parking available and you have to wait in a line to get in when it’s busy. This is the perfect spot to take kids and friends in the fall!
*These two farms were my personal favorite of the entire trip and I would go back again in a heartbeat! For more information on apple picking in Southern California, click HERE!