Even though I have now lived in California longer than I have lived on the east coast, I still consider myself an east coaster at heart, which means I need seasons. Out here we have fire, flood and earthquake season. Sometimes if the stars align, we have fire and flood in the same week. It’s pretty special.
So where can an east coast transplant go when they need a taste of fall… Oak Glen, California, that’s where. You’ll find this town on the way to Palm Springs and it is home to a few apple orchards and shops. You can pick apples, pumpkins, press cider, indulge in apple cider donuts, eat BBQ, and buy other treats. Growing up with corn on the side of the road, it was pretty wild to see rows of tall stalks with the backdrop of a mountain.
For our day trip we started off by fueling up with hot mini apple cider donuts. They were delish and I even have my recipe for mini apple cider donuts in my Apple Season Recipe Packet here. Once the sugar kicked in it was time to press some cider, an entire gallon’s worth. I didn’t count how many apples that took, but it’s however many were in large tin buckets! After that work out we were off to the pumpkin patch in search of the Great Pumpkin… or a good enough pumpkin to take home. Next it was time for the main event, the real reason we were here: apple picking. It had been 16 years since our last visit to this orchard. My son was just 5 months old at the time and clearly has no recollection of being pushed in a stroller though the uneven terrain while we pretended to be farmers for a few minutes.
We picked a bunch of pink lady apples it was so satisfying. I highly recommend this activity if you have orchards in your state. We did drive 2 hours for this experience, but it was worth it. Now I have to a bunch of apple dishes to make. I’m not mad about that!
Here are the orchards/farm-stands in the Oak Glen area: