By 
APPLE-arnatly Fall does exist in Southern California!
If you’ve been a longtime reader you know how fond I am of a season change. But finding “Fall” in Los Angeles has always posed a conundrum come September since moving out west twelve years ago. Of course we have pumpkin patches and chillier weather at night as daylight savings happens here too, a fact I still have trouble accepting for some reason. But finding leaves and autumn colors in the evergreen landscape of lalaland will forever be a challenge.
Aside from the few streets nearby that house trees with amber changing leaves, my second best shot was an apple orchard climate about ninety minutes away from the coast in the quiant little mountain town of Oak Glen, California.
Oak Glen is essentially the closest any of us Gilmore Girl loving millennials will get to a cozy town in New England without a plane ticket. And if they were able to film the famed show on the Hollywood studios then I have a chance to create the same essence of Stars Hallow come October.
A few years back I made the trek with some friends and spent an afternoon at Riley’s Farm, one of the few local apple picking spots and loved it. Riley’s Farm was super charming with a colonial theme and lots of seasonal crops to pick including apples this time of year. They had a hayride, cute country shops, a restaurant on site and huge lawn to picnic on which was great for a day trip.
Riley’s was definitely my favorite but we chose to check out Los Rios Rancho this time given Riley’s isn’t open on Sundays, bringing our eager little apple picker, mini Fortnum and Mason hamper in tow!
Los Rios Rancho is a great second to Riley’s with it’s U-pick apples, festive shops, easy snacks and hayrides. My only annoyance was that you had to cross the main road to enjoy all the amenities rather than one central spot to park and enjoy the day. It also wasn’t as shaded or quaint as Riley’s Farm but served the same purpose overall.
After apple picking we headed to Wilshire’s Apple Shed for lunch, which is an adorable little spot for coffee, pie and pizza! What a combination. It’s a very popular place on the weekend so be prepared to wait and potentially fight for an open seat on the patio. After we got out pizza, however, it was worth it! They have a cute little shop next door where I found the most delicious truffle aioli I am using on everything and chocolate covered honeycomb for my recent cheese plate!
Once our pizza was ready we devoured it and Parker got his fix of pie before we decided to push his nap back in search of more fun down the street at Oak Tree Mountain! It’s a family friendly area with a pie shop, restaurant, candy store, live music, brewery and fun activities for little kids. Parker loved the stationary trains and gold mining activity. He was pretty exhausted by the time we hit the chocolate shop but it was most certainly worth it and I managed to sneak a few myself on the ride home while he took a long overdue nap.
Happy Apple Season! Xx
