A Fall Day Trip – Apple Picking in Oak Glen, CA

Posted on Oct 27, 2015 | 0 comments

One of my favorite fall traditions growing up back east was to go apple picking. I have such fond memories of us gathering together as a family to go walk among trees bearing delicious, life-giving fruit for us to pick and eat. Laughing together, helping each other and then spending days making every kind of apple recipe we could find.

Of course I want to share this experience with my kids. Just because we are west coasters now does not mean we can’t go apple picking! I discovered that just a short drive to the other side of LA brings you to a very cool place called Oak Glen which has plenty of apple farms to choose from.

Oak Glen has a 5 mile loop of over 30 farms, ranches and businesses with a very quaint, welcoming feel to it. Just 120 miles from Malibu (90 from LA), Oak Glen has seasonal apple picking, berry picking, pumpkin and pear picking along with tons of other festive fun family activities. It looked like so much fun, we had to go!

After doing a little research I decided that we would check out the Willowbrook Apple Farm, a century-old family-owned and operated apple orchard that has apple picking, cider pressing, farm games for the kids, a tractor ride, a cool playhouse for the kids and a cute little farm store with plenty of yummies for you to take home.

Our Day Trip Apple Picking

We dressed in layers because I know it can be hot when you are in the orchards and cold when you are not. I packed some snacks, water, sunscreen, and hats. I then made sure that everyone had sweaters and used the bathroom!! We piled into the car around 9:30am and headed out.

We went on a Sunday as they are only open on weekends. It took about 2 hours to get there and honestly, it was a really pretty drive. Even the kids were entertained with looking out the window. The change in scenery from city to country was beautiful.

We arrived and grabbed a parking spot on the road. It was packed. Since there are several independently owned farms all connected, we walked through one farm to get to Willowbrook Apple Farm, which was fun. The fall festivities were in full swing with cider pressing, apple picking, candle making, and tractor riding going on everywhere around us!

Here is where we went wrong – we headed straight for the orchard. I had no idea that in order to do the cider press you have to get a time slot. So by the time we were finished picking apples and made it over to the press, they sent us inside to get a time slot and there were none left… major bummer.

But lesson learned, as soon as you arrive to the apple picking farm, secure your cider press time slot!!

It looks super cool and I cannot wait to do it next year! The apple picking was fun and the tractor ride was interesting. We learned that the seeds from an apple, if planted, can produce any type of apple that nature decides… pretty crazy right?!

This farm is really nice, but be forewarned that they accept cash only for most activities, the restaurant is also cash only and there are no ATMS to be found anywhere so make sure to bring plenty with you!!

We had a great time here and wanted to continue on to explore more! Just down the road is an old school house built in 1927 that still stands as a museum and community center today. We stopped in, checked the school house out and let the kids play on the remarkable playpark for a bit. There was music being played and people gathered together everywhere socializing. Definitely a fun stop!

We continued on and passed Los Rios Rancho which was packed and looked like tons of fun. Next we passed Snowline Orchards – where I think we will start at next year. This farm looked is bigger and had an incredible looking bbq restaurant that my hubby and son were drooling for. I saw that they serve locally made hard cider for parents ( 😉 ) that had my name all over it…!!!

Around the next bend was Oak Tree Village which reminded me of a Kings Court! There are incredible crafts, smells and colors everywhere and the people all were very friendly. There were shops and artisan food makers galore – this was a fun stop for sure! We grabbed an early dinner and some apple butter to bring home and headed back.

With bags of apples, a jar of apple butter, full bellies and tired feet we arrived home and called it a super fun day! I can’t wait to go again next year!

Have you been apple picking in Oak Glen, CA? How was your experience?

Malibu Mama Loves Xx

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