The weather has been so beautiful (I’m talking 90 degrees in October), I really felt like doing something “fall” related to kind of get me in the mood for the chillier weather to come – so I decided to go apple picking! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do but like my trip to Joshua Tree, I never did, until now! It’s so close to the LA area there really is no excuse to not go experience it. 🙂
Apple picking is just about 1.5 hours East of the Los Angeles/Orange County area, it’s pretty close – and if you have a FastTrak pass, it’s even closer! I left home at around 11AM and arrived close to 1PM. It took just a tad bit longer due to the traffic around the Oak Glen Rd area, as there were so many families driving in. It is a one lane road, so please take this into account. As we were about to leave, around 3PM, I did notice that the roads had cleared up. As a helpful tip, I believe going later in the afternoon may be a good traffic-free time.
Once we found parking, we realized that there were several different farms that were all adjacent to each other. We chose to go to Stone Pantry Orchard simply because it was closest to our parking spot and had a decent number of people but Riley Farms is also quite popular.
The Stone Pantry Orchard offers a variety of apples – you are free to start picking right away! There are over 800 acres and you can roam where ever you’d like. We didn’t venture too far away from the front area since we found apples absolutely everywhere!
Each farm will carry different types of apples. Did you know there are more than 7,000 types of apples around the world? And here I thought there was only Golden Delicious 😛
Feel free to walk around the grounds. There is berry picking available as well but unfortunately they were all picked when we went 🙁
Twist the apples when you pick them, don’t pull! Pulling will damage and break off the branches which will affect future growth.
There is an area to actually press the apples you pick and make your own cider, the old fashioned way!
The employees will strain and bottle up the cider for you to go 🙂
There is an area for you to wash your apples immediately so you can start eating them! I ate one (ok, two) apples there and they are just so sweet! It was so gratifying to be able to eat something I just picked!
Throughout the various seasons there are other fruits that you can pick – I know that strawberries, blackberries, and pears are also quite popular. Other farms also do have pumpkin patches available as well. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time and it’s always nice to experience an activity outside of your normal routine!
Address
11993 S. Oak Glen Rd
Yucaipa, CA 92399
- All the farms have varying prices for apples by the pound. At Stone Pantry Orchard, it was $2/lb but just south of the farm is Riley Farms where it was $3.25/lb. It was a bit more expensive at that farm because they’re a bit more “manicured” with additional activities offered – such as tomahawk throws, a bakery on the grounds, restaurant, pumpkin patch/hay ride, etc.
- Parking lots at all farms are very tight and limited. Expect to park on the side of a dirt road. So don’t go the same day as your car wash 🙂
- Wear close-toed shoes! I chose to wear cute sandals but I didn’t realize that there would be sticks and weeds poking out every which way. Definitely wear sneakers on your trip!
- Cover up! Despite there being so many trees, there is still quite a bit of sunshine – so I would recommend wearing a hat and some SPF to be safe.
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