Fall is here or that is at least the rumor I've heard. We are still being hit with the heat, but take a nice drive to Oak Glen and you can experience the fall experience of apple picking. These u-pick orchards can be up to 6 miles long, so be prepared to give your little ones some help. Our girls (2 years-old & 4 years-old) took turns climbing on daddy's and papa's shoulders as they picked pears and apples. Apple picking season generally runs September through November, but check with the orchard because they seem to always have something growing in their area.
12201 South Oak Glen Road
Oak Glen, Ca 92399
If you want to get the full experience of apple picking Riley's Apple Farm is the right place to start. You have apple and pear orchards for miles. The kids will love to run around and get that east-coast like experience of the outdoors. It is not limited to apples. They have pears, flowers, pumpkins, pressed apple cider, and more. My suggestion is to arrive very early. It does tend to get very crowned. We walked for quite sometime and found lots of pears, but never truly found those delicious apple trees. That didn't matter, we were too busy enjoying the orchard. It really is worth the early morning wake up. Riley's is opened thrugh Thanksgiving weekend\Open Tuesday through Sunday from 10-4. There are two options for picking. You can buy a bag for $18 and fill it up or have your fruit weighed in after your picking is done. We opted for the bag so that we didn't have to wait in line later in the day when it got busy. We just walked around and enjoyed the day and pick as we pleased.
If you want those delicious red apples Los Rios Rancho does not disappoint. You will find an assortment of apple trees and the kids will leave with a smile on their face. We found a secret entrance (back entrance really) off the back end of the Riley's Apple Farm main store. It was perfect because we got our experience from a large orchard and left with the best apples from Los Rios Rancho. The girls had a blast because the apple trees were at their level for picking and those that weren't, well they just hoped on one of our shoulders or arms and picked away. Each of our girls left with a large bag full of apples. Two weeks later we are still enjoying them. Los Rios Rancho charged by the weight of your bag only. That can benefit you as it did for us. Our bags were filled to the max and cost us each about $17. Again plan to arrive early. The season (Sept-Nov) hours are 7 days\week 9am-5pm.
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To truly enjoy each apple picking arrive early to avoid the crowns. For those in the Westside and the San Fernando Valley it can be an hour and a half drive to two-hours. Riley's has a pretty large parking area, that can handle more cars, but it too can get filled up on the right day. As for other orchards once they get filled you will have to street park. For many that are coming from the West side or the San Fernando Valley check the Rose Bowl listings for activities. That can make your drive home not so charming. Another note for the little ones, I recommend wearing legging or pants. You will be going through fields and dirt paths. This will help you avoid scratched, some fruit flies, and major dirty all over their legs. It truly is a great experience to have with the little ones.
