When most people think of apples, they think of Washington state or Oregon. Nobody thinks of Los Angeles. And yet, as Press-Enterprise writer Adam C. Hartmann explains, there is a wonderful little apple-growing community in the foothills of San Bernardino County, just a quick day trip from Los Angeles, where over 100 varieties of apples are grown.

And, by day trip, I do mean day trip.

There are no hotels or even bed and breakfasts in quaint little Oak Glen; there are just a handful of farms and a couple of restaurants nestled in the foothills, about an hour's drive below Lake Arrowhead.

Visitors can munch their way through a cornucopia of varieties most of us have never heard of before: Hoover, Pink Lady, Stayman Winesap, Arkansas Black, and Sekai Ichi, among others. They can also choose between every imaginable apple product, such as apple cider, apple chips, apple pie, and candied apples.

Most amazingly of all, however, is that Oak Glen offers that rare, quick escape from a big city that makes you feel as though you are hundreds of miles away.

Filed under: United States