Day Trip to Julian, CA
A day trip to Julian, California for hiking, cider tasting, barbecue lunch, and apple pie.
While we were spending the spring in Encinitas, we decided to take a quick day trip to Julian, CA. Julian is about an hour and a half from Encintas, but it feels like a completely different world! There are forests and hiking, plus the quaint small town of Julian itself.
We started the day hiking Volcan Mountain (about 5 miles). It was very hot that day, so the steep climb at the beginning was intense, but there was a winding trail that offered a decent amount of shade.
Bailey helped us navigate the route to the top:
After the hike, we found a cidery and winery close by at Storm Ranch. Julian is well known for its apple orchards and apple picking in the fall. I guess I was too tired to remember to take any photos, but the cider flight was extremely refreshing, and dogs were allowed inside.
The next stop was lunch at another dog-friendly establishment: Julian Beer Co, where we had a serious BBQ lunch to replenish after the hike. Everything tasted great.
The town of Julian was wildly crowded on a spring Saturday, but we managed to squeeze a spot at the picnic tables outside. And we couldn’t forget Julian’s staple: apple pie. The line at the cute pie shop next door was wrapped all the way around the building and into the street. Luckily, we figured out that there is a separate window where you can walk right up and order a pie to go. When we tried it at home later, I would totally understand why the line is so long. It was delicious!
