Julian

Julian is a small town in the mountains of San Diego County, at about 4,200 feet. It started with gold: A.E. "Fred" Coleman, a formerly enslaved man turned cattleman, spotted it in a creek around the start of 1870, and the rush that followed ran until about 1900. Many of the pioneers stayed on to farm, which is how a mining camp ended up known for apple pie. You can still walk through the gold side of that story.

What's Worth Seeing

Start at Town Hall on Main Street, home of the Chamber of Commerce, and ask for the map of the self-guided history walk. Its 16 stops include the old jail and the Pioneer Cemetery.

Main Street itself is short. The Old Julian Garage is a former repair shop and gas station that now sells gifts. Miner's Diner shares an 1886 brick building with the Candy Mine, and the diner still mixes milkshakes and malts by hand at an old-style soda fountain.

For the mining, Eagle Mining Company runs guided tours of about an hour through the Eagle and High Peak mines, at the end of C Street. The Pioneer Museum sits in the restored walls of the Treshil blacksmith shop at Washington and Fourth, with displays on how people lived and worked here from 1869 on. Volunteers run it and it may not open on its listed days, so call first.

Apples came up the mountain during the gold rush, when James Madison brought young trees, and Julian's fruit won a medal at the 1907 exposition in Jamestown, Virginia. Julian Cider Mill on Main Street sells apples and cider. If you want to pick your own, check the Chamber's orchards page first, because several of the farms it lists don't offer it.

Stay past dark if you can. Julian has been an International Dark Sky Community since May 2021, and the Chamber's events calendar is the place to look for dark sky events.

How to Get There

From LA, take I-15 south to Temecula and pick up Highway 79 at Temecula Parkway (exit 58). Follow it through Warner Springs to Santa Ysabel, where 79 and 78 run together for about eight miles into Julian.

From the Escondido and Ramona side, Highway 78 comes straight in, with plenty of curves and one lane each way. The Chamber of Commerce is the place to ask about current conditions and the town guide.

Nearby

• Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is about 15 miles south on Highway 79, with more than 100 miles of trails. Check the park page for current restrictions.
• The California Wolf Center is about four miles outside town. Tours are by reservation only.
• Volcan Mountain Preserve is the harder hike in the area, and the Chamber's hiking page has its trail map.