We headed up to Julian on Monday to spend the day exploring. It’s such a great little town but every time we’ve headed up there, we were limited by nap times or traffic or something else. We’ve never actually walked around the downtown area and taken time to stroll into the stores. We’ve always gone with a direct agenda and then headed home so it was nice to just meander!
We started off the morning with a little shoot for Camilla with Navy Grace Blog (go check her out, she has adorable style!). We stopped by the Julian Mining Company and even though they were closed (only open on Saturday and Sunday) we took a little walk down the road next to it and the views were beautiful! We hung around the station area and then headed into town to explore.
The town area is so adorable! There’s a main street with shops that are reminiscent of the town’s history. The town hall and the old jail house add to the quaint factor. I highly recommend walking to the end of main street towards the bookstore and grab yourself some apple pie and lunch from Julian Pie Company!
It’s important to know that a lot of the kid centered places like the Mining Company and Pumpkin Patches are closed on the weekday but the trade off is, the town is way less busy on weekdays making lunch and other things more enjoyable! If you do head up on a fall weekday and want to explore a pumpkin patch, just stop at Mountain Valley Ranch, it’s adorable!
We explored around by the shops and side streets and stopped into my favorite winery for a growler of Sangria! It’s the best! The kids had a great time finding treasures like sunflowers, cool wall paintings, and because they were so good, they each picked out a vintage toy! Ev chose a horse and Easton picked out a cool vintage airplane! He’s obsessed!
We had such a great time exploring this quaint little town for the day! If you’re in Southern California, I highly recommend coming up to Julian for the day! If you come on a weekend, make sure to stop at the Julian Mining Company and the Pumpkin Patch or Apple Picking in the fall for the kiddos and then head to Menghini Winery for a tasting for the adults! We always stop at the station and eat at Mr. Manitas Taco Bar and Fruteria on our way out! It’s a great stop to let the kids get out their wiggles at the outdoor patio/play area before the hour ride home! Also, be sure to take the back way home and drive past Lake Cuyamaca, the views and area are gorgeous!
-Brandi
