Apple Valley has some of the nicest homes in the high desert
Many of the high desert's elite make their home in Apple Valley, California. Apple Vally is the former home to Roy Rogers and Dale Evans who's beautiful house still stands just off Apple Valley Road. The community near Roy and Dale's old house in Apple Valley contains some of the largest houses in the high desert. Homes in this area are worth well over one million dollars and some are today worth much more. Apple Valley is growing rapidly as are other high desert cities of Victorville and Hesperia.
The old days of Apple Valley
Apple Valley was a fairly rural town even into the early 1990's. In the 1980's and earlier, large alfalfa farms and ranches filled up most of Apple Valley. Apple Valley Road used to be large farms and ranches with Apple Valley largely being an agricultural community. Today, July 2005, Apple Valley is still a town but most observers would quickly classify it as a city. There is very little "town" left in Apple Valley.
Apple Valley Real Estate today
There are different socio-economic areas of Apple Valley. Some areas are known as "bad areas" and some are "good areas." Most of the "bad areas" are low income and lie in neighborhoods north of Highway 18. The "better" areas of Apple Valley are between Bear Valley Road and Highway 18. Apple Valley extends far to the east to an area called Fairview Valley. Nothing used to be out here, but today this area is growing too. Most of the lots out there are 2.5 to 5 acres or larger and horses and other stock are common. Apple Valley currently has restrictions on minimum lot size at 1/2 acre. This is intended to help keep the rural nature of Apple Valley, but it is being reconsidered because of the rising prices and lack of affordable homes with a minimum lot size this large. Apple Valley extends to the southeast into the Marianas Ranchos where there is still a rural feel. Large lots can still be had in the Marianas area, but prices are not that cheap for being so far out and for having so much land still available. Prices in these outlying areas seem overly inflated due to the still wide-availability of land. Most of these outlying areas of Apple Valley are dominantly dirt roads.
Apple Valley Living
The weather in Apple Valley is slightly different than that in Hesperia. Sometimes Hesperia will receive little rain/snow while Apple Valley will receive a lot. The reverse is also true but it seems that Apple Valley usually gets harder hit from the weather. Apple Valley contains pleanty of shopping including a Walmart, Target, Longs Drug, Food-4-Less, Stater Bros and Ralphs to mention a few of the larger stores. Apple Valley road today getting very overcrowded. It has been greatly improved over the last few years with widening and repaving projects. More is planned for Apple Valley road including another widening project and installation of sidewalks and bike lanes. This should take place over the next few years. One thing about southern Apple Valley that is a problem is the Mojave River at Rock Springs Road. For a person in Apple Valley on the south side of Bear Valley road who wants to come to Main St. in Hesperia, the only route is Rock Springs Road. This road washes out every few years during Mojave River flooding which usually takes place January to March and it usually takes about 9 months for the road to be fixed. The only way around when the road is closed is to go to Bear Valley Road, which can mean an additional 15 miles or so to the trip to get from Apple Valley to Hesperia's Main St and I-15 freeway access.
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