About Apple Valley

The town of Apple Valley is located in the Victor Valley of San Bernardino County, in the U.S. state of California. It was incorporated on November 14, 1988, and is one of the twenty-two incorporated municipalities in California that uses "town" in its name instead of "city." The town is east of and adjoining to the neighboring cities of Victorville and Hesperia, 37 miles (60 km) south of Barstow and46 miles (74 km) north of San Bernardino through the Cajon Pass. The population was 69,135 at the 2010 census.

Apple Valley is governed by a town council, whose current mayor is Curt Emick. The mayor changes each December. By policy, the highest vote getter in the most recent election is selected mayor by the five-member council.

Apple Valley was home to Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, whose museum was first established in Apple Valley (in 1967) before the museum was relocated to Victorville in 1976. Since 2003, the museum has been in Branson, Missouri. The move was made in hopes of reaching more fans; however, the museum closed for financial reasons on December 12, 2009.

Apple Valley is located at the southern edge of the Mojave Desert. It is bordered by the cities of Victorville on the west and Hesperiaon the southwest sides, with the village of Lucerne Valley a distance to the east. These three incorporated towns, along with city of Adelanto, are commonly known as the Victor Valley. The primary thoroughfare through Apple Valley is State Route 18, which was given the moniker "Happy Trails Highway" within Apple Valley town limits, after the theme song of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, who once resided on Outer Highway 18. The commercial area is split currently between State Route 18 and Bear Valley Road (the two roads are near parallel until they intersect in the east, outside of town). The Mojave River that borders the west side of Apple Valley is one of only a handful of rivers in the world to flow magnetic north. The town is bounded on its southern edge by the foothills of the San Bernadino mountains.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 73.5 square miles (190 km2) of which 73.2 square miles (190 km2) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2), or 0.45%, is water. The elevation of Apple Valley is approximately 2,900 feet (880 m) above sea level.