Tehachapi, CA

Tehachapi is a mountain city in Kern County, sitting in the Tehachapi Valley between the San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert. The Kawaiisu people are Indigenous to the region, and the city's later economy mixed farming, railroading, wind energy, and mountain travel. Tehachapi is widely known for the nearby Tehachapi Loop, an engineering landmark on the railroad, and the Pacific Crest Trail passes through the surrounding mountains. Apples, cooler weather, and high-desert scenery give it a different feel from lower Kern County.