Covina Charter Oak, CA

Charter Oak is defined as much by its school district as by any map line, an unincorporated place that Los Angeles County governs, set between Covina, Glendora and San Dimas. Most homes in Charter Oak are single-story houses on flat, regular blocks, broken up by apartment buildings and a couple of mobile home parks close to the main roads. The streets look much alike throughout, and what changes across the area is mostly how near you are to the freeway or to the commercial strip. The local green space is Charter Oak Park, where a baseball diamond, hoops and shaded picnic shelters share one county block. For real hiking, people head north to the canyon trails above Glendora. Arrow Highway is where the eating happens. Alberto's Mexican Food stays open until midnight for burritos, carne asada and breakfast plates, and Bakery King turns out Middle Eastern breads and pastries a few doors from a Thai kitchen and a Middle Eastern market. Taqueria Poncitlan on Grand Avenue is the taco stop on the western edge. Bigger supermarkets sit just outside the community in Glendora and San Dimas, and nearly every errand involves a quick drive. The 57 runs close by on the eastern side, while the new A Line stations in Glendora and San Dimas put a train within easy reach. The tradeoff comes with the 210. Most of daily life stays within a mile or two of Arrow Highway, which is about as close to a main street as the area has.