East Lancaster, Lancaster, CA

East of Sierra Highway, East Lancaster trades the downtown grid for a wide spread of subdivisions, strip centers and, past the last streetlights, open Mojave desert. Closer to Division Street and Sierra Highway the houses are older single-story ranches on small lots. Farther east, around 20th Street East and beyond, come the larger stucco tracts built in later decades, and several mobile home communities, including Blue Skies on Avenue I and Desert Paradise on 30th Street East, round out the housing mix. Food runs along Avenue J and Avenue K. Coffee Bloom on 20th Street East leans into blended drinks like its Bavarian cherry, and Virtue Coffee Roasters on Avenue I roasts its own beans and puts its profits toward charity. Outdoor space is more scattered than on the west side. Tierra Bonita Park on 27th Street East is the neighborhood park for the eastern tracts, and the campus of West Coast Baptist College on Lancaster Boulevard marks the far east end. For bigger outings, most people drive back across town to the preserves and regional parks. Daily errands in East Lancaster are simple. Stater Bros. and Aldi sit next to each other on Avenue J, Superior Grocers is a few blocks west, and Vallarta Supermarkets anchors a center on Avenue K. Downtown Lancaster and its Metrolink station are a quick drive west, which helps anyone commuting toward Los Angeles. The tradeoff is sameness along the main roads. Where East Lancaster earns its keep is at the edges, where a home can back onto open desert and the evening light across the valley floor is the view.