Escape to Idyllwild: Experience Glamping in Nature

If you are looking for a quick weekend escape from the heat, check out Idyllwild, a quaint, artisanal town amid the San Jacinto Mountains, an hour away from Palm Springs, California.

Photo bySusan Hornik

This lovely mountain community is filled with dense forests of pine with lots of oaks, lilacs and manzanita. Visitors love that Idyllwild has a small town feel; a place where you can escape the fast pace of city life, where you can slow down and walk through the shops, enjoy a variety of restaurants and/or take a hike. This 4th of July, there's even a small town patriotic parade.

On the campgrounds, you can either cook for yourself or buy lunch from this vendor on-sitePhoto bySusan Hornik

If you're into hiking, there's a trailhead at Humber Park, at the road's end above town, where you can hike to your heart's content, going up as high as 8,846-foot Tahquitz Peak, for a day hike, or up to 10,831-foot Mount San Jacinto, if you plan to backpack and camp overnight. A U.S. Forest Service office is located downtown where you can obtain hiking permits and get a parking pass for Humber Park. It usually snows several times in Idyllwild during the winter months, but not enough to close the road, which makes Idyllwild a worthwhile destination year-round.

Dog friendly rangers on-site to help you with any assistance you needPhoto bySusan Hornik

While there are a few woodsy hotels in the area, a more fun experience is glamping, which is like camping, but with more creature comforts like you have at home.

"The goal of a glamping trip is to simply escape our daily routines at home," explained Jeff Crider, a Palm Desert, Calif.-based campground industry consultant. "The more you can 'let go' and simply enjoy nature, the outdoors and the beautiful setting of your campground and the quaintness, attractiveness or uniqueness of your glamping unit, the more the camping experience will refresh you."

Glamping campgrounds like Thousand Trails Idyllwild enable you to engage in a variety of activities you normally don't get to do, such as sleeping in the woods and simply slowing down enough to hear the wind blow through the pine trees or the birds sing with the sunrise.

"Glamping opens the door for people to enjoy nature who might not otherwise visit a campground because they don't have camping equipment or don't relish the idea of roughing it," Crider noted.

"Glamping softens the edges of camping and offers luxuries that everyone can appreciate. Approach glamping with an open mind. It's not the same as staying in a hotel because the setting and the amenities are different. But you can go glamping in places where there are no hotels and get much closer to a true experience in nature than you could get in a hotel. That's the true beauty of glamping."

There are also a variety of restaurants in Idyllwild. Some of Crider's favorites include The Red Kettle, which he says is great for breakfast. "It's an old fashioned diner. It's been there for many, many years. Great food and coffee. They open at 7 a.m. This is where the locals go, but you also see plenty of tourists there."

Great candy store in IdyllwildPhoto bySusan Hornik

An amazing place to get sweet stuff is Candy Cupboard. (Walking to the right if you are facing The Red Kettle, walk around the block and a few doors down, you will come to The Candy Cupboard.) "This is an old-fashioned candy store with very hard to find candy! They also have amazing chocolate-dipped ice cream with different toppings. Definitely a special treat, especially after a hike!"

The family-owned La Casita has fantastic Mexican food. Chile rellenos are their specialty, but they also have tasty tacos. Also, The Mile High Cafe, on the corner of Highway 243 and Saunders Meadow, right across the street from an elementary school, is lovely. A Korean family owns the gourmet restaurant, they have excellent Asian food and American dishes.