San Jacinto Mountain Communities

i drove thru idy last week and thought i would look for info.. can anyone tell me whet idy is like? friendly or not? busy or not (tourist)?? what kind of peeps come up there?? hows the camping? anyone fish in that lake (fulmor)? any info would be great thanks!! and have a great day

badcarl -

I am a recent transplant to Crestline, having lived in Idyllwild for most of my life. I can say without reservation that Idyllwild is a wonderful community and a fantastic place to live. Crestline is growing on me, as I've always loved the mountains, but Idyllwild, to me, has an entirely different vibe altogether.

First off, Idyllwild is an artists' community. With a population of less than 3000, you will find that a huge majority of the local residents are artists of some type. (I include musicians in that category.) There is a private high school in the community called Idyllwild Arts that recruits young art students from all over the world. (Their orchestra is also fantastic and has won international acclaim.) The community is extremely supportive of the arts. Being a musician myself, I have performed extensively in Idyllwild, as the town embraces local musicians by providing extensive opportunities for performance, especially at a local restaurant called Cafe Aroma, where I was lucky enough to have had a jazz gig for five summers in a row.

As for your questions:

Yes, the town is extremely friendly. I've met wonderful people in Idyllwild who will be lifelong friends.

There is a fair amount of tourist traffic in Idyllwild, which makes the town busy, especially on weekends during the summer. But it still retains a small town feel. Other than a couple of chain gas stations, the town has made a concerted effort to keep other chain establishments (especially restaurants) OUT!!! (No McDonald's or anything like it in Idyllwild!) Speaking of restaurants, for a small town, Idyllwild has a huge variety - when I left, there were two Mexican restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a German restaurant, an Italian restaurant, a Greek restaurant, a couple of American family-style hangouts, and three upscale dining venues. (Restaurant Gastrognome is wonderful - their Chicken Madeira is worth the trip!)

As for "peeps," I have not noticed the drug or crime problems in Idyllwild that I have seen in Crestline. I checked the sex offender website and found that there is only one sex offender living in Idyllwild (amazing), whereas there were close to fifty in Crestline when I last checked. Many Idyllwild residents are transplants from bigger cities, and they get hooked on Idyllwild life - many, including myself, have moved back several times after living in other locales.

As for camping, I haven't done that much, but there is a membership RV park called Silent Valley that is a bit south of Banning (north of Idyllwild) off Highway 243, and there is a state park, a county park, and some private campgrounds. There is no camping at Lake Fulmor (although you can fish there), but there is both camping and fishing at Lake Hemet, which is about ten miles southeast of Idyllwild on Highway 74 (east of Mountain Center).

Hope this helps a bit. Let me know if you have other questions - I'll be happy to try to answer them.

The Idyllwild Spring Challenge mountainbike race is the weekend of May 3-4 and the campsites are probably reserved. But come on up (over) if you want to see us mountain folk kick some flatlander azz.

http://www.idyllwildcycling.com/springchallenge.html

I agree about the Idyllwild artist vibe. I've hiked and backpacked every trail up there and spent many weekends in rental houses for fun. I will have a booth at the May 17th Earth Fair for Inland Empire Waterkeeper, and I'm looking forward to it. I will also be bringing up some of my own art (photography) and hope to talk with some of the local artists. Check out the Mountain Arts Network show this weekend. You'll see some great local mountain artists here on the "other side."

BadCarl,

Lots of stuff to do in and around Idy. Contact Inky. She has a place up there.

This thread inspired us to come over to Idyllwild for the weekend. I figured I would preride the mountainbike race course, which I did twice. We then hiked seven miles on a trail I have forgot the name of and had a picnic in a meadow. We also strolled though town and did the tourist thing. With all the outdoor recreation opportunities available here, I think I've found a new playground. One thing's for sure, It's going to be hard to go home after seeing what a mountain community should be like.

Idyllwild is definitely different from Crestline. Athough busy like Crestline in the town, a few hundred square miles of wild, steep, awesome nature is within close proximity to the town, unlike here. I mean, you can put on your gear at your house and walk into a weeklong backpacking adventure, and then walk back home when you're done. That's the other part of the vibe there.

We only spent a little time in town, but there are a handfull of good restaurants, with good service, a dog park, a skate park, a nature center, a historical society museum, several town parks, and a laid back attitude that makes CL seem like a busy suburbia.