FREE! Idyllwild Street Map Inside! Idyl lwild Visitor’s Guide IDYLLWILD, CALIFORNIA • SUMMER/FALL 2010 Lemon Lily Festival & Other Great Events History of Movie-making on the Hill Complete Guides to Events, Dining, Lodging, Outdoor Recreation and much more! Call Us! Put us to the test Sheila Zacker Village Center Office Tiffany Raridon Use the Best! Cell: (951) 675-0715 Log Cabin Office [email protected] Cell: (951) 852-9661 www.lovethehill.com [email protected] www.idyllwildproperties.com Joe McNabb Dora Dillman Village Center Office Village Center Office 1-866-680-3425 Cell: (951) 288-5604 [email protected] [email protected] www.lovethehill.com Experts in www.lovethehill.com Mountain ~ Emi-Lu ~ Emily Pearson & Steve Taylor Lucie Stenseth North Circle Office Village Center Office Cell: (951) 288-1945 (951) 206-9671 Real Estate [email protected] [email protected] www.idyllwildproperty.com [email protected] www.lovethehill.com Open 7 days a week, year-round WWW.RUSTICTHEATRE.COM Movies • DVD Rentals Available to Rent for Private Events Plays • Concerts • 250 Seat Capacity Showtimes: Everyday: 7pm • Sat. & Sun. Matinee: 2:00 & 4:30pm Fresh Baked Bread “Your Supermarket on the Hill” Serving the local community and all its visitors since 1982. Come on in and check out our weekly specials. 54111 Village Center Dr. (near the Post Office) Idyllwild Visitor’s Guide, Summer/Fall 2010 1 Welcome to the Mountain he Visitor’s Guide is your directory to having from high in the trees. One begins to wonder about T fun on the mountain — whether that’s relaxing, that frenzied drumming of the Acorn Woodpecker. A strolling throughout the village or enjoying adventure common question is heard from shop to shop: What is in the wilderness. This guide is chock-full of who, that bird with its bright red feather top? what and where to get you there. Many events are listed in the Calendar on pages 26-29 in this issue. Throughout the years, lives change but for me the It also is available on our Web site: www.towncrier. deep connection I made in the late 1970s with the com/entertainment.html. You can download the entire mountain brought me to return again and again until I Idyllwild Visitor’s Guide or any of our other special found myself here dug in settled for work and life. publications at www.towncrier.com/publications.html. I began my career with Riverside County Parks This is a busy community. There’s always something Department as a volunteer at the Idyllwild Nature Grace Reed fun to do in Idyllwild. Center many years ago hoping I would work and live Whatever isn’t listed here most likely is in the Publisher here one day, and here I am! Sharing these stories with Idyllwild Visitor’s Guide weekly Town Crier newspaper, available at newsstands Town Crier newspaper throughout the mountain communities and by the many students and their parents that venture up on subscription. More local and tourist information is their field trips or as a family continues to bring a sense online at www.towncrier.com.We hope you visit us of joy and satisfaction within. I challenge you to form again very soon. that connection and discover your place in the forest! Grace Reed Shelley Kibby oes the mystery of Idyllwild lie within this quaint Dvillage? Does it draw you back as it has me over On the cover 30 years of life’s peaks and deep valleys? For some, the Photographer Amy passionate embrace of Idyllwild is its opportunity of belonging and character of “It’s all good!” No doubt for Holland captured this many, it’s the unique way that the scenery captivates view of Idyllwild hikers and feeds ones soul. exploring the San I invite you to enjoy the wind as it carries sounds Jacinto Mountains. and the scent of pine one cannot find off the mountain. Rest and sip that special blend of tea, share Shelley Kibby Park Interpreter treasured moments with a loved one, choose to renew Idyllwild Nature your soul often. Center Listen, as the forest appears to come alive, with happy sounds of chickadees and grey squirrels laughing dyl lwild Where is Idyllwild? Driving Distances From Idyllwild I Idyllwild, an oasis of sanity in Southern Banning (via Hwy. 243) 22 miles Visitor’s Guide California, is less than one hour from Palm Escondido (via Hwy. 371) 68 miles Desert, Hemet, Anza or Banning, and has no Hemet (via Hwy. 74) 25 miles Summer/Fall 2010 traffic backups on the way. Long Beach (via Hwy. 243) 103 miles Each of the routes to Idyllwild is scenic and Published By … unique. Los Angeles (via Hwy. 243) 100 miles PUBLISHER Grace Reed Idyllwild nestles in the San Jacinto Orange County (via Hwy. 243) 93 miles CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER Jim Crandall Palm Desert (via Hwy. 74) 47 miles STAFF REPORTERS Marshall Smith, Beth Nottley Mountains. This southern, isolated section of ADVERTISING SALES Grace Reed, Shane Fender, the San Bernardino National Forest, a forest Palm Springs (via Hwy. 243) 47 miles James Larkin that includes Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead, Riverside (via Hwy. 243) 51 miles GRAPHIC DESIGN Jim Crandall also encompasses the Santa Rosa Mountains San Bernardino (via Hwy. 243) 57 miles PRODUCTION & DESIGN James Larkin close by. COPY EDITOR Beth Nottley San Diego (via Hwy. 371) 114 miles Idyllwild was once the summer home of the STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Jim Crandall, J.P. Crumrine, San Fernando Valley (via Hwy. 243) 121 miles Cahuilla Indians. Jenny Kirchner, Shane Fender Santa Monica (via Hwy. 243) 117 miles CONTRIBUTING WRITER Robert B. Smith CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Ellen Feeley, Temecula (via Hwy. 371) 48 miles Amy Holland, Trish Tuley, Michael Wangler CUSTOMER SERVICE Sandy Burns For Everyone’s Safety: “Slower traffic use turnouts” The Idyllwild Visitor’s Guide is published semiannu- ally by Idyllwild Publications Inc., P.O. Box 157, 54295 The scenery is beautiful but the drive may be a bit daunting. So if you need to pace yourself when Village Center Drive, Idyllwild, CA 92549, (951) 659- driving in the mountains, please use courtesy when faster vehicles are following and pull over in 2145, fax (951) 659-2071, [email protected]. the turnout areas provided for you. 2 Idyllwild Visitor’s Guide, Summer/Fall 2010 Fern Valley Emporium Fern Valley Corners - On The Creek Only 1/2 mile Above Village Center 54965 Pine Crest - 951.659.1926 Thursday — Monday 10 - 5 Jukeboxes, Pinball Machines, Records, Old Radios Vintage Audio Equipment Antiques, Collectibles, Furniture Estate Jewelry Hand Made Quilts Bring your lunch and enjoy our Lamps, Lights and Lanterns decks and terraces overlooking Kitchen Collectibles Strawberry Creek Pinecone Cabin Decor Four Corners Fine Art Gallery Landscapes by Elena Kern Reserve Our Deck For That Special Occasion Car Club Destination, Reunions, Meetings Http://www.fernvalleyemporium.com EMAIL: [email protected] Idyllwild Visitor’s Guide, Summer/Fall 2010 3 Idyl lwild Visitor’s Guide Summer/Fall 2010 Features Calendar of Events 26 See page 30 Complete listing of summer and fall events and celebrations throughout the Idyllwild area. 30 Annual Festivals The story behind a remarkable town and the way it celebrates life on the Hill. By Beth Nottley 34 Idyllwild in the Movies Early movie moguls found Idyllwild to be the perfect setting for mountain adventures. By Robert B. Smith See page 34 38 A Village Builds a Social Center When Idyllwild residents decided they needed a Town Hall in 1946, they just went ahead and built one. By Marshall Smith See page 38 Departments In House Recreation Calendars & Charts Yesterday 2 Welcome 17 Adventure Pass 8 Dining Chart 43 Idyllwild Area 4 Contents 18 Camps & Retreats 12 Lodging Chart Historical Society 6 Advertising Index 20 Car Camping 17 Hiking & Museum 46 Idyllwild Map 21 Fishing Backpacking Charts Inside Back Cover 22 Mountain Biking 20 Car Camping Chart How Idyllwild Got 44 Rock Climbing 26 Arts & Entertainment its Name Calendar 42 Church Services 4 Idyllwild Visitor’s Guide, Summer/Fall 2010 “THE FORT” Unique Shops & Businesses with Something for Everyone! 54225 North Circle Drive 88 Far East International, Inc. 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