Idyllwild: Sept. 27-30

Decided to take a break from LA and school and headed to Idyllwild for the weekend! We rented an Airbnb for 3 days from Vacasa. It was an A-frame house, a popular architectural style in Idyllwild featuring steeply-angled sides that meet at the top in the shape of the letter A. It’s basically a single floor house with a loft up top.

The drive from LA to Idyllwild wasn’t too bad, but we left at the perfect time. It took us 2 hours to get there because we left at noon. If we waited until rush hour, it would’ve been as bad as 4.5 hours! Bella loves her roadtrips, sleeping and sticking her head out the window for the whole trip.

The reprieve from LA city life was welcome. It was refreshing, feeling like I could finally breathe some fresh air!

Our house was a pleasant surprise. We got it for a pretty good deal, and being the skeptic that I am, I was expecting the house to have a missing roof or something crazy. It was very well-maintained and next time I’m back I’m definitely booking through Vacasa again. The house was remote and tucked away off a little side street, surrounded by huge pine trees on all sides. The views were stunning and I felt like I was in my own wilderness hideaway. There was even a grill and I chef’d up a little home cooked dinner for one night.

Tahquitz Peak

I love hiking, and it’s basically the only way to make Bella actually tired, so we decided to hike Tahquitz Peak. Tahquitz Peak is a 8,846 foot tall rock formation in the San Jacinto mountain range featuring some of the most beautiful views on the west coast.

Devil’s Slide Trail

Because I like to hike for exercise as well as leisure, we opted for the most difficult trail to the peak despite Sophia’s protests. 9.6 miles up and back with an elevation gain of 2700 ft. it definitely wasn’t a beginners stroll.

Out of the 3 of us, Bella led the way! I brought her backpack just in case she got tired, but she did all 9.6 miles like a champ. On the other hand, we almost turned back 4 times for Sophia before we had even reached the 2 mile marker. The elevation gain for the first 2 miles was extremely steep and made up a bulk of the 2700 ft. elevation gain.

After about 2.5 hours, we finally reached the top. It was worth it! The views were stunning, and there’s even an old fire lookout that’s still in use from late spring to mid fall. It’s a two-man ranger station with 270-degree panoramic views. We even met the couple volunteering who would be spending the night there!

Idyllwild Town

Besides our one hike, we spent most of our time in the town of Idyllwild. Small and quaint, I was pleasantly surprised by how good the food was and the number of local shops there were. There was even a local pottery shop where we got to make our own cylindrical designs. I made one for Bella!

El Buen Cacao

Walking around town we stumbled upon a chocolate shop tucked in between two restaurants. We love dark chocolate and were super excited to try it out.

El Buen Cacao is owned by a local Idyllwild family who decided to open up their own shop a few years ago after making chocolate at home. The only ingredients they use in their chocolate are cacao beans and cane sugar, and the outcome is delicious.

We opted for the 80% dark chocolate bar with sea salt. It was tasty and bitter, and I bought a few to bring back to LA!

Lumber Mill Bar & Grill

We were looking for a casual spot to watch some college football at and came across Lumber Mill Bar & Grill. I wasn’t expecting much, but the food was delicious! We ordered a burger and a full rack of bison ribs. They’ve got a 60 drink list menu as well. Overall, pretty great spot and they even have live music and karaoke some nights!

Ferro

For our last night we went to what our waiter at Lumber Mill called the nicest restaurant in town. Granted, Idyllwild “nice” is NOT like LA nice, but it was refreshing not to have to dress up and the food tasted just as good if not better!

All of the food was delicious (I am pretty biased towards Italian food) but the Polpette di Vitello stole the show. Washed everything down with a Chianti Classico and enjoyed the live jazz they had playing. Ferro was an unexpected find for a small rural town and I’ll definitely be back!