Wonderful day of exploring the desert . Some trails were empty others near the visitor center had a…read moreconstant flow of people . we regret missing the early spring flowering but lucky to see some

Yes! This is the second time I have visited the Visitor Center and hiked the Palm Canyon trail from…read morethe parking lot. Didn't see bighorns this time but last April they rams were out showing their prowess while the females and young-in's watched from the surrounding cliffs. Action was around #10 marker. Enjoy!

We stayed at the group camp in May. The area was flat and open. There's a nice creek to hike by…read moreand in. The bathrooms were clean. Bring toilet paper since they ran out on Saturday. The non-group side had a movie night and a bunch of games. The sites are fairly large. There's a lake across the street. Might be nice in the summer.

I got a chance to camp here and it was a pretty good spot…read more Headed up in July and temps down below the camp area were about 10-12 degrees warmer, it was 85 with a nice breeze. Some of the spots are great and have nice shade trees, etc. Others are kind of sparse and definitely no protection from the sun. There are some very large spots and most of the spots are spacious. Some are for larger RVs. Some are walk in only, you park your car close but not in your spot. There is a trail (3.5 miles round trip) out to a little pond of water and it is a nice easy trail, mostly flat. There were no fires allowed right now, high fire danger, unless you had a stove that had an on/off button to control the flame. I did see some flames at night, that did look like fires that were not allowed but the staff was going around on their golf carts, so I assume they checked it out. The Staff keeps the place pretty clean. The restrooms were in good condition. Definitely some great views of the mountains and surrounding areas. The night time views are pretty good, you can see the milky way. Check out my photos for example. Location fantastic. Price is reasonable. Weather was good. Not too much to do, but Idyllwild is not too far away.

We went from the 10th of May to the 12th we just went out there to just relax and get away…read more So we got there and got everything unpacked. And found out that the bottom of the refrigerator did not get very cold so I was actually worried about all of our food going bad so we called the front and let them know that the refrigerator was not working. The freezer worked fine so they sent somebody down to check it out. And he brought us a small refrigerator that he put on a table outside. So we could put some of our food in it so we did that, but notice that the refrigerator did not work very well. Either. But anyways, we just kind of dealt with it.. Then the maintenance guy came back and told us that they are giving us a free 2 hours on a pontoon boat for the inconvenience. I truly highly recommend this place, they truly make sure that you are comfortable. And they do try their best.I give these guys five stars.. A few things in their trailer should actually be updated. But we made things work. We will all definitely be going back there.Hopefully, they can get that trailer updated on the mattresses. The refrigerator. And just overall, the cleanliness of the trailer actually was not up to my standards, maybe they could do better, but other than that, it was awesome, very relaxing, enjoyed the nature and most definitely enjoyed the pontoon. Thank you again so much , and we definitely will be returning

I just completed My second year of fishing and camping here with my grandson. I love this place…read moresimply because of the staff. its camping, so things sometimes dont go as planned but the staff are always extremely helpful! Ed is the person who stands out for me. That guy goes out of his way to do what ever he can to make my visit enjoy for me and my grand-dude. The residents of the lake are also very helpful, welcoming to guest. There was a 8 yr old kid name Tauren who with his father's ok, walked up and down the shore to assist visitors in catching fish by offering his extensive knowledge of the lake and fish habits. Im already scheduling another trip. The water was low for the 2nd year in a row but I cant blame the lake for that! My one complaint is really trivial but the pillows and beds in the cottage were too hard and very difficult to sleep on. Also, the cottage I was in had two uncovered windows in the kitchen and the neighbors can look directly into the cottage at any hour.

Clean park and bathroom, nice place to stop by if visiting Idyllwild. We stopped here to hang out…read moreand play before checking into an Airbnb.

Cute little community park in the mountains. Very well maintained with lots of spaces for kids to…read morehave some fun. I stumbled across this playground while driving through Idyllwild Town. We were waiting for our hotel room to be ready. In the mean time, I had brought a picnic lunch for us to enjoy under the pine trees. So peaceful and serene. My daughter loved the swings and monkey bars. The only thing I didn't like were the portable potty. Would have been nice to have real restrooms. Great park though for picnics with your little ones.

Excellent maintained trail at the trailhead, there is a rough 2 mile drive to get to the trailhead…read moreI would suggest a high clearance vehicle or four-wheel-drive. Stunning views of three different lakes and surrounding mountains and valleys from the summit. Well worth the hike approximately 7 miles out and back with a 1350 foot elevation gain

Use my directions to locate the correct dirt road to turn off on. Your GPS might lead you down the…read morewrong roads ( which happened to us). I was looking for a hike that didn't require a wilderness hiking permit and found the Cahuilla Mountain Trail. The hike is 2.5 miles each way, but it seems longer because of the heat and the elevation gain. There are several different eco-zones here from chaparral to high desert to pines. Many cool rocks along the way. Some portions of the trail are overgrown and tight. Directions - Take Hwy 371 till you reach Cary road. Go 3.7 miles, the road eventually turns into Tripp Flats road. Look for the sign on the left hand side of the road indicating the trail road ( I took a picture of it ). From the turn off to the small dirt parking lot is about 2 miles up a small winding dirt road. Don't worry, you don't need a 4x4. The trick is to look for something that looks big enough to park a few cars. What tricked me was there wasn't a trail head sign ( though another review I read said to look for it ). Apparently there was a fire and the sign is gone now. So park in this dirt lot and look to the south. You should see an entrance with a metal gate. BTW, If you pass the parking lot by accident and hit to a fork in the road you'll need to turn back, you've gone too far.. - Several rattlesnakes on the trail..

A quick turn off from the switchbacking Pines to Palms Hwy, the Cahuilla Tewanet Vista Point is a…read morewell maintained, informative experience of the life of the Cahuilla Indians. Once you've parked in their parking lot there's a paved path toward an outlook deck. There are many interactive and educational signs that teach you about the wildlife and the surrounding landscape. The views here are amazing, and it's usually less crowded than the viewpoint a few miles down the road. They also have a short nature walk here but you have to keep your eyes open for the sign, it's easily missed. - Tip If you're carsick or prone to it, this is a great place to pull over and recover. The winding roads on this highway are brutal.

We hiked near Palm Desert for a week and this was by far the best experience we had (although…read moreJoshua Tree was pretty great, too). This Vista Point had fantastic scenery and a wonderful path, not so hard to hike but full of things to see. We could not have had a better day - Palm Desert up to the Coachella Vally Vista Point, then to Cahuilla Tewanet and over the mountains on CA 74 and north on the "Pines to Palms Highway" past the Pacific Crest Trail.

A beautiful state park and such amazing campgrounds. There are a few campground options, but during…read moremy recent visit, we stayed at the Doane Valley Campground. It was very easy to book ahead online and pay for our daily parking pass once we checked-in. The campsite itself is tucked into the forest, very high up on Palomar Mountain. We found it easy to park our one SUV at our campsite and pitch our tents. The sites do have water, tables, and food boxes. The bathrooms were kept quite nice and tidy. We were all very impressed with the simple but clean and well maintained facilities. We did do a dog friendly hike that starts in the Doane Valley Campground and it's about 4 miles round trip. We had a lovely hike with a decent amount of incline along with beautiful weather. They also have a lovely stop/view area at the beginning of the campgrounds with picnic tables. Palomar mountain is great for camping, hiking, a nice Sunday cruise up the mountain for the beauty, etc. Cell phone service is spotty up there so make sure to either download your map ahead of time or use satellite service.

WARNING Do not…read moreattempt to drive on Nate Harrison Road unless your vehicle can handle off-road conditions. It is not paved and has many dangerous sections for cars not equipped for them. Take 76 and S Grade Road instead. Phone reception is limited on the mountain. I strongly suggest downloading maps before you visit. The park headquarters is quite small and it doesn't seem like it is continually staffed. Make sure you have plenty of fuel. Bring lots of water. Keep in mind that it may be hotter on the mountain than the temperature at sea level. We didn't see any potable water during a recent visit. As long as you're well-prepared, you will enjoy this beautiful park. Have fun and stay safe.

My family and I drove up to Julian for a day trip but we knew we needed to let the kids get their…read moreenergy out and we stopped here to explore the playground. The playground equipment seemed newer and the kids loved it. What I loved was that it is completely fenced so I didn't have to be on top of my toddlers and they could explore a bit more on their own. We had a ton of fun climbing up everything and sliding down and using the swings. No one else was there for the majority of the time we were. One other family came for a short period of time and it seemed they were killing time before a photoshoot. Outside of the playground there is some picnicking areas and some sports areas as well. It seems like there can be a good use of space to do many different activities. There is a bathroom there however it is like a camping bathroom with a sink on the outside and nothing more than an outhouse on the inside. I opted to skip it and wait until we got to Julian to use a more modern bathroom. Overall, it was a great stop on the way to Julian for the kids and we will likely stop there again on future trips.

Yes, there actually is a playground! First of all it has…read morewood (pine?) chips and not sand and the play structures are all fairly new and in excellent condition! There is a swing set suitable for babies and a regular one for older kids and two other structures to climb up with a total of six slides.

Great location for families with kids! Cabins clean and comfortable! Great amenities for the family…read moreto enjoy.

A perfect quick escape for a dose of tranquility. The weather during this visit was nothing short…read moreof amazing, clear skies and a gentle breeze, that made sitting by the lake an absolute delight. It wasn't crowded so you were not assaulted by loud voices which allowed you to decompress from the hustle that is life. The fish taunted us by jumping out of the water close enough to see but far enough to escape our line. It was perfect.