Idyllwild is a quiet, artsy mountain community in Southern California that is home to the Mount San Jacinto State Park headquarters. The area offers a variety of winter activities—from snow camping to cross-country skiing. The city of Idyllwild hosts an eclectic collection of restaurants and galleries (all locally owned), and nearby the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway ascends to its Mountain Station. Every January, the Idyllwild Independent Festival of Cinema is in full swing. Idyllwild can be reached via U.S. Highway 243.
As with the more nonmotorized boating and other eco-friendly activities of summer, winter recreation in Idyllwild is geared towards human-powered activities and preserving the integrity of the environment.
You cannot snowmobile or downhill ski in the area, but you can rent equipment for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and sledding, and Mount San Jacinto State Park has ample trails and sledding hills. Businesses in downtown Idyllwild, as well as the ski center located near the Mountain Station of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway rent snow gear, including skis, sleds and snowshoes.
One of two campgrounds in the San Jacinto State Park, Idyllwild Campground is open year-round. The park keeps the roads plowed for winter travel, and the developed campground includes flush toilet restrooms and showers.
For more experienced winter hikers and campers, there are also four wilderness campgrounds in the general area. Of these, Round Valley is the easiest to reach. It is a 2-mile hike from the top of the Aerial Tramway. Unlike Idyllwild Campground, the wilderness campgrounds require an overnight permit, which you can apply for at the state park’s headquarters or on its website.
The park’s website cautions winter campers to not head to a campground without sufficient winter clothing and gear, an ample supply of food and water, tire chains, a shovel and a proper level of anti-freeze in the vehicle. Camping in a winter wonderland can be ideal for those who enjoy the beauty and muffled quiet of the snow if precautions are taken.
While the drive to Idyllwild is very scenic and the roads are well maintained, a delightful activity in the winter is to take a day trip to a nearby area via the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway’s enclosed rotating aerial cars--said to be the largest in the world, according to its website.
The ride begins at the Valley Station in Palm Springs at an elevation of 2,643 feet, where winter temperatures are balmy. Within about 15 minutes—and 5,873 feet in elevation later—you depart at the Mountain Station in a frosty world of pine trees, mountain peaks and winter recreation. At the Mountain Station, you will find the state park’s Visitor Center; a fine dining restaurant, Peaks, with views of the Cochella Valley; a buffet style restaurant, Pines Café; and a gift shop. About a quarter mile away, there is a ski center where you can rent equipment, the Long Valley Ranger Station and a trail head to the park’s hiking system. From the Desert View Trail you can see snow-covered peaks that rise over 10,000 feet. Day-use permits are required for wilderness hiking and are available at no charge from the Ranger Station.
There is no public transportation in or to the town of Idyllwild, but some people hike down from the Mountain Station, a distance of about 10 miles, or take a cab.
