Group of friends wanted to relive the adventure and camaraderie of our weekend trip to Idyllwild last year. A charming  and quiet mountain resort, it’s turning out to be a great destination to travel for us looking to get away from the city, stay in a cabin, hike, BBQ and be happy in each other’s company. And again, this turned out to be such a memorable trip.

We chose to do a moderate hike on Saturday so we could be back before sunset and enjoy the beautiful view from our cabin. We needed to purchase a hiking pass from the ranger station who were helpful in providing us with trail options based on what we were looking for.  For those who hike in the dry forest area around Santa Monica mountains, this is a good change.

We met very few tourists along the way – One of the main reasons why I love this place. Its not too empty to feel threatened but enough for it to be an escape.

Idyllwild is popular for rock climbing and we had a climber amongst us who couldn’t resist :)

This trail ends in a junction where it goes off into different other trails. Most of those were closed off due to fires. We chose to stop here and turn around. Didn’t feel as accomplishing but oh well there is next time. The pictures I took of this end are not-so-flattering with us looking tired… so, I am not going to post that :)

More pertinent information about the trail:
http://alltrails.com/trail/us/california/devils-slide-trail
http://www.yelp.com/biz/humber-park-idyllwild?nb=1

If you want a hike that’s more fulfilling but don’t mind getting really sore (at least I was last year), I would really recommend Deer Springs Trail. http://alltrails.com/trail/us/california/deer-springs-to-suicide-rock.

I am in love with this trail. I have hiked this one twice and both times it’s been nothing short of amazing. It’s a 7 mile loop trail and easy to stick to the loop if you always stay to the right (assuming you are looping clockwise).

This was a sunset hike on a Tuesday with clear sky and pleasant breeze. The landscape here is burnt & charred with little vegetation. But thats what makes it even more breathtaking – the vast openness. I was blown away :)

Start of the trail

Some sign of vegetation

Panorama of the hills

Trails waiting to be explored

Hills

The second half of the trail is when we saw the beautiful ocean with the sun setting. And there is more – You can hear the sound of the ocean waves… Told you, this hike is amazing at different levels.

Ocean view

Ocean view

This keeps getting better :)

That beautiful sunset

Overestimated the brightness here :P

The foot traffic on this trail is minimum probably because its around 35 miles north of Santa Monica from PCH, way farther than other easily accessible trails.

More information: http://alltrails.com/trail/us/california/ray-miller-trail