If You Have Dogs and Need a Getaway, Pay a Visit to the Woodland Park Manor
Idyllwild, CA is ideal for a little getaway with your furry friend. Everything we did was pet friendly from the cabin we stayed at to the restaurants we ate at. And even better, there's more hiking than we knew what to do with!
We discovered the Woodland Park Manor through a website called Glamping with Pets. This site is great as it has a huge selection of places to stay that are all dog friendly! We had a selection of yurts, cabins, tree houses, and safari tents!
We wound up in Idyllwild, CA since we had heard great things about the town and the surrounding area. The cabins looked great and the weather was promising. So we booked our stay and made our way down from Sacramento!
We planned on our trip on the best days. We hit a little fog driving down, which I was able to sneak a photo of while relaxing in the back of the Jeep. And on our way out we snuck out of L.A. just before that big storm really got into full swing!
We got to the cabin about 2:30 and got everything settled in and relaxed for a bit after our long drive. Naturally I had to take some photos before we made off to grab some food.
Idyllwild has so many great places to eat! The first night we stopped in at Café Aroma. It was a really cool place with a nice big outdoor patio where we were able to sit and eat with Jack. For breakfast both days we found ourselves at Tommy's Kitchen scarfing down their giant breakfast burritos. They also had a patio where we could sit with Jack. Then there was the Lumber Mill, a bar and grill with fantastic burgers and beer. And can't forget Higher Grounds, the local coffee roaster! We loved how everything was all small business oriented with fantastic quality and service, being able to bring Jack everywhere with us was fantastic as well!
We missed both the first sunset and sunrise there. I know, criminal. But we were able to go explore Lake Hemet during our second day there. Jack was pumped to be able to run and swim and play with his Frisbee.
We left the lake and went to find somewhere to watch the sunset. We had passed Lake Fulmor on our way in to town and that had looked very promising. So we headed that way. I was bummed on having missed the sunrise that morning and so I was determined to find somewhere we could go for the next day. We stopped at a Vista Point along the highway and checked it out. We decided it would be promising so we kept heading toward the lake.
Lake Fulmor is super pretty. Great fishing apparently as there were people everywhere. No swimming allowed though. Apparently it's too unsanitary? So Jack was bummed. But oh well. We found that it was much smaller than we expected. We walked around the whole lake before deciding we would probably not get a great view of the sunset.
After Lake Fulmor we went back to the Vista Point. This place was fantastic. We followed a trail down from the paved section and it led us up and out onto the point overlooking the valley. We let Jack off the leash. We climbed boulders for better views, and laid out the blanket to relax and watch the sun set over the Valley.
We went back to the point for sunrise the next day before packing up and heading home. We really can't wait to get back and do more hiking. With the likes of the PCT and other great trails leading up to the peaks of the mountains, I wish we would have had more time to check them out!
We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!
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