Trip Report Photos: Visiting Idyllwild town and camping May 2026

We just got back from a great trip to the beautiful mountain town of Idyllwild, California. It’s only a few hours from our house and there were a few restaurants and shops my wife wanted to check out. Of course we figured since we’re up there, let’s bring the truck and camp if we can find a nice spot nearby to rest and relax after lunch in town.

It just so happened to be the weekend of the “Trail Festival” in Idyllwild where outdoor adventure companies setup kiosks around town hall and showcase their products and services. Being a mountain town that intersects the Pacific Crest Trail, it’s a busy area for hikers, mountain bikers, and outdoor enthusiasts. My daughter was also excited to meet Max — the mayor of Idyllwild — who is a dog. Bark bark!

Enough rambling, onto the photos…

Photos from our Idyllwild, May 2026 Camping Trip

Since it seems like this will be our first photo trip report of this website, I’ll start off these type of posts with photos in chronological order.

“Shushy” aka Shoshone, has a cozy spot in our ventilated truck camper. We keep the rear door window open with the Maxxair fan pulling fresh air through. I have a wireless thermometer that I can read from my phone via Bluetooth when I’m driving. The stuffed animal pups road along with her in the back of the truck!

Meet Max, the mayor of Idyllwild. Yes he’s a handsome golden retriever pup who has the softest fur. If you ever visit Idyllwild your chances are high to see Max hanging out around town interacting with the people.

We had lunch at this nice little restaurant with plenty of outdoor seating called Leanna’s Idyll Awhile Wine Shop & Bistro. I had a delicious cold cut trio sandwich and my wife had a grilled shrimp salad. They even made my daughter a tasty hot chocolate with a giant marshmallow on top.There was a musician playing some classic rock songs on his acoustic guitar in the middle of the plaza near the tables. Definitely check this place out if you’re in town and the Idyllwild Brew Pub is too busy (over 30 minute wait).

After lunch we headed to camp! We camped at one of the Yellow Post sites (like dispersed camping) right out side of town. The site we found was a few miles down a dirt road so we had a teeny tiny off-road adventure with some deep ruts, a little bit of pavement, and plenty of glorious trees on each side.

That’s a big boulder!

Heck of a campsite we had all to ourselves for the night. Of course our OVRLND Camper makes it sooooo easy to pull over at camp without much effort. I have most of our camping gear always in the truck. Easy peasy. And for the Toyota guys wondering how I specced out my first gen Tundra… those are 255/75/17 load C tires which fit perfectly on this truck with a mild 2 inch lift. I’ve been running the Toyo Open Country AT3s for about 5 years now and they’ve yet to let me down. We have the Bilstein 6112 shocks up front and 5100s in the rear. Stock leaf springs with a RAS Road Active Suspension helping support the weight of the camper. Absolutely love this setup!

S’mores! Because of the fire restrictions in the Southern California mountains, we brought along our trusty propane fire pit. This little beast provided a ton of warmth and ambiance throughout the evening.

Of course I had to make some bacon and eggs for the family! Camp breakfast is one our favorite parts of camping. Everything just tastes so much better in nature — am I right? I’ve been testing the Weber Q on our recent trips and considering making it my only cooking tool instead of our normal Coleman stove. More on that in another article.

Shushy our german shepard wolf dog got hooked up with a new tie from Max the Mayor. Always ready to work (when not sleeping).

Back in town the next morning we stopped at Speakeasy book store Raven Hill bagels. Both are apparently must-visit places up in this little town. Both did not disappoint. We had some delicious lunch bagels, found a few books and a VHS. We also visited a nice little record store across the street. Good times!

Hunky Dory Records lured me right in with a poster from Deftones, my favorite band.

Heading back down the mountain sunday we encountered some clouds rolling in. We wanted to stay another night to enjoy the incoming storm and possible snow, but the kids had school and state testing. Being the somewhat responsible parents that we are, the trip was over and we got home in less than two hours.

What a beautiful two day trip we had to our local mountains. These little adventures always remind me of the great choice I made when joining the truck camper life and deciding to get an OVRLND Campers truck camper.

Happy camping everyone and stay tuned for more content in the coming weeks and months ahead!