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The award-winning Idyllwild Area Historical Society is a volunteer organization whose Mission is: “… to preserve the history of Idyllwild and neighboring communities in the San Jacinto Mountains; to maintain artifacts thereof in a manner accessible to the public; and to promote public awareness of local history for the enrichment of visitors and residents.”

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NEWSFLASH!!! 2024 HOME TOUR TICKETS WILL GO ON SALE JUNE 1ST! for more details! Click here for more details: https://www.idyllwildhistory.org/home-tour/

NEW! We have posted the most recent edition of our newsletter, Arti-Facts, and many older editions. Click on this link to explore some fascinating articles: https://www.idyllwildhistory.org/about-us/arti-facts-the-museum-newsletter/

In our first year we began collecting donations of material documenting mountain history, launched a periodic newsletter, organized field trips to nearby museums, inaugurated the annual Idyllwild Home Tour and trained volunteers to meet recognized standards for curating the growing collection. Enjoy your Visit!

Museum Location:

54470 North Circle Dr. (corner of Oakwood) Idyllwild, California Museum Hours: Fall and Winter (September 21 – Memorial Day Weekend ): Saturday & Sundays, 11:00am – 4: 00pm

Spring and Summer (Memorial Day Weekend – September 22) : Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00am – 4:00pm

Also: Monday holidays and everyday between Christmas and New Years.

Museum gardens are available everyday year round to sit, relax and enjoy.

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Head to “The Hill”

For 20 years, idyllwild area historical society has showcased homes that offer insight into the rustic lifestyle at 5,000 feet..

Julie Pendray September 5, 2022 Attractions , Current Digital , Home & Design

Gain access to five cabin homes during the Idyllwild Home Tour on Sept. 17. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY IDYLLWILD AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Cozy winters around wood fires and views of incense cedars are part of the old-world appeal that has drawn visitors for over a century to Idyllwild on Mt. San Jacinto. Cooler summers there inspired Native Americans to go up to gather wildflowers and acorns. A few cabins sprouted in the 1920s, followed by a housing spurt a decade later.

“The Hill,” as the town is known, became a magnet for anyone seeking fresh air and “down time,” kicking back on patios, watching jays. For 20 years, Idyllwild Area Historical Society has showcased homes that offer insight into the rustic lifestyle.

After a hiatus for the past two years due to the pandemic, Idyllwild Home Tour returns Sept. 17, featuring five cabins. Take a step back in time when you see “bachelors’ stoves” and vintage refrigerators, plus a hillside home that “defies gravity” and “an unusual bathroom arrangement” in cabins dating back as far as 80 years ago, plus more modern mountain residences.

Among this year’s featured cabins is a tiny one from the 1920s, with some period furnishings. It has been enlarged, “seamlessly blending the old with the new,” according to the historical society. The original living area was small because “life was expected to be lived outdoors in the fresh air.”

A featured 4-bedroom cabin was built a decade later, probably by two miners. It’s on a steep hillside and houses the unique bathroom. The home now has a “theatrical, whimsical theme” and includes a vintage range and original cabinetry, plus a Zen meditation garden.

Another home on the tour is from the ‘30s and considered representative of the first era of residential growth in Idyllwild. Owners have preserved the original stove, linoleum, and cabinetry. There’s a bunkhouse, where residents could fall asleep to the sound of Strawberry Creek just below. The bark covering the log cladding has weathered in place for nearly 100 years. The fireplace is made of stones turned up during the foundation digging, and there are numerous wavy glass windows that have somehow survived a near century of storms, according to the historical society.

One modern home on the tour includes a Southwestern style “great room” and a “fabulous collection of Native American art.” The fireplace features an “exquisitely detailed” mantel over a river rock face. An “extraordinary back yard” created by the owner, a landscape designer, features walkways that connect local perennials, shrubs and trees.

Owners will be available in the houses to answer questions from tour guests.

“Homeowners love to talk about their homes, especially if they've done a lot of the work themselves,” says Groty. Docents inside each house will also be able to share historical information. None of the homes are for sale.

Rounding out the tour is a 1979 home that has been “transformed from unremarkable to edgy and innovative,” according to the historical society. The decor is black and white, with a brick foyer, as a contrast to nature. A sense of playfulness includes a horse trough bathtub and pub games downstairs.

The Home Tour is the major fundraiser for Idyllwild Area Historical Society and Museum, helping to preserve the group’s facility and archive, which includes other significant houses, such as the one used in the Elvis Presley movie, Kid Galahad .

Refreshments will be served throughout the day in the Village Garden on the museum grounds, where artists will display their work. Tickets are $20 per person and may be purchased on the day at the pop-up booth next to the Idyllwild Inn on Village Center Drive, starting at 9:30 a.m.

Tickets will also be available at the museum, 54470 N. Circle Drive. A 28-page illustrated booklet and a map, with directions will be provided with each ticket. Guests can visit the homes in any order. Valet parkers will help at each site.

For more information, call 951-201-1400 or 951-808-3632.

• READ NEXT: 6 Desert Restaurants Stays Authentic to Their Culture With Authentic Menus .

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Idyllwild Home Tour Held Saturday

Artists will be showcasing their work on the IAHS grounds on Saturday during the 11th Annual Home Tour.

By Marcia E. Gawecki

“I think it’s the best mix of houses we’ve had yet,” said Bob Smith, board member, Idyllwild Area Historical Society (IAHS).

He was speaking about the 11th Annual Idyllwild Home Tour that runs this Saturday, Sept. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There are five homes on this latest tour, including three modern homes and two cabins built in the 1930s.

“All of the homes are located in Idyllwild and are compacted pretty close together,” Bob said. “In the past, we’ve had homes in Fern Valley to Pine Cove and all points in between.”

The home tour is a self-guided one, in which attendees pick up maps when they purchase their tickets ($20 each) in the center of Idyllwild by the tree monument.

“People tell us our home tour is the best they’ve ever seen,” Bob said. “I think what sets us apart is that we train our docents and spend time with the homeowners beforehand.”

Collage of five homes on the tour. Photos by John Drake.

It all starts with their “scout,” Nanci Killingsworth, a board member, who has a way with people, and selects the best lineup of homes, Bob said. Oftentimes, she walks her dogs past homes of interest, and then talks to the homeowners about being on the tour.

Yet, the outside often doesn’t tell the entire story. For example, one of the modern homes on the tour, located on Forest Knoll, is simple on the outside, yet inside, it’s structurally and decoratively impressive.

“It’s also a little quirky,” Bob said, of the home built by the homeowner. (Names are not revealed for privacy, yet most of the homeowners will be around on Saturday.) “One hallway really goes anywhere. It’s basically a gallery showing the work of local artists.”

The same homeowner designed a bathroom around her tub, which looks more like a sculpture, Bob said.

Weeks before the event, volunteers from the Idyllwild Area Historical Society, talked to the homeowners to find out the all of the unique details. Then they train their docents, five stationed at every home, to speak with authority about them.

Some of the things they’ll mention about the 1930s cabin on Cedar Street is that it was the home of former Idyllwild Postmasters George and Sara Hannahs.

The IAHS has hosted a home tour for the past 11 years, featuring 55 unique houses.

The Hannahs came to Idyllwild in 1889 and built “Camp Idyllwilde,” Bob explained. It was around the time of the Sherman lumber barons.

“Idyllwild was spelled a little different back then,” he said.

After awhile, they sold the camp and started a store at the bridge crossing (which is now the opening to the Idyllwild Arts Academy). They sold goods to campers coming up the road from Hemet. George named the area “Renetta,” after his son, and it became the first postmaster. However, when it was clear that a sanitarium and hotel would be forthcoming, George gave up the business.

“Yet, he helped built the road to Idyllwild at Mountain Center that we use now,” Bob said. “It was a more gentle road than Keen Camp Summit.”

Later, in 1901, George opened another post office (near where the Idyllwild Fire Station is now) and renamed it “Idyllwild,” and served as its postmaster off and on until 1937.

The 1930s classic cabin was built when Sara retired. It has two bedrooms and a nice porch.

“I can just see her hobnobbing on the porch,” Bob said. “She knew everybody in town.”

It’s as authentic as it was back then with some tiny remodeling done to the kitchen, Bob said. It also has some pocket windows that slide sideways into the wall, and a river rock fireplace.

The last house on the left on Double View by Inspiration Point, looks like a two-story San Francisco house from the outside, but has incredible views.

“You can see as far as the ocean,” Bob said.

He expects about 400 people to attend the home tour on Saturday, Sept. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The forecast for Idyllwild that day will be mild temperatures in the mid-70s. There will be local musicians playing at every home, with refreshments and artists on the grounds at the historical society.

Shirl Reid is directing the Home Tour this year, assisted by Carolyn Hall and Charlotte Groty. All are members of the IAHS Board of Directors.

Tickets are $20, and proceeds go to the general fund for the Idyllwild Area Historical Society, to help preserve and share our San Jacinto history. For more information, contact Carolyn Hall at (951) 317-4613.

Tags: 11th Annual Idyllwild Home Tour , Bob Smith , fun things this fall , George and Sara Hannahs , Idyllwild Area Historical Society , Nanci Killingsworth

This entry was posted on September 16, 2011 at 1:53 pm and is filed under Architecture , idyllwild . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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Art & Culture

Historical Society’s Home Tour features five homes

Idyllwild’s history, much like that of Anza and Garner Valley, is colorful and rich. Old-timers are proud of having lived through times of no regular electricity and rutted roads.

The Idyllwild Area Historical Society and museum sponsors an annual home tour whose residents are proud of their homes’ history and restoration efforts. Said new IAHS President Charlotte Grody, “Home owners are at the toured homes and will discuss their renovations and home-maintenance efforts. These homeowners are engaging and just love their homes.”

This is the 17th year of the tour, with visitors numbering between 500 and 650. The museum is the sixth edifice on the tour and the oldest of the homes. It was built in the 1920s and during the tour, will be a place for folk to stop for refreshments between home visits.

Four of the homes on tour were built in the 1930s and the fifth, built in the 1960s, sports a marriage between mid-century Palm Springs and Idyllwild. Toured homes feature a variety of historic touches, including knotty pine, stone fireplaces, hand-crafted wood mantles, authentic appliances from the 1930s and 1940s, Native American artifacts, and wonderful gardens and walkways.

People who love the mountain’s history and architectural authenticity will appreciate the immersive experiences this tour offers.

The IAHS home tour is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16. The cost is $20 per person. Tickets, which are the home-tour booklet, can be purchased on the day of the tour next to the monument in the center of town starting at 9:45 a.m. or at the museum. Pre-sale tickets can be bought at the museum during normal business hours, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, 54470 North Circle Dr., at the corner of Oakwood Street.

Klingamen finishes fifth in Sun Valley mountain bike race

Idyllwild Home Tour & Wine Tasting

Presented by Idyllwild Area Historical Society & Middle Ridge Winery

The mountain lifestyle … Curious to see what it's all about? Then you won't want to miss the 14th Annual Idyllwild Home Tour where you will have access to five private homes that will be open to the public for the first time. The homes vary in age, style and setting – from quaint old cabins to modern, dramatic architecture.

And when you’re ready for a break from your self-guided tour, stop by the Historical Society Museum and relax with a Middle Ridge wine tasting. The annual home tour is the Historical Society's major fundraiser, and this year Middle Ridge will be joining the fundraising festivities with wine tastings at the Museum from 1:00-4:00pm. You can also purchase a bottle to take home at a special 10% discount when you show your Home Tour book.

Home Tour 10:00am-4:00pm, $20 per person (wine tasting not included) Tickets can be purchased on the day of the event at the booth in the center of town next to the Idyllwild Inn (54300 Village Center Road) or at the Idyllwild Area Historical Society (54470 N. Circle Drive). Presale tickets are also available at the Historical Society Museum and by mail. For more information, call Carolyn (951-317-4613) or Charlotte (951-201-1400).

Middle Ridge Wine Tasting 1:00-4:00pm, $15 per person Complimentary for Middle Ridge Wine Club Members (up to 2 people) SPECIAL NOTE for wine club members: Your fall wine club package will be available for pickup at the event.

EVENT LOCATION - WINE TASTING Idyllwild Area Historical Society 54470 N. Circle Drive Idyllwild, CA 92549

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Leaving L.A. behind for a small-town mountain retreat

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Although Catherine and Michael Donovan weren’t looking for a major life change, they always knew their lifestyle and hobbies would be amenable to places other than Los Angeles. “We were ranch people living in Silver Lake,” Catherine jokes. The family owned a camper and had a Silver Streak trailer parked off-site in Pasadena. On weekends, “either we were estate sale-ing, or adventuring.”

Their love of the outdoors and the consistent urging of their friends — Mohawk General Store owners Kevin and Bo Carney, who have a home in Idyllwild — finally brought them up to the creative town located in the San Jacinto Mountains. (The population numbers around 4,000 and the elevation is approximately 5,400 feet.)

Just for fun, the Donovans went to look at an intriguing property located off Idyllwild’s main drag. They fell in love instantly with the two acres on Strawberry Creek and its two structures dating back to the early 1920s, as well as massive boulders left in situ that brimmed with local significance and charm. Catherine recalls thinking skeptically, “It’s so epic, what’s wrong with it?” since the listing was about a year old at that point.

The answer was nothing, other than the area’s real estate idiosyncrasies, where the market caters to a mix of part-timers and full-time denizens. (The sellers reportedly wanted a bigger house in Idyllwild with less land.)

The Donovans’ sense of adventure, the lure of this particular home and setting, and a desire to raise their family in a smaller community that’s closely integrated with nature led the Donovans to suddenly embrace a new lifestyle and milieu two years ago.

A previous owner conjoined the house's three levels, basement to attic, with a spiral staircase, seen at left.

It was a bold move, considering their kids were 2 and 5 years old at the time, and they lived in a prized Silver Lake school district.

“We went home and we had our house up for sale literally 10 days later,” Catherine says. It took all of a week to sell, and by October the family was living in a town they hardly knew.

The delightfully quirky details and magical setting, however, made the decision easier. Plus Catherine’s career as a freelance publicist and Michael’s as a product and business development consultant gave them the flexibility to work remotely. Since acquiring the property, the Donovans have worked with local historians to trace and honor its history.

A Pasadena couple, Dr. Grant Bell and his wife, Arabella, had constructed the pine-log and wood-shingle-covered main residence and carriage house between 1922 and 1924 as a summer retreat. The surrounding land was transformed with river rock paths and plants to fuel the Bells’ amateur botany obsession: They planted more than 300 Humboldt lily specimens during their time on the property, and many still thrive.

The garage/carriage house, which is now listed on Airbnb as a vacation getaway, was designed to house a Packard and eventually adapted into a habitable space with a kitchen and bathroom. The Donovans also rent a 1955 Trail Chief trailer on-site through Airbnb and refer to the property as the Owl Pine.

Eames molded-fiberglass chairs occupy the dining area. A butcher-block counter came from artist Pauline Annon's former home in Silver Lake.

Because the parcel is zoned for both residential and commercial use, the house had a brief stint during the late 1980s as a gourmet and home goods shop called the Epicurean. That owner, Mitch Susnar, restored areas that had fallen into disrepair during the course of various ownership changes and lapsed maintenance.

Susnar conjoined the house’s three levels from the basement to the attic with a spiral staircase. He also installed wide-plank wood floors and kitchen cabinetry and added straw-lined walls, as well as integrating pine logs into the walls and ceilings as part of that remodel. Today, these unusual details feel well suited for this free-spirited mountain community.

As for the Donovans’ decorating process, “we had everything, and we plugged it into this house,” Michael says. Their vintage Hans Wegner rocker seamlessly transitioned from their former contemporary Silver Lake loft to the mountain house. An L-shaped Case Study sectional sofa that faces a massive, granite rock-covered fireplace with a distinctive ax-carved mantle, and Eames molded fiberglass chairs in the kitchen’s dining area are from past Modernica warehouse sales. And, yes, there are antlers on display.

The new home helped justify the couple’s longtime secondhand shopping habits too. A perforated pendant light in a small seating area next to the staircase and a tall, rustic, vintage wood- and glass-front storage unit that functions as the kitchen pantry and storage, for instance, were sale finds. The kitchen butcher-block counter came from artist Pauline Annon’s erstwhile home in Silver Lake, along with some of her original paintings.

In other parts of the house, the space itself is the main feature; the attic overlooking the forested landscape makes for a cozy kids’ bedroom and play space that breeds imagination.

Michael, a passionate home cook, was particularly excited about the AGA porcelain-coated cast iron oven range. When he saw the rare appliance he thought, “OK, we can live here.”

They miss some perks of city life and circle back to L.A. when necessary, but the Donovans’ new rituals include creek explorations and nightly soaks in a cedar hot tub on the deck, which Michael purchased secondhand in Malibu. “It’s an interesting trade-off,” Catherine says of the kids’ experience. “Now they know every tree out here, what animals live here, and what’s blooming.”

UPDATE: Idyllwild family after fire threat

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Homes in Brief: Idyllwild Area Historical Society hosts annual home tour

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The Idyllwild Area Historical Society hosts its seventh annualhome tour from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Five homes will reflect themountain lifestyle of the area, including “the Rock House,”recently featured in the society’s newsletter. Tickets are $20.Call (951) 990-3909 for tickets, or send a check to IAHS, P.O. Box3708, Idyllwild, CA 92549. Tickets also available at 9 a.m. tourday at the ticket tent in the center of town.

OPEN HOUSE: EuroAmerican Propagators hosts its annual Open Housefrom 10 a.m.-4 p.m. today at 32149 Aqueduct Road, Bonsall.Award-winning plants from the Proven Winners and Proven Selectionslines will be for sale, with plants such as the Green Meadow lineof ornamental grasses or the drought-tolerant and environmentallyfriendly Savvy Succulents. Free admission. Call (760) 731-6029, orvisit www.pweuro.com.

HOME TOUR: The Idyllwild Area Historical Society hosts itsseventh annual home tour from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Five homeswill reflect the mountain lifestyle of the area, including “theRock House,” recently featured in the society’s newsletter. Ticketsare $20. Call (951) 990-3909 for tickets, or send a check to IAHS,P.O. Box 3708, Idyllwild, CA 92549. Tickets also available at 9a.m. tour day at the ticket tent in the center of town.

LECTURE RESCHEDULED: At 2 p.m. Wednesday, Greg Rubin ofCalifornia’s Own Native Landscape Design will give a free talktitled “Recapturing Our Native Plant Heritage in Our Gardens” inthe Santa Fe Depot in Grape Day Park, 321 N. Broadway, Escondido.Call (760) 743-8207.

BUS TOUR: Homes and ranches of celebrities, and the villa oncevisited by the future King of England, are among sites scheduledfor a bus tour of historical Valley Center sponsored by the ValleyCenter Historical Society. The tour will be offered at 9 and 11:30a.m. and 2 p.m. Sept. 29. Tickets at $20 per person are availableat the Valley Center History Museum, 29200 Cole Grade Road. Ticketorder forms can be found online at valleycenterhistory.org or bycalling (760) 749-2993.

TIMELY TIPS: “Timely Tips for Fall Gardeners” is a daylongworkshop offered Oct. 6 by the Master Gardener Association of SanDiego County, UC Cooperative Extension Service. Classes cost $15each. The schedule:

8:30 a.m.: Care of Deciduous Fruit Trees for Spring Production;Fall Planting Strategies for Year-Round Interest.

10:50 a.m.: California Friendly Plants That Need LittleMaintenance; Taking the Mystery Out of Landscape Garden Design.

1:50 p.m.: Fall and Winter Rose Care; Home for the Holidays:Decorating With Fresh Flowers.

The seminar is in the Marina Village Conference Center in SanDiego. Register until Sept. 24 or until classes are filled. Makechecks payable to Master Gardener Association for the total amount,and mail to MG Fall Seminar, 5555 Overland Ave., Building 4, Suite4101, San Diego, CA 92123. Call (858) 694-2860 or visitwww.MasterGardenersSanDiego.org.

MiraCosta Horticulture Club: Meets at 12:45 p.m. Saturday atMiraCosta College Horticulture Bldg. 7000, 1 Barnard Drive,Oceanside. Certified arborist Ron Matranga presents “When Do YouNeed an Arborist and How to Select One.” Bring questions and havethem answered by an expert. Refreshments and a plant raffle. Call(760) 729-8172.

California Native Plant Society: Meets 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Room101, Casa del Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego. Recon Native Plants,Native Plant Connection, Tree of Life Nursery, Las Pilitas, MoosaCreek and Cal-Native Plants Nurseries will have information tablesset up. Greg Rubin of Native Plant Nurseries will speak at 7:30p.m. Join CNPS and receive a free plant. Books, posters, nativeplants and wildflower seeds for sale. Visit www.cnpssd.org ore-mail [email protected] .

Bernardo Gardeners Club: Meets at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in theCommunity Room of the Rancho Bernardo Library, 17110 BernardoCenter Drive, Rancho Bernardo. Speaker is Ana Flora Royer, owner ofa flower shop at the Bernardo Winery. She will demonstrate easilymade indoor/outdoor topiary arrangements using fresh flowers andfloral findings. (She has also won the Del Mar racetrack openingday fancy hat contest six years in a row.) Refreshments. Call (858)673-8728.

Southern California Plumeria Society: Meets 1-3 p.m. Sept. 23 atthe War Memorial Building (located just north of the San Diego Zoo)in Balboa Park, San Diego. A club member will speak about growingsome of her very exotic and intensely colored plumerias. Raffle andrefreshments. Q&A will be heldat 12:30 p.m. before the meeting.Call (760) 451-1472 or visitsoutherncaliforniaplumeriasociety.com.

At MiraCosta: Cindi Millsap teaches these decorating classesaround North County. Call (760) 712-6016:

Secrets to a Sensational Room, 7-8 p.m. Tuesdays, startingTuesday through Oct. 2, MiraCosta College.
A Career in Real Estate Staging, 9 a.m.-noon Oct. 6, MiraCostaCollege.
Introduction to “Solving the Mysteries of Color and Art,” 2-4p.m. Oct. 6, Encinitas Community Center.
Real Estate Staging Certification, Nov. 7-9, Carlsbad locationto be determined.
Gain the Skills of a Color Consultant, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 10,Carlsbad location to be determined.

LANDSCAPE WORKSHOPS: The Olivenhain Municipal Water District,the Santa Fe Irrigation District and San Dieguito Water Districtare holding free landscaping workshops starting Oct. 18. Workshopswill be from 9 a.m.-noon every Thursday through Nov. 8 at theRancho Santa Fe Garden Club (last workshop will be 8:30 -11:30a.m.). Topics include landscape design; home sprinkler systems;California-friendly ornamental plants; and watering andfertilizing. The RSF Garden Club is at 17025 Avenida de Acacias inRancho Santa Fe. Reserve to (760) 632-4641.

Container Gardening: Palomar College offers “The How-Tos ofFabulous Container Gardening” from 9 a.m.-noon Oct. 27 at the SanMarcos campus. Cost is $50. Register online at https://venture.recware.com orcall (760) 744-1150, Ext. 2702.

Square Foot Gardening: The city of Escondido offers “Square FootGardening” from 6:15-8:45 p.m. Oct. 11 at the East Valley CommunityCenter, 2245 E. Valley Parkway. Cost is $20. Register to (760)839-4691.

Ikebana: Ikebana Flower Design is offered from 1-3:30 p.m. Oct.11-Nov. 8 at Escondido Adult School. Cost is $15. Register to (760)739-7300 or visit www.escondidoadultschool-rop.org.

At Walter Andersen nurseries: These free classes are offered at9:30 a.m. Saturdays at 12755 Danielson Court, Poway. Call (858)513-4900 or visit www.walterandersen.com:

Saturday: Native plantings with Carol Fuller

Sept. 22: Fall bulbs

Sept. 29: Groundcovers and erosion control with RichardWright

- Send Home & Garden items to Features Editor Laura Groch,North County Times, 207 E. Pennsylvania Ave., Escondido, CA 92025,fax to (760) 745-3769, or e-mail to [email protected] .

IDYLLWILD: Home tour showcases Elvis Presley…

Things To Do Home + Garden

Idyllwild: home tour showcases elvis presley digs and more.

The deck of a home featured on the 15th annual Idyllwild Home Tour.

The porch of a home featured on the 15th annual Idyllwild Home Tour.

A home featured on the 15th annual Idyllwild Home Tour.

The living room of a home featured on the 15th annual Idyllwild Home Tour.

The Press-Enterprise reporter Stephanie Schulte in Riverside, CA. Wednesday, September 19, 2013.

The charming mountain community of Idyllwild features hiking trails and an abundance of trees, shops and restaurants. It also boasts interesting cabins and homes.

People who enjoy looking at unique abodes are in for a treat at the 15th annual Idyllwild Home Tour, which features five houses, including one that Elvis Presley is said to have spent time at while filming a movie in Idyllwild.

The tour is organized by the Idyllwild Area Historical Society and serves as the society’s only fundraiser during the year. Homes featuring a variety of styles and settings are picked and opened to the public for the first time.

“People will get a real feel for Idyllwild,” Charlotte Groty, chairwoman for the home tour, said. “Driving through the little streets and taking in all of the surroundings is lovely.”

Participants pay $20 per person and can view the homes at their own pace from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 19.

Groty said there will be several docents at each home to answer questions and share stories, history and details about the houses.

“Last year we had 16 docents at one 6,000-square-foot house,” Groty said. “The largest home on the tour this year is 3,000 square feet.”

Rock Hill is the house Presley was rumored to have spent time at when he was filming the movie “Kid Galahad” in the early 1960s, Groty said.

Groty said the house was built in 1925 and looks like a “grand lodge” with vaulted ceilings and original French doors and has an old Hollywood romantic feel.

Another home, built in 1950, is sometimes referred to as the Winchester House, Groty said, due to the additions and funky layout. There are skeletons sitting on a bench in the front of the house and a large fake toad perched on a rock watching over the property.

“The kitchen is worth a whole second tour on its own,” Groty said. “It’s a visual feast with collectibles the owner has been collecting for years and vintage appliances.”

Another home has a Southwest vibe and includes a giant walk-in closet filled with the owner’s antique lingerie collection.

Last year, Groty said, 500 people took the tour. The historical society is hoping for more this year.

“People are so wonderful and generous to open their homes for this event,” Groty said.

Contact the writer: [email protected] , 951-368-9457

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