Beautiful gardens, majestic views, and grand designs are what make the homes on the Idyllwild Area Historic Society’s Annual Home Tour so magnificent. They reveal the nature of Idyllwild’s beginning and its evolution.   Photos by John Drake and Rebecca Frazier

Strawberry Creek and beautiful gardens featured

On Sept. 14, the Idyllwild Area Historical Society (IAHS) will host its 19th-annual home tour. It will include five homes with the oldest home built in 1927 and the newest home, with magnificent views, built in 2004, said Charlotte Groty, president of the IAHS. 

Strawberry Creek is the focus of this year’s tour. Four of the homes reside on the creek, she added.

Shadowbrook is the oldest home on the tour and sits at the end of a long private drive with Strawberry Creek flowing behind it. Built nearly a century ago, this home was very in-tune with its environment and location. While originally a cabin, the additions of a dining room and library demonstrate how to preserve and expand a home. Paned windows are present throughout the house.

Idyllwild Area Historic Society’s Annual Home Tour is Saturday, Sept. 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Photos by John Drake and Rebecca Frazier

To enter another house on the tour, one crosses a small bridge. The interior is decorated with Southwest furniture, and Native American rugs and blankets. Next to this cabin is the bunk house. Between the two structures is a path crossing a small meadow of flowers, Groty said.

The newest and largest of the homes has a grand view of Lily Rock to its east with a spectacular view of Suicide Rock to the north. Visitors of the antique-filled home can gaze onto Strawberry Creek from the kitchen.

Another cabin has belonged to one family for decades. Surrounded by pine trees, the home and its garden invite visitors directly into the living room and kitchen. A sleeping loft and a wood-burning stove create the warmth for this lovely cabin. Tucked upstairs is a beautiful treetop bedroom.

The Enchanted Cottage on the Creek is another of the tour’s homes. Decorated with an artist’s paintings, the warm and comfortable cottage is more than quaint, it’s lovely and magnetic, exclaimed Groty. Flowers, including lemon lilies, surround the beautiful and soulful deck. 

Tickets are $20 per person for the home tour and may be purchased on Sept. 14. IAHS accepts cash and checks. The tickets may be purchased in front of  “Harmony,” the town monument on Village Center Drive, or at the IAHS Museum at 54470 N. Circle Dr. The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14.