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We are on a quiet street and respect our neighbors and their desire for peace & quiet. We all love happy families and fun and laughter, however, this is not a "party" cabin or neighborhood. Across the street we have the Rustic Retreat Cabin and kitty corner is the Nordic Cabin (where we live!).
This is a quiet neighborhood and just a short walk into the village...four blocks! We are also a short walk from some wonderful hiking!
Helen Cabins’ Wrightwood Discovery Walk
This is an easy 1.2 mile walk with lots of fun sights! It starts at the Helen Street cabins: Rustic Retreat (1563) and the Mountain Pines Lodge (1570) and ends back where you started. I would take a bag along for any treasures you might find (pine cones, rocks, sticks…) and a camera for some great photo ops! I have a couple of short, but great, hikes at the bottom of this document.
Head East (away from town) on Helen until you come to Oak St.
Turn right on Oak (go uphill) For hikes from this point go to the bottom of this document ^*^
Look for the giant pine tree in the middle of the street. Smell the tree, really! Most of the Jeffrey Pines have a wonderful vanilla/butterscotch/banana scent to their bark. Try lots of trees…don’t worry about looking silly!
Turn right on Twin Lakes (it’s the next block) Keep a look out for Snow White’s cottage and her seven dwarf friends. (cottage is on your left about five cabins up)
Continue up Twin Lakes another block Look for a big hungry brown bear on your right (too bad the sign says not to feed him!).
Look for another bear; looks like he’s ready to cross the street
Stay on Twin Lakes and cross over Elm St. Go to the end of Twin Lakes.
Turn right on Maple Look for a spring fed lake (it’s the Wrightwood Country Club). You are currently directly on top of the San Andreas Fault! The club is for members only.
Turn left on Oriole Look for a stone structure on your right with a very important plaque on it. The owner of this home built all the outbuildings. You are allowed to respectfully walk around and take pictures here.
Look for the Trading Post building. Can you find the little white chapel? How about the mule pulling a wagon? And every cowboy town needs a saloon! Do you see it?
There is a braying donkey behind a wall Turn right on Willow and walk down two blocks
If you are ready to head back to the cabin, turn right on Helen OR turn left to go to town If you turned Right on Helen, look for a wishing well. Continue back to the Nordic Cabin, Rustic Retreat or Mountain Pines Lodge on Helen Street.
If you turned left on Helen:
If you turned left on Helen, walk two blocks and you will be in town
Check out Mile High Pizza…our personal favorite! Their chicken Alfredo pizza, anti-pasto salad with bleu cheese dressing and their bread sticks are fantastic…best deal in town! Their dessert “dirt sticks” are magical
Right next door is the old fire house which is now a museum…Open on Saturdays, free and well worth checking out. I don’t want to give away secrets, but I wouldn’t miss it!
Continue down Cedar to our Littlest Pet Shop! Across from the Pet Shop you will find Village Roots, a perfect shop for gifts, tea, or skincare!
At the very bottom of Cedar, there is a shop called 6000ft, also great for gifts, books, and more! Next door you can pop in the Mini-mart…lots of fun snacks and gift items. Wonderful biscuits & gravy, breakfast burritos, and MORE!
If you are ready to go home,
If you want to head back to the cabin, turn right on Hwy 2 and walk on the beautiful path all the way to Walnut, turn right on Walnut, head uphill back to Helen and turn left to the cabin or lodge. If you are still wanting to walk, the path gets prettier the further downhill you go. The path is not stroller friendly, but very dog friendly!
Along your way on the path you will see Wrightwoods’s market across the street, the Wrightwood Bakery, and the Grizzly Café (highly recommended). Both these eateries have outdoor seating and the Grizzly has a fantastic chair lift swing outside and gift shop inside. You will also see the Hardware store on the other side of the highway…think Mayberry RFD! They now rent electric bikes, too!
Not quite ready to go home?
Turn left at the bottom of Cedar onto Hwy 2. If you want to take the kids to a park, continue to Pine (one block) and turn left on Pine. The park will be on your right.
If you want to check out more shops or eateries, turn left on Hwy 2 and then left on Park Drive. There restaurants and other shops all the way up the street. Above our coffee shop, the Village Grind you will find Traded Threads, a vintage clothing shop!
At the top of Park Drive, turn right on Apple if you want to go to the library, skate park or school playground. If you are ready to head back to the cabin, at the top of Park, turn left on Apple which turns into Helen.
Walk four blocks and you will be back. Time to relax and enjoy!
SHORT LOCAL HIKES
Walk East (away from town) on Helen until you come to Oak St.
^*^ HIKE ALERTS: Now, if you want to go for a beautiful hike instead, or in addition, continue up Oak until it ends in about 3 blocks. Turn left on Sparrow and then right on Sycamore (your first right). When you get to a little hill, climb up that path (it’s a bit steep). When you get to the top, you will be on the levee. Follow a path down to the gully and discover a stream down in the levee that you can follow. It will likely be dry where you start, but follow it and you will eventually get to water. I highly recommend this hike!)
Another great easy hike, turn left on Oak. Go down to Hwy 2. Turn right on the Village Trail. Take it a couple of blocks until you see a tunnel (big water pipe) that says 1936. Go through the pipe and you will come to some great hiking. If you go to your right (towards town, you will go through another even larger water pipe (the kids love this!) and then get to a horse corral. You can then cross the highway and get back on the Village Trail.
Drive to hikes:
Head up Hwy 2 to Mountain High West: 4.2 miles from the village. The large stone building on the right is the old visitors’ center.
1. If you drive up HWY 2, pass Mountain High West and stay to your left. Right across the highway is the famous Pacific Crest Trail (PCT...think Wild). You can walk a portion of this 2,650 mile trail that goes from Mexico to Canada. I strongly suggest walking this historical trail.
Or 2. If you drive up HWY 2, pass Mountain High and veer to your right. You will see a pull off area in a few minutes (.7 miles). You will have a great view of the ski areas as well as a wonderful paved hiking/biking area. The locals call it the JPL trail as it ends at the JPL observatory (not open to the public). The kids LOVE this easy but beautiful hike/bike/walk.
Or 3. If you drive up HWY 2 and go straight after Mountain High you will get to Jackson Lake (more like a pond if you are from the MidWest) in 3 miles. You may fish/hike/wade in this little lake. Don’t plan dinner around your catch, however. LOL Beautiful fall colors. **
