Namesake of Idyllwild area’s Ernie Maxwell Scenic Trail was well known
Hikers, map readers, and passers-by in the Idyllwild area have undoubtedly come across the name of Ernie Maxwell, most likely in the Ernie Maxwell Scenic Trail.
Like so many things named for a person, that person’s notoriety may fade over time as new people come to an area. So, let’s take a look at the trail’s namesake.
According to obituaries and online information, Ernest John Henry Maxwell was born July 7, 1911, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to parents who were missionaries. He shuttled between Malaysia and California in his early years, but by 1918, the family was in the U.S. to stay. He studied art in school, and became a cartoonist/illustrator for the Los Angeles Times, Esquire magazine, and many other outlets.
He married Betty Beemer in 1939, spent three years in the service during
World War II and was discharged at the end of 1945.
In 1946, the Maxwells moved to Idyllwild, where Ernie started the Idyllwild Town Crier newspaper. He also began a job working at Mt. San Jacinto State Park, where he patrolled, built trails, chopped wood and was a firefighter when called upon.
His work as the area’s newspaperman kept him involved in many aspects of life in the San Jacinto Mountains. In 1948, he founded the local chapter of the Izaac Walton League, a conservationist organization that was very active throughout much of the 20th century. Through the league, Maxwell
taught conservation to young people and participated in efforts to curtail logging and improve streams in the San Jacinto Mountains.
He also kept up with his artwork, continuing to draw illustrations for the Town Crier well past his 1972 sale date of that paper. He started an art studio in town and was rather noted for not only his drawings but also his sculpture.
In 1959, he advocated for a trail from Humber Park to South Ridge Trail Road for people to circumvent traffic in town. The Riverside County Road Department, along with prison road crews, constructed the trail as simply Scenic Trail. In 1986, at the behest of many, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors renamed the trail the Ernie Maxwell Scenic Trail in honor of Maxwell, saying it was a much-deserved honor.
By the 1980s, Maxwell opted to publish two books about the region.
“The Emax 1984 Almanac” and the “Pictorial History of the San Jacinto Mountains.” These contained stories, news items and witticisms of the region, profusely illustrated by Maxwell under his shortened “Emax” name.
By 1994, Ernie Maxwell’s health was failing and he had to move off the mountain to a convalescent facility in Hemet. He died Aug. 20, 1994, at the age of 83.
In summing up his legacy, his longtime friend John Holt said: “The community has lost a treasure. We’ve lost the physical individual, but we’ve not lost Ernie Maxwell. Ernie is going to outlast us. He’ll be here as long as the community is here.”