Boy Scouts began organized camping here in 1919 on land given by C.L. Emerson, a pioneer Idyllwild subdivider. The site was chosen by C.J. Carlson, a longtime countywide Scout executive. Rock mortars indicate that Indians had lived here. A log bear trap, still recognizable as late as 1937, recalled the early activity of Anglo-Americans who cut timber in the vicinity in the 1870's.