Hikers seeking luxury cabins
 

Every other year I take a hiking trip with seven other people. In 2008 we found paradise, the Blue Sky Cabins in Red Lodge, MT. www.blueskycabins.com We are looking for a similar accomodation in Oregon, MT,WY, WA, ID or COL.
Criteria
Privacy
Comfort
Easy access to good hiking
Easy access to good restaurants, a grocery store and a wine store (not necessarily in that order)
Full kitchen in at least one of the cabins
Great view
four hour or less drive from an well served airport

Any suggestions for our trip in 2012?

Thank you!

Oregon I can help you with. All on the east side of the Cascades. From the north there is a cabin near Sisters, OR which is a VRBO listing. There are several in the Bend area.
There are some very nice places for rent in Sunriver available through discoversunriver.com If you come south to Klamath County there are 18 cabins at Crescent Lake. available through crescentlakeresort.com
You have relatively close access to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from any of these. If any of you are golfers, Sunriver has two courses.
If you sign on to VRBO.com (Vacation Rental By Owner) you can probably find similar cabins in your other favored states. There are small airports in Bend and Sunriver and a larger airport in Redmond. All within 2 hours drive of cabins

Thank you, Tom. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Hi friend,

My brother's family love these two places in the Cascades in Washington. The heal has never invited us along! They are both near the town of Mazama.

http://www.sunmountainlodge.com/acco...abinrates.html

http://www.freestoneinn.com/

you are such a good resource, imaq. Thank you, friend.

Near Winthrop/Mazama, we stayed at the Wilson Ranch Cabins at Freestone Inn. Great location with nearby hiking, nice restaurant/main lodge and cabins (our cabin was very nice with big main room, two bedrooms, porch with rocking chairs, bathroom and a small kitchen). I recall seeing several larger cabins/houses near the small lake behind the lodge. The town of Winthrop is also interesting (kinda "western" themed).

We also enjoyed a luxury hiking experience/cabins at Jenny Lake Lodge in the Grand Tetons (in Jackson Hole). Start the day with an amazing breakfast, followed by amazing hiking, followed by an amazing dinner. Horseback riding also available at stables on the property. Really wonderful.

Jenny Lake Lodge is fantastic. I loved it! The Freestone looks to be a winner...we'll check it out. Thank you for responding.

I have Blue Sky cabins in my favorite places because of your recommendation. I am always interested to see where your hiking group travels. We also have travelling hiking friends.

Have you ever considered Costa Rica? Bosque del Cabo has some really luxurious cabins--they call them cabinas--on a cliff, in the rainforest, overlooking the Pacific Ocean; monkeys, macaws. It was paradise, we had a hard time leaving our deck--and great hiking.

Hi Linda. I grew up in Panama and visit there frequently. While not quite as well developed a tourist industry as Costa Rica, it enjoys a similar diversity of natural attractions. It is a wonderful place to hike.
I am in the early planning for our 2012 trip (thank you, snow) but always open to trips with DH in between the group trips. We'll see what I turn up!

There are several places in Oregon that are nice
I love the Metolius area - close to Sisters and Bend, lots of hiking, there is another resort across the hiway " Black Butte" with golf course, bike trails, nice restaurants
There is much to do in the area

http://www.metoliusriverresort.com/

I also recommend the Sunriver Resort- again, there is a lot to do to keep a group occupied, hiking, rafting, kayaking, golf , biking
I do love Sunriver!

Another resort with cabins is Suttle Lake Resort- cabins are lovely and there is a big lodge with restaurant as well

http://www.thelodgeatsuttlelake.com/

Thank you, sunbum. I have received several recommendations for Sun River but it looks like a pretty big resort with little or no seclusion. Is my impression off base?
I looked at Suttle Lake and it is quite attractive. I would enjoy being near Sisters and Bend. It has been a long time since our last trip there and we did love the area. The website for Melolius River is not working right now, but I will check again in an hour or two. I appreciate the suggestions.

Sunriver is a pretty busy resort so might not be for you if you are looking for seclusion.

The cabins at the Metolius are much quieter, as well as those at Suttle Lake

Will see if I can think of more

Devil's Thumb Ranch in Colorado is very nice.

Great info! Saving for future trip.

I can appreciate what you're doing cmcfong, as I also plan trips for our hiking group and finding that special accommodation and right bed configuration can be a fun challenge.

Haven't gone to this area with my group, but have stayed at the /www.metoliusriverlodges.com, which is different than the resort. Agree that Sun River is busy and probably not the seclusion you're looking for.

Will definitely bookmark this site as the group is "making noises" about Yellowstone are for 2012.

Thank you. I am loving Metolius River lodge and Devil's Thumb. Beautiful properties with real "trip" potential.
I also found Carson Ridge Cabins, www.carsonridgecabins.com, Rye Creek Lodge and Cabins, www.ryecreeklodge.com, and Tin Cup Lodge,http://www.tincuplodge.com/ , the first in WA and the second two in Darby, MT (and yes, I also saw Triple Creek but at $800 a day it is out of the question). Anyone know these properties?

Clousie, it is fun and since it matters so much to me, I am glad to do it. We are looking for something near Yosemite, too.

Glad to hear you are considering Devil's Thumb Ranch. We are big fans of it, and love that it is so eco-friendly in all its operation. It was recently purchased and renovated in such a classic Old West style. They really got it right.

http://www.devilsthumbranch.com/

Our favorite go-to restaurant for special occasions is their Ranch House Restaurant. It is awesome.

The Ranch is less than 2 hours' drive to Denver. There is a Safeway grocery store in Fraser, and a few wine shops, too. Once you are at Devil's Thumb, you will not want to leave! But it is only about 45 minutes' drive to Grand Lake, if you are so inclined.

It is a big cross-country area in the winter. Lots of trails to hike, as you want to do.

PeaceOut, do you by any chance know Blue Lake Lodge near Durango? How would you compare it to Devil's Thumb Ranch?

Glad you are considering the Metolius area - a big developer is wanting to build a "destination resort" close by so come and see it before they have a chance to spoil it

Sorry, I don't know Durango, cmcfong. We have had a place in the Winter Park area of Colorado since the 70s, so I am very familiar with that area.

If we were to have a wedding in our family, I know that Devil's Thumb Ranch would be our first choice of location. Expensive, though, because they are slammed with wedding reservations.

We visit Devil's Thumb a few times a year, finding an occasion to splurge at The Ranch House restaurant. Take really cool, authentic Old West design in a gorgeous wide open Colorado setting, meld that with cutting edge cuisine; add excellent service and decent pricing. Who could ask for more??

I do find Metolius appealing, sunbum, but their policy of charging the entire stay at the time of booking is a little offputting.
PeaceOut, I have heard good things about Blue Lake, so just looking for a bit of a comparison. I really appreciate your suggesion of Devil's Thumb, even DH was taken by the photos of the property. Wow.

I agree charging for the entire stay is not very customer friendly!

well I will put on thinking cap and try to come up with some other ideas

I appreciate it. These responses are so helpful. Keep 'em coming!

Hi, cmcfong -- Have you been to the Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho area? Stanley, to the north, is fabulous, not so luxe. That entire area, however, has great hiking access, killer restaurants....in town or out-of-town accommodations. When you say seven other people, do you mean 7 bedrooms?

Hi Katy, we went to Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch in Stanley a few trips back. It was fantastic and we loved the area. We are four couples so I only need four units. We prefer a vacation where there is not only time for group activities, but real couple time as well. IRMR was outstanding.

sending a link to some houses ( not exactly cabins) close to Sunriver Oregon- but not actually part of Sunriver
Have not stayed here but property manager is a friend of mine
Think it would be a beautiful spot, close to Bend, Sunriver if you chose to visit and lots of great hiking.

http://deschutesriverside.com/

You certainly can't beat the price, sunbum. Bargain rates for a very complete package. At the risk of sounding incredibly difficult, this is ususally the only "couple" time we get,too. While sharing a house makes sense in terms of budget and facilities, we usually try for separate cabins for the privacy advantage.
Thank you for the suggestion and I will put it in the mix.

Hey, I'll meet you there too, especially for a hike. I second Nora_S' hike recommendations. Maple Pass Loop is lovely.