Little Cabin in the Woods?
 

Can anyone recommend a little cabin in the woods for an older couple? We recently sold our trailer and so ended many years of camping/RVing by which we enjoyed being out in nature. We did a little fishing, swimming, sightseeing, hiking, and family fun but mostly just relaxing...exploring the area, campfire, reading, watching videos.

Now we'd like to locate one or more clean vacation cabins for relaxing, maybe in a scenic state/national/private park (anywhere in the country as we travel alot). No resorts, time shares, noisey kids, barking dogs, personal water crafts. Just a little cabin in the woods, perhaps by a lake or stream. Thanks!

ozarksbill
[email protected]

There are cabins that you can rent near the Hoosier National Forest just outside of Nashville, IN. It is a beautiful area with wildlife, streams, hiking, etc...

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:...n&ie=UTF-8

We rented a cabin a few years ago just outside Ouray, CO and had just the kind of vacation you describe. We rented through VRBO.com

I assume you're looking for a place in your area. However, I can tell you that the inland Pacific Northwest (Washington, Idaho), has lots of places to rent like you discussed, many of them lake frontage. I haven't rented a cabin for several years, but when I did, I found the cabin by checking the Spokane paper (Spokesman-Review) every Sunday in the spring.

The mountains here, especially in Northern Idaho, are just wonderful!

Stokes State Forest in Sussex County New Jersey has a grand total of 10 rental cabins on its almost 16,000 wooded acres. The cabins are available from April 1 to Dec. 1 at $280 a week. Check it out at http://www.state.nj.us./dep/parksand...ks/stokes.html

Blackwater Falls, West Virginia rents cabins in the park.

schlegal1 stole my advice.The state parks in both PA and WV are exactly what you are looking for. My favorites are Blackwater Falls in WV and Cowan's Gap in PA. You could cover a lot of sighseeeing area by piecing together several nites each as you work south from PA into southern WV.

We've stayed at Blackwater Falls and several PA state parks and loved it. Check on their DNR sites. Also New Germany State Park in Maryland has nice cabins.

Thanks for your ideas! I had a posting glitch and wondered why I couldn't respond. Anyway, we are just getting ideas right now for cabins (maybe a lovely lodge or special B&B) anywhere in the country. We do have family East whom we visit, so could stay over en route in some scenic WV or PA place, and we are planning a drive West. Likely there are cabins closer at hand and we'd like to know about those in Missouri, Arkansas, etc. if anyone has a handle.
ozarksbill

We've stayed in several MO state parks. Check out thier website for which parks have cabin rentals. Also, Pere Marquette park in Illinois (just north of St. Louis) has cabins and a lodge built by the CCC. Go in the winter for eagle watching - the park is on the river.

Also the St. Louis Post Dispatch ran an article not too long ago about cabins within a few hours of St. Louis. You could try searching thier archives.

Alpine Village in Jasper, Alberta. See pictures on tripadvisor.com. We loved our cabin, we read, hiked, watched rafters float by, barequed great dinners!

Yes, we've stayed in Mo. State Parks in our trailer, and in fact were recently in Illinois' Pere Marquette Park cabin...just what we are looking for.

How about Wisconsin, Kentucky, Oregon, places like that?
ozarksbill

I gave a couple links for places in Oregon on your other thread, Ozarksbill.

I found your thread on the Mississippi forum, so I am going to offer info on some great places in Mississippi. Try the cabins available through the Pat Harrison Waterway District, http://www.waterparkin.com/

We have been to each park and have enjoyed them all.

In Kentucky, we have very good state parks, many with cabins. You might like Cumberland Falls near Corbin or Lake Cumberland at Jamestown, KY.

I use vrbo.com as well as cyberrentals for this type of accommodation & have never had a problem. If you need specifics in Ohio, NC or Tn. I can probably offer some suggestions.

Thanks for all ideas...I'm still listening. Next trip is out to Arizona in Feb. and likely we will look into cabins connected with National Parks. Any leads out that way?

ozarksbill

I can’t help you with AZ but the Hocking Hills region here in OH is often referred to as the Hot Tub Capitol of the Midwest. Scroll down the page at the following site and look for all the cabin rentals. Most have hot tubs. Even with so many cabins, you need to get your reservations in early for fall and Thanksgiving as they fill up quickly. I have rented two so far, the Little Cola Cabin, and also the Cross Creek cabin with Old Man’s Cave Chalets. Both were wonderful! I can’t wait to try others. Be sure to visit Old Man’s Cave while in the area. It’s a very popular hiking area and quite nice. Also visit the Rumpels Grove complex in Logan for a wonderful gift shop full of crafted items, an antique store, canoe rentals, and an ice cream parlor. You can learn more about the area on the same site below.
Hocking Hills Lodging
http://www.hockinghills.com/stayat.htm

We loved our cabin in Custer State Park in SD. We had a new cabin; I guess the older ones aren't as nice.

Ozarksbill,

I read your post asking me to come to this post, but I'm not sure I can be of any help. The only cabins we ever stayed in were in Yellowstone National Park back in 1974!

The National Parks that I know that have cabins are Zion, Yellowstone, & Yosemite but they are in conjested areas.



Utahtea

I will second the reccomendation of the cabin in SD. Simply beautiful & peaceful.

After saying Jasper I realized our favorite cabin in the woods is really on the Northern California Coast at the Sea Ranch. You can have forest and ocean at the same time...no noisy kids, no barking dogs, lots of trails to hike and beautiful nature to enjoy.

We rent cabins at Fish Lake next to Lake Wenatchee, Washington every year. They're terrific, quiet places. There are just two rentals next to eachother and a few privately owned cabins in the area. One of the cabins has a nice dock on Fish Lake. I take all the children in my family there to teach them to fish because the trout fishing is so great. The pretty little town of Leavenworth is about 20 minutes away. There is a small grocery store nearby. The crest of the Cascade Mountains is 20 miles west. Seattle is about two hours drive. Nice spot. I think the rental agent is Lake Wenatchee Hideaways. You'll find them online.

Just wanted to let you know that the Sunday, Feb 12 St. Louis Post Dispatch has a feature in the travel section about cabins for rent in MO and IL. Some of them look really nice.

Hey Ozarksbill! I doubt you are still looking for a cabin, but I will go ahead and suggest one anyhow, perhaps for future reference.

I live in the St. Louis area and we often go down towards Carbondale, Illinois and stay at Cabin on the Hill. Its about a two hour drive south of St. Louis. The two cabins are on a farm in beautiful surroundings. They are very private; in fact, we never met the owners, as they give you a code to unlock to get the keys to each cabin. Anyways, the log cabins are wonderful, with a full kitchen, large fire place, full-sized hot tub, and 2 bedrooms. Very cozy! They are within about a 5 minute drive of Giant City State Park, where we do lots of hiking, and also close to lots of antique stores and the Shawnee Hill wineries. Check out www.cabinonthehill.com for more info.

Tracy

Sure, still looking for cabins for future vacation spots. Will get the Sunday PD, thanks. And tcreath, as for the cabin near Carbondale, that does sound interesting...and BTW we did live in C'dale for 7 years and in St. L. for a spell, too.

ozarksbill (Springfield, MO)

Ahhh...so your familiar with the area! I actually live in Illinois, near SIUE, but we love visiting the cabin because its close and its pet friendly...perfect for our dog!

Springfield is a beautiful area. I don't get down that way too often, but every now and again we head through there on the way to Table Rock Lake.

Tracy

I am a little late to this discussion but must add Rock Eddy Bluff Farm to the list of secluded cabins in the woods. http://www.rockeddy.com Never mind that my wife and I are proprietors. We are located in the Central Missouri Ozark hills on the scenic Gasconade River

Regarding Arizona - go towards the White Mountains - near Payson, Strawberry, Heber area - nice cabins and lakes for fishing too!

TINYURL.COM

enough said! ;-)

Hi Ozarksbill,

If you want a luxury cabin try www.cabinbythepond.com in Carbondale, IL. Near the golf courses, wine trail, hiking and antiquing.

In mid-August we took a trip to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State and I was very pleasantly surprised by the great time we had at the Kalaloch Lodge on the coast. They have a bunch of cute little cabins perched on a cliff above the beach (but there are trees around them and you can get in the woods with just a short walk). Also, the food at the Kalaloch Lodge restaurant was really good (and I have a high bar). Just another idea for you....

For something different how about a cabin in a prairie wildlife sanctuary near Peoria, IL? Item in the Chicago Tribune mentions accomodations in the Wildlife Prairie 10 miles west of Peoria...in log cabin at $100, stable at $80, restored grain bin $90, or two bedroom caboose for $70. BTW, the grain bin is airconditioned with shower, TV, etc. Original Megan's Cabin for children with heart defects with family for $50 a night. Reservations at 309 676-0998 or www.wildlifeprairiestatepark.org.

The preserve has an interesting collection of animals including bison, foxes, cougars. There is a trail and programs. Jubilee Cafe is a short distance away.

ozarksbill

In Arizona, south of Tucson near the town of Green Valley in Madera Canyon is the Santa Rita Lodge. They have cabins with kitchen facilities that are on a stream--in the spring at least. The is a wonderful spot for birders, but be sure to bring food because you will not want to leave. A bit rustic, but charming with porch swings on some of the cabins and decks overlooking the stream. The birds, particularly the hummingbirds in season, are a delight.

Ozarkbill, are you answering your own questions now??LoL I happened to notice your post above, then I noticed that you started this thread. ;-)

Gosh, that must have been a bad day for me back in June. Sorry 'bout the "attitude." :)

Well it's a good thread to gather suggestions for everyone as well :)

Just off top of my head; Lake Murray, OK;
Beavers Bend, OK;
Caddo Lake, TX (think it has cabins);
Lake O' The Pines, TX;

also, one I've got bookmarked, Star Lookout on Maui http://home.gci.net/~starlookout/