This is as private as it gets! At the very end of a 1 1/2 mile wood road on 11+ forested acres bordering the Potic Creek. This is a charming 'Camping Cabin' in the woods on more than 11 acres of woodlands overlooking the Potic Creek, a stream that flows from a reservoir serving the town of Catskill. The Cabin is insulated and has an airtight woodstove. There is a Murphy bed with a queen size mattress. It does not have running water or electric - that's what 'camping cabin' refers to. The forest has lots of wildlife, deer, bear, wild turkeys, foxes, racoons, great horned owls, etc. For cooking there is a Coleman camp stove, and outside, a fire pit with a grill. It is an idyllic getaway for those who appreciate nature. It is about 25 miles north from the Village of Woodstock, about 2 hour drive from the GWB. Before you consider staying at the cabin, please read carefully our description below.
When we started thinking about the possibility of sharing cabins [we have a few of them, we love having places in the woods], the question was, how can we do it? The question we faced was, how to make it reasonable in cost, and at the same time, provide the needed cleaning and housekeeping that goes with having a rental. Hiring a housekeeper to change sheets and towels right away makes costs that may make the price for a 'camping cabin' more than folks would feel was fair. Our goal was to be able to keep this charming spot, not as a profitable business, but at least have most of the expenses and taxes covered.
Originally we thought only renting for a week minimum would be practical if we had to hire a housekeeping between every guest. But initial inquiries were for weekends or long weekends. So if that was going to work, we had to figure a way to make that reasonably priced. So our plan, in order to keep expenses down, we ask that guests be prepared to bring their own sleeping bags and towels. Ask that guests 'leave it as they found it' as most guests who were interested in this type of retreat would be respectful of the next guest.
We started sharing another cabin in this way in 2011, and have been gratified that every guest has left the cabin in good shape and clean for the next guest. Once a month or so, we check out the cabin and restock supplies, if needed. At the cabin are plates, glasses, utensils, toilet paper, paper towels, a Coleman 2 burner stove for cooking and fuel for it. As It is camping, we ask that you bring sleeping bags, candles and/or flashlights, etc. - what you would for any camping trip. In front of the cabin there;s a small fire pit and grill. Woods are full of kindling and dead wood for fuel for the woodstove and campfire. There's a camp saw and ax, please only use dead wood, there's plenty on the 20 acres. IN DRY SEASON BE SURE NO COMBUSTIBLES ARE NEAR THE FIRE PIT WHEN YOU MAKE A FIRE, AND DON'T LEAVE AN UNATTENDED FIRE.
For heat, there is a new, very effiicent Napoleon airtight woodstove. We will send instructions in cose you youe not familiar with the use of airtight wood stoves. There is an outhouse about 100 feet from the cabin.
THE ROAD: The wood road in is 1 1/2 miles long. With a regular car it's not a problem. We have a Prius, which is quite low to the ground, and we have taken it there a couple of times with no problem although we drove carefully in a couple spots that are a little rough. The last 400 feet, however, are quite steep, and, unless you have 4 wheel drive for good traction, walk this last part unless you are confident of your cars traction up the hill. WINTER: If there is snow, you would need a four wheel drive vehicle, as only the first part of the road may be plowed.. With snow, the last 400 feet to the cabin would need to be walked, even with 4WD. If you book it for winter, and it snows, there are two options. If you don't have 4 wheel drive, with good tires you can drive to the last hill if the snow is light, you'd have to walk the last 400 feet down the hill to the cabin. If there is deep snow, you wouldn't want to drive in at all, and we would give a refund. If there's any snow, and you are uncomfortable driving in, we will make a refund. We will include more details of the road in winter if you are inquiring about a winter stay. WATER: The Potic Creek flows out of a reservoir serving the Town of Catskill, so we know its clean, however, no surface water is recommended for drinking. There is a drilled well next to the cabin, and we have a small submersible pump at the bottom of the well that runs off a car battery. The power cord that comes from the well plugs into your car lighter socket, and about 2 gallons a minute flow from a 1/2 inch flexible pipe at the top of the well. There is a car battery in the cabin to use if you are not driving down. This pump replaced a hand pump - shown in one of the photos - which was charming, but never worked very well. CELL PHONE SERVICE: Usually, we can get cell phone service, but not always. Chloe's Iphone always seems to work, Andrew's Blackberry only sometimes, despite both being served by ATT. When it doesn't work at the cabin, if we walk to the top of the hill, it always seems to work. Having said that, we know that different providers have different coverage areas, ours is ATT, and we cannot guarantee what service other providers will give there.
