Notes from the host
Chloe's Lake Cabin Near Woodstock Music Shop
This is a charming 'Camping Cabin' in the woods on more than 23 acres of woodlands overlooking a 1 1/2 acre lake. [Some would call it a pond, but it is 10 feet deep with a thermocline, by definition, a lake - more on that below]
This tiny cabin has a maximum occupancy of 2 adults, or two adults and a child. There is a queen size mattress in the sleeping loft, and the bench on the first floor has a 6 inch thick foam seat that is the size of a single bed. If you are considering more than two, there is a Sioux Tipi on the 20 acres that has two beds. It can be rented separately or together with the cabin.
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You don’t need a car to come to this wonderful 23 acre paradise! From NewYork City, there is a bus to Saugerties New York. The bus stop is 5 miles from the property, so the taxi fare is modest. Search for “Stagecoach Taxi” and you’ll find the phone number. If you prefer, you can take the train to Rhinecliff, New York, but the taxi will cost more, as that is 20 miles. There is a small deli / market within walking distance – 1 mile. The market on Tuesdays offers Pakistani dinners that we recommend. Some days they prepare Mango Lassi, highly recommended!
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This property has one other retreat on the 23 acres, A Sioux Tipi, but it cannot be seen from this cabin. [As the crow flies, it is about 200 feet away] Chloe's Cabin is insulated and is heated. There is a sleeping loft with a queen size mattress accessed by a ladder. Chloe's Cabin is 8 feet by 10 feet, and 13 feet high, plus a covered porch. The cabin does not having running water inside. There is a water well with a solar powered pump [see below]. The cabin is not connected to the electric grid - that's what 'camping cabin' refers to. We have installed a small solar electric system. This provides 12 V DC to operate a lamp in the cabin and the pump at the well. The Tipi Room has electricity and can be used to charge electronics.
There is a Kevlar canoe for your use. Lake has lots of fish - bass, sunnies, and carp. The forest has lots of wildlife, deer, fox, bear, wild turkeys, owls, etc. For cooking there is a 2 burner Coleman camp stove, and outside, a fireplace with a grill. It is an idyllic getaway for those who appreciate nature.
In 2018, we plumbed and electrified a small outbuilding [the "Tipi Room"] that is about 200 feet from the cabin. The Tipi Room has hot and cold running water, a toilet, sink, outdoor shower, a microwave oven, and a small refrigerator. As it is not a heated building, the water must be shut off and drained in late October or early November, and is not turned on again until April. [Otherwise, the plumbing would freeze and break]. The Tipi Room and the facilities are shared with the guests, if any, staying at a Sioux Tipi, which is the only other structure on the 23 acre property. Year around, it has electricity, if you need to run an appliance or charge a device. In winter, when the water at the Tipi Room must be shut off, there is a well near the cabin with water that operates all year around.
There is a floating dock at the edge of the lake. The canoe and the floating dock are shared with guests of the tipi. The dock has a ladder, which is the best way to access the lake to swim.
About the area: Saugerties is about 3 miles away, a sweet village with numerous antique shops. The center of Woodstock is 8 miles from the property. The equestrian 'HITS' is nearby. This is at the edge of the Catskill Mountains, with fishing, hiking, tubing, and other outdoor activities nearby. For the past 32 years, this has been one of our favorite retreats, starting in 2011 we began to share it with like-minded people.
In the summer months the lake has watermeal, tiny pinhead size leaves that float on the surface. When it's breezy, the lake surface is clear of it, when it's totally calm the leaves spread out on the lake. When cold weather comes, they're gone. Our favorite times there are October through May. The cold weather makes the water clear, lake-like, in summer, it looks more like a pond.
A guest has suggested we caution that getting into the sleeping loft requires climbing a ladder, and, if one is not physically fit, old, or overweight, it could be a problem. I am 80 years old, though, and it's still easy for me. As this is a safety issue, please err on the side of caution -- if in doubt, please do not book this cabin. We request anyone much over 200 pounds not book the cabin because of the loft ladder.
Below is the outline of a plan we started with in summer 2011, to share it in a way that is reasonably priced without putting too many demands on our time. So far, it has worked out really well, and almost all the more than 300 guests over the past few years have enjoyed their stay.
When we started thinking about the possibility of sharing it, 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, deal with cleaning and housekeeping that goes with having a rental. Our goal was to be able to keep this charming spot, not as a profitable business, but at least have the expenses and taxes covered. After we retired, owning and maintaining a $500,000. property just to camp a few weekends a year became extravagant.
To make sharing the cabin work, we decided to ask guests to bring their own sleeping bags and towels, and that they “leave it as they found it” This has worked well, it seems that guests who are interested in this type of retreat are respectful of the property and of the next guest. Most all guests have left the cabin in good shape and clean - this has exceeded our expectations and has been gratifying.. If you're not prepared to leave the cabin clean and tidy, with all the dishes and utensils washed, please don't book this cabin.
Every month or so we check out the cabin to restock supplies and fix deficiencies, if any. We have at the cabin plates, glasses, utensils, toilet paper, paper towels, candles, a Coleman 2 burner propane stove for cooking, and fuel for it. As it is camping, we ask that you bring sleeping bags, a flashlight, matches, etc. - what you would for any camping trip. If you don't have sleeping bags, you can bring queen size sheets, there are quilts and pillows at the cabin.
In front of the cabin there's a fireplace with a grill. The woods are full of kindling. We supply seasoned and split firewood. IN DRY SEASON BE SURE NO COMBUSTIBLES ARE NEAR THE FIRE PIT WHEN YOU MAKE A FIRE, AND DON'T LEAVE AN UNATTENDED FIRE. There is a maul for splitting the seasoned firewood. In 2019, we purchased a “kindling cracker” for the cabin, a really cool device for making kindling from firewood.. We send a photo of it, plus a "campfire primer" to guests after booking.
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Following are notes sent to us by guests who spent a week at the cabin in 2014, with information about getting to the cabin if you don't have a car, and about the [then] new well:
'- For anyone without a car, the bus from NYC to Saugerties is excellent, the Saugerties Stagecoach taxi to the cabin was not costly.. We brought enough food for 7 days in our backpacks, no problem. [Host’s note: If you don't bring all the food you need with you, there's a market one mile away that's shown on the topo map we send]
- We drank the well water - it was perfect. . .
Spam heads up:
If you don’t receive an email from us with maps and key information shortly after you book, let us know, sometimes our emails to guests go into their spam folder.
A recent inquiry asked some questions and we copy them and our reply below:
1) Is it safe there? (I mean, are there any strangers and/or any dangerous animals around?)
2) Is the lake swimmable?
3) How far is the lake from the cabin?
Answers
It is safe around here. No dangerous animals. We have seen bears a few times on the property, but they are not dangerous. We did have to buy a “bear-proof” trash can. Lots of wildlife, we have seen over the years wild turkey, great blue heron, geese, green heron, ducks, foxes, deer, and now there's a resident beaver family. The lake has sunnies and bass. You may see our enormous grass carp, nearly 3 feet, we introduced years ago to eat algae - it is vegetarian, so you can't catch it with bait. It is advisable not to leave food or anything outside that would attract bears. In addition to fishing in the lake, we often see people fishing in the nearby reservoir from the bridge [see the topo map for location].
> The cabin is about 75 feet from the lake, on a little hill overlooking it.
Is it swimmable? For us, it is swimmable, whenever the water is warm enough. We often use flotation devices [little inner tubes or rafts one can buy for a few dollars]. In the fall through spring, up until some time in June or so, it is clear and "lake-like." Sometime starting in June, watermeal grows. Watermeal is a plant like a tiny pinhead size leaf. It floats on the surface of the water. When there’s a breeze, it blows to the edge of the lake and the surface is clear of it. If there is no wind, it spreads over the lake. Also, the water gets more pond-like in summer.- some people wouldn't choose to swim in it, but we do. The lake maintains a thermocline all summer - the surface water gets warm, and the deeper water, several inches below the surface, stays cool - having a thermocline is one of the differences that distinguishes a lake from a pond.