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All-Wood Sierra Cabin in the Woods Near Arnold/Bear Valley
| Sleeps | 10 |
| Bedrooms | 3 |
| Bathrooms | 2 |
| Space | 1,600 sq. ft. |
| Property type | cabin |
| Minimum Stay | 2 nights |
Overview
2 bedrooms + 3rd bedroom loft with 5 bed, 2 full bathrooms, laundry, kitchen
Mountain House is located at 5,200 feet only minutes from the Stanislaus River, Lake Alpine and the Bear Valley Ski Area. Nestled on a 1/2 acre lot with large cedars and fir trees you in the forest over looking the woods yet only minutes from recreation that includes down hill skiing in the winter, kayaking and canoeing in the summer, swimming and always great hiking.
The peaceful and beautiful surrounds of the Mountain House cabin make it a great retreat from the San Francisco Bay Area only 3 hours away off Hwy 4.
There is also the historic gold mining towns of Murphy and Angels Camp only just 20 minutes down the hill and of course the Big Trees State Park with it's towering 1000 year old redwoods.
Come and enjoy a weekend away in the summer or winter for a great retreat back to nature.
Snow parks and Bear Valley ski area: We have easy access to Winter recreation areas. The Bear Valley ski area which includes down hill skiing, cross country and events through the winter is only 16 miles or 20 minutes from our cabin. In addition, there are to Snow Parks monitored by the State of California near by. The Stanuslaus Snow Park, only 15 minutes up Hwy 4, and The Lake Alpine Snow Park. You need to purchase a daily pass and can park your vehicle in plowed parking lot. Cross country, snow shoeing, sledding are available at these two locations.
Summer fun with rivers, lakes and hiking: Our cabin is perfectly located for local recreation at by rivers and lakes. The Stanislaus River is only 15 minutes away, Lake Alpine is 16 miles east past Bear Valley and the wonderful Utica and Spicer Reservoirs that are perfect for kayaking are about an hour away. And for our 6 year old, we go to White Pines Lake near Arnold a great, simple place to be in the afternoon with family just down the road. For hiking the options are endless as you get up into the national forest.
About Steven Donaldson
We've co-owned Mountain House our large rustic cabin for 14 years now with two other families that are good friends of ours. We love the Sierras and found our cabin, which is located on a half acre amongst tall cedars and pines, a perfect place for relaxing and as a base camp for swimming with our kids, hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, and in the Winter, cross country skiing. And of course, it's a perfect place for our dogs, we now have two. We love it up here, hope you can too.
Steven Donaldson purchased this cabin in 1999
Why Steven Donaldson chose Gold Country & High Sierra
We love the Sierras. And we particularly like the Hwy 4 area near Dorrington and Bear Valley. It's never too crowed as the Lake Tahoe often is. And, it's only a 3 hour drive from the Bay Area. It's easy to get around and spectacular views here. It's also unique, and wonderful up in the mountains where you get all four seasons of weather in a great wooded environment.
What makes this cabin unique
We have a large deck facing out into the woods with massive pines. It's totally quiet location, very peaceful. Our cabin's interior has high ceilings that are all wood. The interior is a lot of hand done wood work, wood stove and cosy comfortable feeling. This isn't a fancy place. It's a cabin...lots of wood and great location!
Guestbook comments from the owner
We had such a good time. Show falling the whole time. Nice warm fire in the wood stove. The great room with the big windows looking into the woods makes such an impact! Would highly recommend this to friends.
Amenities
Arnold Cabin Accommodation and Amenities
- cabin
- Guests provide their own meals
- 1600 sq. ft.
- Max. occupancy: 10
- pets considered
- children welcome
- non smoking only
- Lake ...
- Mountain ...
- Mountain View ...
- Rural
- Adventure
- Away From It All
- Budget
- Family
- Activities Guide
- Alarm Clock
- Basic Soaps
- Broadband Access ...
- Ceiling Fans
- Clothes Dryer
- Firewood
- Heating ...
- Internet ...
- Linens Provided ...
- Living Room ...
- Local Restaurant Guide
- Parking ...
- Parking Off Street ...
- Telephone ...
- Towels Provided
- Washing Machine
- Wood Stove ...
- Blender
- Coffee Maker ...
- Cooking Utensils ...
- Dishes & Utensils ...
- Dishwasher ...
- Freezer ...
- Kitchen ...
- Kitchenette
- Microwave ...
- Oven ...
- Pantry Items ...
- Refrigerator ...
- Stove ...
- Stove
- Toaster ...
- Dining ...
- Dining Area
- seating for 10 people
- 2 Bathrooms
-
Bathroom 1 -
toilet
,
combination tub/shower
,
laundry in bathroom
Bathroom 2 - toilet , shower , Sky light and high ceiling
- Bathroom down stairs also has washer and dryer. Upstairs bathroom has a sky light and shower.
- 3 Bedrooms, Sleeps 10
-
Bedroom 2 -
1 queen
,
1 sleep sofa /futon
,
has dresser and side table
Bedroom 1 - 1 queen , has dresser and side table
Bedroom Loft 3 - 1 queen , 2 double , 1 twin/ single , 1 sleep sofa /futon , loft has separate sleeping area for sleep sofa
- The bedrooms are down stairs and private. Upstairs their is a very large loft bedroom area that has a queen, two full size beds and a twin bed. There is a separate sleeping area in the loft with a fold out hide-a-bed. The loft has it's own full bathroom, a separate entry to the outside on a small deck and very high all-wood ceilings.
- Books ...
- Books for Adults
- Books for Kids
- CD Player
- DVD Player ...
- Games ...
- Games for Kids
- Music Library ...
- Radio
- Satellite / Cable
- Stereo ...
- Television ...
- Toys
- VCR
- Barbecue
- Deck / Patio ...
- Outdoor Grill ...
- Wood Deck
- 6 garden chairs
- Low Allergen Environment
- wheelchair inaccessible
- autumn foliage
- caves
- festivals
- forests
- library
- live theater
- restaurants
- waterfalls
- winery tours
- bird watching
- horseshoes
- paddle boating
- scenic drives
- shopping
- sledding
- walking
- wildlife viewing
- ATM/bank
- groceries
- cross country skiing
- fishing
- fly fishing
- freshwater fishing
- golf
- hiking
- hunting
- kayaking
- mountain biking
- mountain climbing
- mountaineering
- rafting
- rock climbing
- sailing
- skiing
- snowboarding
- snowmobiling
- spelunking
- swimming
- whitewater rafting
Reviews
Excellent!
4.4/5 -
(27 traveler reviews)
we had a blast.
Thank you for allowing us to stay in your home. We had a great time. We felt quite at home and the cabin location kept things nice and cool.
a peaceful stay
True to the owner's description, this is a simple old mountain house. It is a cozy and peaceful place surrounded by tall trees. There were six of us and a dog with plenty of room to be comfortable. We cooked and slept at the house, and spent most of the day out and about visiting different sites. During the week of our stay, the weather was very hot. The ceiling fan in the house was not enough to cool the house down. We had to purchase a fan to get through the stuffy and hot afternoons until the night air brought relief. Overall, we enjoyed our stay.
Had a great time, we enjoyed our stay there over all
Our weekend there we were rained in one day and had the most magical day the last day there. Feeling and watching the snow come down was the best, as the ground filled with snow, we were able to build snowmans and we sled down the small snow covered slopes next to the mountain house. The house itself was great, it may need some updating but the way it was is what gave the it the cabin feel and charm. We had an issue with the heater not working but Steve was very responsive and he tried his best to accommodate us.
Lovely cabin, perfect location for skiing, sledding, or just hanging out
This was our first visit to this cabin and we had a wonderful weekend. We were warm and comfortable (both the central heating and the wood stove worked well) and found everything we needed for our visit.
The cabin has a large loft that's divided into a sleeping area and a small living room/play space that overlooks the main living room, with a bathroom in between. The sleeping area has a sliding glass door to a stairway leading outside, as well as a skylight. It's spacious and light, and there was plenty of bedding for everyone in our party. The two downstairs bedrooms were also clean and cozy, but those of us sleeping upstairs especially loved our space!
WiFi was reliable, dishwasher worked well, and water for showers was hot. We never used the DVD player so can't comment on that. There was plenty of wood, though we didn't need much. Kitchen had everything we needed as far as cooking utensils/pots/pans -- even a cast iron pan. Only thing I would recommend is that you bring your own measuring spoons.
The owner was responsive and flexible, and gave us helpful advice in advance of our trip, which came immediately following a heavy snowstorm.
The location worked well for us, less than 30 minutes to Bear Valley and 10 minutes from the town of Arnold. When we weren't skiing, the kids spent a lot of time sledding on the slope just outside the cabin, and both kids and adults spent time making snow sculptures on the deck.
I highly recommend this place--we will definitely return next time we plan a ski vacation!
Great rustic retreat in the woods, we loved it!
Fantastic place, great setting and we'll be back. The great room, wood stove and snow made it for us.
Kids loved sledding right outside the door. The upstairs loft is great.
thanks!
Not recommended - Look for other alternatives
The cabin does have a lucrative rate, however this is what we got for this price -
* Upon arriving Found that all the sheets and towels , including the blankets were all dirty and haven't been washed. We had to start wash all of them. The owner's response? "really sorry" . It is adequate to offer a compensation, as cleaning fee was included in the price of the cabin
* Some mattresses are Old metal spring mattresses in a really bad shape. It was so bad our kids refused to sleep on that claiming it hurts their back. And kids do not have too high standards when it gets to mattresses
* You have to drive 15 miles to the closest trash dumping station. This should be clearly mentioned. A party of 8 generates a good amount of trash in 3 days.
* There is no smoke detector (there's one broken in the drawer). This is a wood cabin to remind you
* There is a pretty thick layer of dust everywhere - the owner does say "there is a lot of dust in this area" but I don't think anyone is opening windows in December when it 25 degrees outside. This looks more like really not cleaning the cabin at all
* Last one - took the owner 3 weeks to return the damage deposit (we got a message from him he was satisfied with how we returned the cabin , so it was clear it was not due to him assessing damage), including us needing to call Homeaway to try and get him to process the deposit back. This is not how you treat your clients
On a positive note, the cabin is quite roomy and we loved the flat screen tv and Netflix. Great location if you targeting a ski vacation in the nearby bear valley ski resort (about 25 mins drive)
Bottom line - would not recommend staying here. Look for other alternatives
Map
Stanislaus National Forest, Big Trees State Park, Lake Alpine, Utica and Union Reservoirs, Bear Valley Ski Area, Snow Parks, The Dardanelles, Ebbetts Pass, Pacific Crest Trail, Bear Valley Music Festival, Murphy's Musical Theater, Wine Tasting, Angels Camp, Sonora, Jamestown, Moaning Cavern Caves, Winery's, Mountain Biking, Kayaking, Cross Country Skiing, Swimming Stanislaus River, Fly Fishing, Trout fishing, kayaking, canoeing
Photos
Rates & Availability
- Available
- Unavailable
Additional information about rental rates
| Cleaning Fee | $90 |
| Pet Fee | $20 |
| Damage Deposit | $200 |
$150 - $180 per night
Winter rates vary from $160 to $180 per night. However, rates over the Christmas and New Years periods may vary. Please contact us for a quote.
Summer and Fall rates vary from $150 to $160 per night
Owner's Cancellation Policy
Request to Book