Minutes away from the Downtown and UT, and just steps up the street from a trailhead for Ijams, Wilderness House is a home surrounded by wooded Tennessee beauty in South Knoxville neighborhood.
Take off out your front door for a hike or a day of mountain biking, enjoy some cold beers around your backyard fire under the trees and stars, or explore the local breweries and restaurants of Knoxville’s urban food and dining scene only a short drive away.
Airy, spacious, and full of natural light from the bright and wooded surroundings. Steps from nature, and moments from the best Knoxville has to offer.
You will have compete access to the whole house. There is one bedroom with a queen and ensuite bath. One bedroom has two twins and one with a queen. There are two sofas in the basement for more guests in the basement. In the basement is also the TV, foosball and the pingpong table (which has a crack but still works just fine). You can also chill around the backyard fire pit with your family and friends.
There is parking for at least three cars in the driveway.
Property manager
Mario Martini
Premier Host
Languages
English, Italian
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Must provide an driver's license to show proof of age
Important information
You need to know
This property is managed by a private host (a party not acting within their trade, business or profession). EU consumer law, including the right of withdrawal, will not apply to your booking. The cancellation policy set by the private host will cover your booking.
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
On-site parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Host has indicated that there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property
Host has indicated that there is a smoke detector on the property
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher and a deadlock
We should mention
This property does not have any lifts
About the area
Knoxville
Knoxville is home to this holiday home. James White Fort and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame are cultural highlights, and some of the area's attractions include World's Fair Park and McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture. Travelling with kids? Consider Frank H. McClung Museum, or check out an event or a game at Neyland Stadium.
Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum - 4 min drive - 4.4 km
Knoxville Convention Center - 5 min drive - 5.4 km
University of Tennessee - 6 min drive - 6.1 km
Neyland Stadium - 6 min drive - 6.4 km
Thompson–Boling Arena - 7 min drive - 7.1 km
Getting around
Alcoa - Knoxville Airport (TYS) - 24 min drive
Restaurants
McDonald's - 7 min drive
Calhoun's on the River - 6 min drive
Cancun Mexican Restaurant - 6 min drive
Taco Bell - 8 min drive
Szechuan Garden Chinese Restaurant - 6 min drive
Frequently asked questions
Is SoKno Wilderness House pet-friendly?
No, pets are not allowed at this property.
What time is check-in at SoKno Wilderness House?
Check-in begins at 4:00 PM.
What time is check-out at SoKno Wilderness House?
Checkout is at 10:00 AM.
Where is SoKno Wilderness House located?
This family-friendly Knoxville holiday home is within 1 mi (2 km) of Ijams Nature Center and Tennessee River. Blount Mansion and Craighead-Jackson House are also within 3 miles (5 km).
Reviews
8.8
Excellent
Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
The house was absolutely disgusting when we got there. I had to clean both bathrooms and the kitchen. The only reason we stayed was because the kids wanted to have the foosball table and ping pong table. Plot twist…both were broken and we couldn’t use them. The only TV was in the basement and it didn’t work either. There was no dishwashing detergent or laundry detergent. Several of the doors were broken or off the hinges. We were super unimpressed with this house.
This cute little ranch is nicely updated inside. My family and I enjoyed our stay while visiting the area. The boys enjoyed the ping-pong table and TV on the lower level. Beds were very comfortable and although we did not cook, the kitchen is super cute! Would stay here again if ever backed down in Knoxville.
Very Good stay. Good location/short drive to anywhere we needed to go. Only have two recommendations for the listing I wished I had known before the trip. 1. Only TV is in the basement. 2. Beds described as 2 king and a double queen. It was actually 2 queens and double xl twins. Overall stay was great. 5 stars, great host!
Nice home. As advertised. Nice bedrooms, easy to cook in kitchen, and nice game room. Well stocked. Only complaints were ice maker didn’t work and Wi-Fi was spotty; internet went out two nights in a row.
Nicholas S.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2025
6/10 Okay
Rhonda H.
8 Jun 2025
Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication
Suggested Improvements
Beds were comfortable. The place was clean and spacious. Better lighting needed on porch to see keypad in the dark. The kitchen windows and front door need curtains for privacy. One tv in the basement was not sufficient nor comfortable. Much needed upgrade with bedroom decor if seeking the advertised 5 star. The curtains are worn out and did not fully cover the windows. Make sure house keeping clears out all trash from previous guest. Beer cans left in can in basement and driveway. Overall it was it was decent and the price was reasonable but just not what I’m accustomed to.
Cute yard. Quiet neighbors. Beds were comfortable. It was hard to watch TV because the wifi was spotty. Previous renters left trash and dirty dishes. The remote downstairs was dead so we were unable to controll the heater.
What a great location for the city. Loved the house and it has so much potential. We did have a few problems and the host was very quick to reply. Cleanliness is a must and that is what it was lacking. Great floor plan and nice size rooms but if its not clean its a no go for me. Neighborhood was nice and quiet. Felt at ease.
Great communication with the owners. Home was clean and easy to access. Great basement with ping pong and foosball and large tv (only tv in the home). Liked that they had shower supplies and good towels. Would stay again.
We had to stay for 12 days and this location was perfect! Close to Knoxville and UTK - the neighborhood was quiet and the neighbors so nice. Great parking for our SUV and a U-Haul. Communication with the host was easy and helpful. We would definitely stay again and highly recommend!
Our stay was awesome and the owners/property managers were so great to work with! When we got to the property there were no chairs around the fire pit outside. I messaged them and let them know that was an amenity we were planning to use and at some point chairs were delivered! I Would definitely stay in another one of their properties. Clean and responsive! Thank you for an amazing stay.
The property was fine, but could use some TLC.
Location was fine and listing was accurate, but the house has seen some ware since the photos were taken and could use some touch-ups and a deep clean.
It could also help to put materials like bath towels or dish sponges out in the open rather than having guests hunt for them.
We booked this home about 7 months in advance and the layout worked perfectly for our family. The downstairs game/tv room was nice amenity. Wish there was a TV upstairs though so you weren’t as separated from family if you want to watch a game or news on TV. Outdoor fire pit was in bad shape and not useable. Overall house was small but nice and worked well for us.
The house is beautiful, very clean and very spacious. We spent a lot of time downstairs, watching sports, playing ping pong and table foosball. We loved the proximity to bike trails, downtown and restaurants. Anything that needed to be communicated with owner/company went very smoothly and fast.
If anything the only downfall is the limited seating space for eating as there is no dining table but only the barstools at the island. Fingerfood was the Choice. All in all, a wonderful family getaway.
Beautiful style and only 12 min. from the heart of the city!
So the huge pros are that the house style is VERY nice and welcoming. The beds were REALLY comfortable which is rare to find! And of course being able to meet up with family in the city only 10-12 min. away very easily was a HUGE plus.
The biggest downfall we found was that while the house appeared clean at first, we quickly found that it was actually VERY dirty/dusty in that we actually had to sweep and vacuum - esp. The rug. All plants in the house were covered in dust.
The vents in bathrooms and living room are quite filthy which you may want to address. The whole place really needed a good mopping. I believe someone actually did mention this before in a review saying that it was surface clean but not deep cleaned. I did bring all this (the dust, vents, etc) to the owners attention. Esp. if they are paying a cleaning company who is not doing their job!
Re: thermostat- when the air is on, the basement literally becomes freezing cold unless you turn heat on... which is a shame because the basement is HUGE and really awesome with games & tv is but we sadly did not spend much time down there due to the cold and not wanting to make the house hot with heat. Also be aware that the thermostat seems to default to different settings I'm guessing at different times of the day? During the night it would often get really hot. I kept thinking my husband was turning if off really early in the morning because it was too cold since he is up by 430 but found out the day before leaving that he hadn't been doing that so it wasn't necessary to then ask the owner about it.
From the standpoint of suggestions after being a family of five staying there I would say that having a larger table would be VERY beneficial. Grabbed one of the living room chairs to pull up to the table for three of us and set up two of us at the bar table. (in the pics it shows 3 bar table seats but it is now only 2) It was a little tricky to additionally have our daughter and son in law over for dinner though we made it work.
A larger trash can would be a great idea too!
Other things to be aware of for the kitchen are that there is no toaster and we noticed the Teflon pots and pans are peeling pretty bad. We always bring our own large skillet to cook in and a good kitchen knife since we always find vacation house to be lacking lol
Overall though, a pretty good stay and I just like to make sure families esp. are aware of the details I would've wanted to know when deciding on a house!
This house is great for families. The teenagers enjoyed having their own space in the finished basement as the parents hung out in the kitchen/family room.
Cindy G.
Stayed 5 nights in Nov 2023
About the host
Hosted by Mario Martini
Languages:
English, Italian
Premier Host
They consistently provide great experiences for their guests