Beautiful, large architectural home nestled in the Siskiyou/Cascade Mountain forests of Southern Oregon. About 15 minutes to downtown Ashland, 20 minutes to Mt. Ashland Ski Area and alpine hiking, and a three minute walk from the front door to the Pacific Crest Trail with meadows, forest and ridges looking out to many mountain ranges. This home is a peaceful, quiet, and beautiful getaway: close enough to Ashland to be convenient, yet surrounded by old forest and mountains and right on top of Siskiyou Summit. You'll the way the natural light floods the house with s feeling of being out in nature even when you're inside! Features fully equipped kitchen and dining (both formal and informal), two large, open living rooms, large sun room and two-person Ofuro hot tub overlooking the forest, 2-car garage, seasonal Swedish sauna house, and walking trails. For children, If you would like a full-size crib and high chair, please let us know. Kids call it 'the adventure house' and there is plenty of room to play indoors and out. Outdoor play structure, paved drive for bikes, lots of nature to explore.
Concerns: We don't have any bears or mountain lions in this neck of the woods, so an evening stroll to watch the sunset is quite safe. We are above the elevations where poison oak grows. No one has ever gotten a tick on them, not even ourselves when we are doing work on the land. If ever needed, it takes the ambulance 10 minutes to arrive at the house (really!).
Families and couples often spend weeks here, working remotely and enjoying nature during all the seasons. Professional companies have also found it a beautiful place for a work retreat (usually renting the log house as well). We have excellent Starlink satellite internet and cell phone reception is always very good. Callahan's Resaturant is a mile away, providing breakfast, lunch and dinner is you'd like easy access to a nearby dining.
The town of Ashland is home to the renowned Shakespeare Festival. Smaller theater companies are also quite good. Being a thriving "tourist town," restaurants are outstanding, nearly mind-boggling in number and variety, making exploration fun.
Children really enjoy the ScienceWorks Museum, Lithia Park and Wildlife Images. Children also enjoy riding their bikes (and little training bikes) on our long paved driveway, catching frogs by the pond, having 38 acres to explore safely. Sledding and building ice caves in the winter is fun! We recently built a big play structure with swings, slides, a little kitchen, etc.
Also in the Rogue Valley are many wineries and wine country tours. The Britt Festival, Rogue Valley Symphony, and smaller venues (such as a few of the wineries), provide a wide choice of music performances.
Rafting companies offer their usual adventures (in season) on the Rogue River. Noah's River Adventures is conveniently based out of Ashland. Mountain bikers enjoy the trails that connect from the top of Mt Ashland down to the town (often using Ashland Mtn Adventures bike shuttle service). The surrounding mountains, lakes and rivers provide manifold opportunities for fishing, boating, swimming and exploring.
Seven Pacific Crest trailheads literally surround us. One is a hop, skip and jump from the house. The trailhead for Pilot Rock is a few minutes' drive. Thankfully, not that many people come up to walk or run. On the weekends there may be three cars parked at a trailhead and during the week almost no one. Mt Ashland's alpine forest road and PCT trailheads are accessible by foot and car from about May through mid-November.
Many opportunities exist for winter sports. For alpine skiers and snowboarders, we have Mt Ashland Ski Area (20 minute drive) and Mt Shasta Ski Park (1.5 hour drive). For x-country skiers and snowshoeing, a multitude of choices which I'm happy to share with you (and the maps you might need). For back-country skiers the areas behind Mt Ashland offer endless ridges and bowls, Mt McLoughlin and Mt Shasta provide interesting terrain as well. And there's good old sledding with your kids from the house and also up on the mountain. We are lift/lodging partners with Mt Ashland Ski Area, so you can purchase lift vouchers from us while you are here.
During all the seasons, our homestead is a good place to find comfort, relaxation, great outdoor exercise and inspiration in the midst of beautiful old forests and meadows and mountains. Whether you are looking for a retreat or a time with family and friends, you can settle in and enjoy. And... kids can play freely and there's plenty of room to roam!
The space
The homestead is located on the Siskiyou Summit just south of Ashland. The 38 acres of forest (unlogged) are the site of the historic old wagon (and early automobile) road, now our driveway, crossing the summit from Oregon to California. This has been our family home since 1982, and we've been caring for this peaceful land ever since.
We are part of the bird flyway and our forest is home to thousands of birds. Twenty to thirty different bird species can be heard in one sitting on the deck or by the pond. We had a wonderful event last spring when two baby Great Gray owls hatched and the family is still here. Animals are primarily deer, squirrels and fox.
On the property there are three houses (the Log House, the Forest House, and the Pond House), all far enough away from one another to be private and secluded.
We live permanently on the property with our dog, Kellen, in the Pond House. We enjoy meeting people and will be available if you need anything during your stay. The Log House will also be rented at times, has a separate driveway and parking area with forest in between. The house has a key pad entrance so you can check in if we're not home when you arrive. The garage door also has a keypad. The central heating and air conditioning is adjustable to your comfort. Many guests like to enjoy a fire in the wood stove on cool evenings. All details for getting to the house, getting into the house, using the WiFi, house rules, and everything else will be available to you upon booking in a detailed itinerary section.
Guest access
Guests will have access to the Forest House, the seasonal sauna, the gazebo, the pond, and the entire property. EV charger is available on request ($10 per charge).
Other things to note
Our dog, a medium-sized McNab, is very friendly. If you feel uncomfortable around dogs, please let us know and we can adjust to you.
Also, please note that the sauna is readily available during sauna season (October through mid-May). It is an additional $25 for a sauna. Let us know ahead of time and we will help you get it fired up.
