Hilltown Cabin Hideaway: A River Runs Through It!

Rediscover peace in the Hilltowns of Western Mass. Charming 3 BR cabin set in nature, with full kitchen, bath, laundry. Now with WIFI for 2022! Relax in a serene, safe and beautiful place. Cook a meal with friends. Take a river hike, or explore an Old Growth Forest nearby. Go fishing. Watch fireflies. Jump in a swimming hole. Lie in the meadow. Watch the clouds. Breath the free air again! See our Hilltown Hideaway Riverside Camp on airbnb: a platform bell tent & bathhouse, for 2 more guests! The Hilltown Cabin is for all those who want to truly get away to a magical, special, beautiful place of field, forest and water that is beyond the ordinary. It feels kind of like being at camp, but with a decent kitchen, a new, clean bathroom and laundry - but no lumpy bunkbeds, teen drama, or grumpy camp counselors. It's a magical country getaway that we've updated some modern touches, so that living here is relaxed, simple, rustic and bucolic - but most definitely, comfortable! We've renovated this 1940s hunter's cabin with modern amenities, like a lovely open format kitchen with new cabinets and appliances, new bathroom with washer/dryer, bright skylights and new windows, comfy beds and fresh linens. There's a small bunkhouse for overflow guests, with a screened porch for relaxing outside a quaint bedroom with an antique spindle (full/double) bed. Full kitchen with stove, fridge, freezer, plates, utensils, pots, pans etc and cooking basics like salt, sugar, coffee, oil, vinegar. In the summer, bring your bathing suit and a fishing pole! The Bronson Brook alongside the property is a great place to explore and to angle for "brookies" - and less than a mile away is the beautiful Westfield River, with some of the best angling and swimming holes in New England. Or, explore the nearby Rivulet Trail, located across from the William Cullen Bryant Homestead 10 minutes away in Cummington. This pocket of pristine forest is one of the very last Old Growth Forests in Massachusetts, and is an easy and enjoyable hike any time of year. It's also a birder's paradise: you'll hear and might even see owls, turkey, a variety of kestrels, phoebes, woodpeckers, crows, ravens, warblers, bluebirds, vireos, goldfinches, blue jays, cedar waxwings, quail (and sometimes even merganser and heron in the brook!) The Hilltown Cabin is a place for naturalists who want to experience an unspoiled and natural place. We aim to steward the biodiversity of the beautiful land we live upon, by sharing it peacefully with all our animal neighbors and keeping it undiminished and pristine. Yes, sometimes, there will be critters and mosquitos, but that's just part of country living. You will hear and could possibly even see critters like chipmunks, flying squirrels, deer, foxes, turtles, porcupines. You might even catch a glimpse from afar of bear, coyote and even bobcat roaming in the fields and forest all around you. These animals have been here longer than we have, and we feel it is there home as much as ours, and so we welcome them and live in harmony and peace with them. You can, too! WIFI came to the Hilltowns late 2021, so NOW the Cabin has full broadband service for 2022, along with a TV/DVD player that can connect to media subscriptions. Cell service is spotty in the Hilltowns (AT&T works best) but this means you can really give yourself a break from your phone, and truly get away from the hustle and bustle of regular life. (All of our guests come here to disconnect and live simply and quietly in nature for a few days, and most have said that staying unplugged and out of cell service made it a much more relaxing vacation.) Book today to enjoy a memorable stay at the Hilltown Cabin Hideaway! The whole cabin, bunkhouse and out of doors! The Cabin is set on 100 acres, from our driveway entrance all the way downstream to the cross street, Ireland Street, approximately half mile away. Guests are welcome to hike/bushwhack and explore all of our property as it runs alongside the stream - the Bronson Brook - there's a variety of deer paths and stone walls that criss cross the land, and if you're feeling intrepid, you might hike downstream for 3/10s of a mile, thence uphill from the stream to the top of Smith's Pyramid, a tiny mountain that can be seen from the corner of Main Street and Ireland Street, too, which lies on our property as well. NOTE: We recently put in a platform tent down in the woods, and a bathhouse for the tent, about a football field away from the Cabin; if it's booked, we ask that Cabin guests steer clear of both the camp and bathhouse to maintain the privacy of other guests. BUT! If you have friends or family who'd like to join you, it's listed as Hilltown Hideaway Riverside Glamp, and if it's available, book both places simultaneously for bigger groups. We live right up the driveway in our log cabin year round. If we are home during your arrival, we can be available to welcome you and answer any questions you may have, but we will leave you entirely alone otherwise. We try to check in with guests within 24 hours of the beginning of their stay, either in person or via a message out here. NOTE: We've got a cautiously friendly dog, Rufus, who might bark at you from our house above upon your arrival. Simply ignore him, he will quiet down - as he has been trained to stay at our house and will not come down to the Cabin unless I am with him. Chesterfield is one of the Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts - like the Berkshires in many ways, but a little quieter. It's 30 minutes from Northampton and Pittsfield, 45 minutes from Lenox, an hour from MassMoCA, an hour from Stockbridge/Tanglewood. But, these drives are really beautiful, relaxing and generally free from traffic! At the Cabin, you'll have access to the field for stargazing and relaxing, a choice of two firepits on the property, a babbling brook that's perfect for cooling off, and a couple of hiking trails, too starting in summer 2021. Nearby, there's hiking along the Westfield River at the Chesterfield Gorge, one of the most beautiful hiking trails in all of New England - 9+ miles of gorgeous views, fishing and swimming possibilities. Going further afield, check out the Bryant Homestead and the Rivulet Trail, a hike in one of the LAST old growth forests in New England. We'll also give guests directions to the Chesterfield Bend, the semi-secret "town beach" for residents of Chesterfield and their guests, located at a deep and swift bend on the Westfield River, just a mile and a half from the Cabin. As for food, there's a general store/cafe in the center of Chesterfield, about 5 minutes away, with amazing breads, super breakfast sandwiches, and wood fired pizzas. We have an excellent organic food cooperative 10 minutes away in Cummington where you can buy good organic staples, beer, wine, and produce. The next town over, Worthington, has a convenience and package store, and also boasts a few places to eat: a funky, gritty roadhouse bar and grill, Listons, that is the local's hangout, a more refined country restaurant, the Rabbit Hole at the Fiddlehead Inn, and finally the grill at The Worthingon Golf Club. There's also Sena Farm Brewery, which boasts a very talented brewmaster, and Stone Cellar Cidery, too - both located on Ridge Road in Worthington, and offering curbside pickup. In Williamsburg, about 15 minutes away, is the Williamsburg Market, our local tiny but well stocked old time grocery store, with all the necessities, some beer and wine, and a good butcher shop. Williamsburg has a "Cumby's" where you can get gas, and there's a great coffee shop - the Elbow Room, try the Maple Maharaja Latte - a hardware store, a really decent Chinese restaurant, Panda Garden, and new for Summer 2021, a beer garden at the Brewmaster's Pub. For folks who come in the summer who want to check out a decent local winery, we highly recommend Glendale Winery in Southampton, about 30 minutes away. Bring a picnic and enjoy gorgeous views of the Holyoke Range along with your wine. You'll need a car to get here, and sometimes GPS can be spotty because cell service in the Hilltowns is not always consistent. We'll send you detailed written directions so you don't lose your way getting here. The Cabin has broadband WIFI for 2022, but if you really need cell phone service, and can't get in touch via wifi messaging, most guests drive about 2-3 miles away in either direction, up out of our little river valley, to a higher elevation where they can get cell reception - either in Chesterfield at the General Store, or in Worthington at the Corners Grocery.