The Refuge Bungalow- Shawnee Wine Trail

Nestled in the Crab Orchard Wildlife Refuge, located on the Shawnee Wine Trail, The Refuge Bungalow offers a perfect place to enjoy beautiful Southern Illinois. Enjoy hiking along scenic forest trails or drop a kayak in a nearby lake! Discover locally made wine, beer, and spirits all within driving distance from the Bungalow. Nearby Carbondale boasts a lively local music scene with a variety of local restaurants and shops to explore. Giant City State Park is nearby waiting to be explored! Get away from it all! The rustic yet modern feel of the Refuge Bungalow will instantly set you at ease and make you feel at home. Set toward the end of a small neighborhood in the woods, surrounded by the Crab Orchard Wildlife Refuge, you'll experience the solitude you're looking for on your vacation! Our neighborhood is small, and the neighbors are amazing- we are sort of a small family on our own. If you see Faye outside waving at you, stop and chat- it will make her day, and she has a lot of great information on the history of the neighborhood itself. We just ask that you be respectful of our neighbors by driving slowly each time you go down the lane, keeping loud music/ noises to a minimum after 10, and not littering. The living/ dining area gives you the perfect, cozy spot to relax in front of the gas fireplace- just flip a switch for instant ambiance. Pop in a DVD, play a board game, or check out one of the local activity guides to plan your stay. The bathroom includes a pedestal sink, stand up shower, and toilet. Towels, toilet paper, and assorted amenities are included for your convenience. The galley kitchen includes a fridge, microwave, hot plate, griddle, toaster oven, and crockpot. There is no stove/ oven at the Bungalow. There is also a charcoal grill outside and of course the fire pit! We provide all the kitchen utensils and pots and pans that you may need! Basics such as flour, sugar, salt and pepper, etc. will be ready for guest use. Across the road, you can check out Devils Kitchen Lake. There is a kayak drop in (ask us about our kayak/ canoe rentals), paved roads that are perfect for a walk or bike riding, and a great spot next to lake for a picnic. Plus, you may get to see the geese that call the lake home holding traffic up. Down the road, you can check out Little Grassy Lake. There's a spot that's perfect for pictures, a secret swimming spot, and a marina where you can rent pontoon boats for the day! Check out our guidebooks for more local attractions! **Please remember to check the amenities list. The Bungalow does not have wifi or cable. It does have a television and DVD player with a large assortment of DVD's. Affordable/ decent wifi just does not exist for the space. Since it is located in the woods, some cell service is better than others. If you have questions about this please don't hesitate to reach out! We hope that guests can use this time to reconnect with each other and disconnect from the stress of day to day life in the digital age!** *COVID 19 UPDATE* Your health and safety are our top priority and we want to ensure a safe stay for all of our guests, so please understand if we are not able to accommodate an adjusted check in/ out time right now. We are thoroughly sanitizing the entire space and washing all linens in hot water with sanitizing cleaner added to the wash. All dishes are washed in sanitizing dish soap, and we spray/ disinfect mattresses/ pillows/ etc. We are a husband and wife team and do most of this ourselves, so please understand we are working as hard and quickly as possible to get the space ready for you!* *We are now asking that you give an estimate of your check in and out times. This will help us schedule plenty of time in the space to get everything ready. PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT TIME YOU ARE HOPING TO CHECK IN AND OUT BY MESSAGING US AT LEAST 48 HOURS PRIOR TO YOUR STAY.* Due to the COVID outbreak, check in is anytime after 4 pm. Checkout is anytime before 10. Please respect the check in/ check out times for the space. At times we have one guest checking out and then another checking in with just a few hours to clean and get it ready. With that being said, we do our best to accommodate early check in’s/ late check out if we can! Just ask! !Pets are welcome with a $45 pet fee (covers 2 pets for the whole stay)- message us with inquiries regarding pets! **NOTE** Recreational Marinuana is legal in Illinois! Check out the guidebook on dispensaries for more info or shoot us a message! We are “420 Friendly” but just ask that when partaking in any manner that may create an odor (smoking) you do it outside or on the screened in porch. Guests will have access to the following amenities: - Galley kitchen with microwave, hot plate, griddle, crock pot, coffee maker, coffee grinder, dishes, silverware and full sized fridge- No oven/ stove at the location - Bathroom with stand up shower - Large bedroom with 1 full sized bed and two sets of single bunk beds - Living/ dining area with reclining couch and kitchen table - Gas fireplace - New efficient wall mounted heat/ air conditioning system with remote control - Bar area with bar stools - Outdoor shower - Fire pit with firewood - Outdoor areas on the wrap around deck - Bedding, towels, and toiletries - Charcoal Grill with Tools - TV with DVD player and selection of DVD’s - High Chair Amenities available on request: - Pack and play - Jeep Stroller *Please Note: the Bungalow does not have a stove/ oven. We do offer a griddle, hot plates, a microwave, a charcoal grill with tools, as well as a fire pit for cooking!* If, during your stay, you find you have forgotten something, don't hesitate to ask us! If we don't have it, Grassy General Store is well stocked and only 5 minutes away! **We are not able to offer refunds outside of the cancellation window if an amenity needs repair or may not be available. If this were to be the case, we would let you know as soon as possible and offer discounts on a case by case basis. Things happen and we are a young working family that prides ourselves on honestly and keeping things up to date in our passion project, the Refuge Bungalow. Please remember that we are not a hotel chain and that we try to be the best hosts possible. We love our guests and want them to love the Bungalow!** We live next door to The Refuge Bungalow and are responsive to texts and calls. If you see our cars at home between 7 am and 8 pm, don't hesitate to knock! The Refuge Bungalow is located at the very end of a small neighborhood of 8 houses. All of our neighbors are awesome! PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL OF THE NEIGHBORS BY DRIVING SLOWLY UP AND DOWN THE LANE, KEEPING NOISE TO A MINIMUM AFTER 10 PM, AND NOT LITTERING! We are located within driving distance of everything! Carbondale is home to several cab companies. Marion has several cab companies as well. There are also numerous private party buses and shuttles you can hire for the day in this area! Note: Apparently Uber is no longer operating in the area as of now. At night, the roads near us are very dark since we are out in the country- please don't drink and drive- and always keep an eye out for wildlife in the road! **Note: as of January 1, 2020, recreational marijuana will be legal in the state of Illinois. We have been asked if our properties are “420 Friendly”. The answer is yes! We just ask that if you are partaking in some way that may create an odor, do so outside. Also, we trust that our guests have obtained everything legally and followed the laws. If you are discarding any food that may contain marijuana (LOL yeah right) please be sure to tightly wrap it in foil or a container so that no animals get into it. We are happy to share any information we have regarding and the such. We also have several articles available that go into more detail regarding legalization in Illinois and will add dispensaries to the guidebook! *** The Refuge Bungalow is located in the woods which is home to all kinds of wildlife and insects. It's not uncommon to look out and see white tailed deer or raccoons. Please admire these animals but don't bother them. Leave the woods as you found them. Since we are located out of town, at this time WIFI is not available (we are working on it). At times, you may not have signal on your phone. Take these times to enjoy living in the moment!