17 acres hosted by Judith A K.
1 lodging site
Staff verified
Accuracy verified by Hipcamp's on-the-ground team.
Judith A is a Star Host
Star Hosts are highly rated, responsive, and committed to providing incredible experiences.
Off-leash friendly
Pets can be off-leash at this Hipcamp.
All to yourself
100% of recent Hipcampers say this Hipcamp felt private.
This 17-acre site has diverse habitats, from an upland pine and hardwood forest to wild native meadows full of blueberries, asters and milkweed. The most special feature is a large tributary and creek waterway system with areas of wetland. Once choked with invasive plants, it is now a largely restored native plant and wildlife habitat that supports migrating herons, trout, amphibians and clouds of Monarch and other butterflies. In the fall I've seen Monarchs circle up in vortexes from the meadows and take off on their migration. There are several large swimming holes where the creek turns or joins with its tributary. Bridges have been installed over the tributary and over brooklets feeding into it.
A lot of care and love is going into this land. Over 500 native trees planted along the creek banks are growing into a forest - you'll see many still in protective tubes and cages. Thousands of native pollinator ground-plants have been planted or sprung up on their own, some like tiny flowering gems on the shady forest floors.
The old stone walls running through the property and around its boundaries speak to its history as a farm and an apple orchard. Swimming, hiking, fishing and bird-and-wildlife watching will fascinate you in this dynamic landscape that is constantly coming closer to what used to exist hundreds of years ago and is now reestablishing itself.
In the vicinity, there's Tetta's, a deli/cafe/gas station and small emporium with made-to-order pizza, local raw honey, mushroom, crafts, and all kinds of food, pretty much everything you need; it's been in the family for generations. Find it Northeast on Samsonville Road (County Rt. 3) at the junctions of Rts. 2 & 3. There's a hike to a waterfall if you drive a few miles down Upper Cherrytown Road from the end of Sundown Road: you'll see a parking lot with signs for the falls; the DEC-maintained trail is across the road (https://www.catskillmountaineer.com/SD-vernooy-falls-east.html). There's venues nearby along Rt. 209 with local musicians on Saturday nights: places like The Outpost Barbeque, 6611 Rt. 209 in Kerhonkson, Lydia's Cafe at 7 Old US Hwy 209, Stone Ridge. Near Lydia's is a favorite afternoon hang-out, Cherries Roadside and General, which not only has literally hundreds of ice cream flavors, but an excellent, informal restaurant. I can talk to you about many other fun places.This is a 17-acre property with different habitats on it - creeks, woods, wetlands and meadows. Home base is a huge, cream-colored canvas tent in a witch hazel grove in the midst of a woods. The tent has screened windows and doors and a spacious white tarp over it for extra rain and weather protection. The tarp extends over the back of the tent. The inside is light and airy. It also has a sheltered front porch. Inside is a double bed with an extra mattress under it, in a zip-tarp, and a daybed that pulls out into a twin-size bed. The tent will easily hold 4-5 people, 6 with a little arranging. Access to the site is down a grassy driveway, then a short dirt road through the woods. There is room for several cars at the end of the driveway and also at the campsite. A classic wood-shingle outhouse with a composting toilet (with a half-moon on the door), and firepit are on-site and a small stack of firewood. I have an outdoor, private hot-water shower/sink/mirror set up behind my house - a minute's drive around the corner from the campsite. You can take drinking water from the sink or, if you bring a Brita filter-system dispenser, directly from the creek, which has a Class A drinking water classification. Continuing down the dirt road from the tent - a 2 minute walk - you will shortly come to a meadow and a large tributary creek, called the Red Brook, named after the color of the leaves of a nearby grove of sugar maples which fall into it in the autumn. The entire property is being restored as a native plant and wildlife habitat. You will see many protected new trees and marked native pollinator plants along the creek and in the meadow. You can follow the Red Brook to where it joins the much larger Mettacahonts Creek, where you'll find a wide swimming hole, about 4' deep, or cross over a bridge into another meadow, or meander into the grassy borders of the Mettacahonts Creek. There are further woodlands, wetlands and swimming holes to explore. It is a native plant and bird sanctuary. The site is level, only the west side pine forest rises slightly above the bed of the Mettacahonts. Boundaries are clearly marked. Off-site, if you wish to see the local waterfall, the Vernooy Falls, you can drive up past my house to where Sundown Road, Upper Cherrytown and Trails End Road all meet, and take a left onto Upper Cherrytown. 1.1 miles down, on the left, is a parking lot across from the trail up to the falls. It's a gorgeous, slightly uphill hike. For any shopping, dining and amenities, you're near Stone Ridge, which has great dining, antiquing, and small-town charm. Or you can go to Ellenville, which has a theater. a crystal and antiques shops and many new restaurants. If you're coming up from the south, your GPS will probably guide you to go up Samsonville Road. Be aware that past the turnoff on the left for Cherrytown Road, Samsonville is temporarily closed while a bridge is being repaired. Instead, turn left onto Cherrytown (just past Clay Hill Road) and follow it until you reach Upper Cherrytown - you'll make a sharp left to get onto it. Follow it all the way to the junction of Trails End, Upper Cherrytown and Sundown Road. Turn right onto Sundown Road, follow it until it meets Palentown Road, which comes in at a fork on the left. Make a hard right to stay on Sundown and look for the lopped-off telephone-pole on the left that marks the driveway into the campsite.
