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    Fern River Resort

    3.7 (156 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
    Updated 1 month ago

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    Cool cat
    J. N.

    Well kept, simple cabins in the redwoods. Quiet and clean. Cool cat. WiFi is okay - needed better signal. But this place is for relaxing, not internet use. Very close to center of Felton. Scott's Valley very close. Great location.

    Creek view
    Cory N.

    Only stayed one night. It's a lovely location, very quiet, and there was no delay in getting to our room. The room itself was modest. I got a suite so we would have separate beds/rooms. The cabin is clean, if a bit dated. The bed was comfortable, though a bit stiff. We were in town for a show at the music hall. It was the only place with rooms in the area. I would definitely stay again.

    Play area
    Michelle M.

    Celebrated our seven year anniversary here. What a special place. We had no idea how much fun this place was going to be. We happen to love Felton, and wanted to celebrate our marriage in this quaint town. After searching around, we found a place that doesn't force us to book 2+ nights. Located off highway 9, not too far from the main drag, is this oasis, Fern River Resort. Our cabin was so cute! There is a resident cat who showed us the way to the river, and welcomed us the next morning for some pets. We utilized the property play area, had a killer game of badminton, ping pong and horseshoes. Each cabin has a parking space, full kitchen. You can hit up a grocery store and never leave, or some of the local restaurants. I do wish we were able to stay longer, so we could play in the river and relax more, but we're always working and don't have time to chill. If you do, I highly recommend making your stay longer.

    John W.

    This little nestled cozy resort is next to the red wood forest. In fact the cabins are in between some redwoods. The river is so close. At night the river sounds so amazing. It's extremely quiet and it feels like your camping without having to actually camp! The place was super clean and there was even a kitchen. We ended up buying some food in SF. We got to reheat it to perfection and sit next to the fireplace. At night the stars lit up the sky and everything was perfect. I highly recommend the stay.

    Queenbee H.

    Absolutely Love Here!! Our family celebrated Christmas Hard and each family got their own cabin close to one another. It was a Wonderful time and the staff was amazing. We visited Redwoods near by and made memories that will last forever.

    Bill S.

    The family and I have stayed at some beautiful places on our travels, but the Fern River Resort is easily in our top 5. The Fern River Resort is nestled the Santa Cruz mountains in the tiny hamlet of Felton. It is surrounded by giant redwood trees that provide a beautiful backdrop to our lodging experience. We arrived around 4 p.m. on Sunday and were greeted by Beth. Such an awesome person. We booked cabin 15 known as "The Lilac". Now if you prefer seclusion from the other guests, cabin 15 is what you want. It sits off on its own opposite the other cabins on the resort property. It is spacious with two beds, a kitchenette and, a very large bathroom. Your view from The Lilac is of the beautiful and lush event space that is on the resort property. The only downside, is you kind of get trapped by the sprinklers between 7 and 8 a.m. The Lilac has a small tv mounted in the corner of the room. It is almost mounted too high to be practical. You have two options for WiFi. One is free and the other is $5 a day. I recommend spending the $5 a day to get the faster more stable signal that will allow you to stream movies/music on all your devices. The Fern River Resort is a great place to use as your headquarters for exploring the area. Yes, you're in the woods and it may seem like you are far away from civilization, but you are only 7 miles from Santa Cruz and all points beyond. The town of Felton, which is where the resort is located, is less than a mile down State Route 9. Roaring Camp Railroad is about a 10 minute drive. In fact, you can hear the whistle of the steam engine from the resort. The town of Felton has some restaurants and a SafeWay market. If you want to go grocery shopping I recommend going to the New Leaf Community Market. They have a great selection of wine, food, and baked goods. With the exception of one individual who I suspect at some point in his life had a badge and carried a gun, and probably still thinks he does, most of the locals we interacted with were nice.

    These are the dining room chairs in our room.

    The Fern River Resort needs to upgrade both its facilities and staff. Please check their cancellation policy closely before you book. My room smelled strongly like urine, the furniture was way beyond "well worn", the bedspread was stained and stinky. The grounds and location are beautiful. I made every attempt to contact the owner with my concern's before writing this review with no response.

    this resort is enchanting ! we absolutely love it ! magical , peaceful, romantic ! we loved it ! take my word !

    Cabin 15 ADA cabin
    Amy E.

    We really enjoyed our stay here for our anniversary. The resort is a wonderfully pretty, peaceful spot in the redwoods right near Henry Cowell park and about 15 minutes from downtown Santa Cruz. You are tucked in between old redwoods and the river is an easy walk from your cabin. It was very clean, with extra precautions taken for the pandemic such as an easy contactless check-in and check-out. We stayed at a time when the full "use" of the resort was limited i.e. no communal fire at night or bean bag toss game, etc , but to be honest that was not up our alley anyway. Our ADA approved cabin #15 was plenty of space for 2 people. Besides two double beds, it included a large bathroom , mini kitchen and dining area. The price was right for my stay. I only had one tiny irritation which was a confusing sign on the dish towels, it appeared to threaten a charge if I didn't use certain towels? Hmm..I will include the photo. In all, we loved our 1 night at the resort and my only change i would make is to extend the stay 2+ nights to be able to fully relax in the redwood-sy cabin environment.

    Erik K.

    My family and I have now stayed at the Fern River resort three years in a row. Once during a very hot summer, and twice over the winter holidays. All three visits were in the same cabin. The cabin was immaculate, clean, and beautifully furnished on all three occasions. The kitchen is fully equipped, with a Safeway market just minutes away. We drove in from San Francisco, stopped for groceries, and set up like a second home for four days. The resort itself is stunning, with beautiful river views. Nearby restaurants are charming, inexpensive, and very friendly. Our kids absolutely love Fern River. We plan on returning every year for as long as they're open. 10/5 stars. An excellent value.

    Dining table in #14
    Sara G.

    My fiancee and I spent two nights here at Fern River for our 5 year anniversary. Everything was perfect. We stayed in the Presidential Cabin #14. This cabin is the largest one on property as it comes a master bedroom, kitchen, living area, and another separate bedroom. Cabin #14 can sleep up to eight people, so we had plenty of space all to ourselves. We felt very safe here. Check in and check out was completely contactless. They even let us check in early because our cabin was ready early. All the cabins are nicely spaced out and clean. They also come with a BBQ grill on the patio. The entire property is beautiful and well kept plus it is right behind a river. It was the perfect way to spend our anniversary during these times. We will have to look into more weekend getaways at Fern River.

    M M.

    We had a misfortune of staying at this place during our trip to Northern California in August 2021. It was such a disappointment! I don't even know where to start with the list of issues. I will just list them in no particular order: - the room was tiny , dark, dingy and had an moldy and stuffy smell to it the entire time we were there. The had to keep the windows open to be able to sleep - the shower had black mold in it and was so tiny that there was barely room to stand up inside it, forget it if you want to bend down to wash your legs -the shower head was broken and the water was spaying in the wrong direction and made a puddle outside the shower - the fridge was in very small and broken so our food kept falling out and there was no ice on property - there is no dog policy for this property, but the owners had a dog that kept barking late at night and early in the morning as they kept it outside and the dig barked at anything that moved - the cabin we were in is located next to the shed and it was very noisy place that made it difficult to relax - on their website they promised blackout drapes and free toiletries for the bathroom- none of the existing. Drapes were dirty and see through which made it difficult to sleep and forget the free toiletries. - towels in the bathroom were VERY old and no longer white due to wear. - the dishes and silverware in the kitchen were mismatched, chipped and very old as were pots and pans. I don't even want to remember the drinking glasses. - on top of that they required guests to empty trash and wash dishes and change their own linens or there would be an additional charge The only thing that was good was location- but it has nothing to do with anything human made. The redwoods are beautiful and the little river that this dump overlooks made the stay bearable. Also by the time we checked in there was nothing else available as it was the busy season. Please do not buy the hype and the promises that their website makes, this is not a Resort, at most this place is a motel with a good location.

    Ceremony overlooking the river. Photo by Helena and Laurent Photography
    Megan M.

    In August 2018 we began searching for an outdoor, forested wedding venue where friends and family could stay on site. We're happy it led us to Nicole and her excellent staff at Fern River Resort. Our wedding there in August 2019 was beautiful and all guests left happy. The venue has different locations which can all serve different purposes. We opted to have our ceremony in front of the river, cocktail hour in the garden in front of Cabin 11, our reception on the lawn, and dance floor in front of the gazebo. It would be easy to change things up and make them feel your own. Their outdoor kitchen was well equipped for our big burger and hotdog rehearsal dinner and for us to bake 20 pies for our wedding dessert. There were ample spaces throughout the property for teams of our friends and family to do wedding prep activities. We hired the venue owner Nicole as our day-of coordinator. She was great to work with--communicative and professional. Throughout the night, she kept things running on time and worked with us and our other vendors to improvise and adapt when it was needed. Her help was invaluable--we didn't have to worry about anything and were able to fully enjoy our wedding. The staff at Fern River Resort were willing and able helpers throughout the weekend. Thanks especially to Joe the handyman. You know someone is dedicated to his job when he drives to the property at 1 AM to make double-check that the sprinklers are turned off so our tables don't get drenched! We rented all 15 cabins Thursday-Saturday. Our guests were very pleased with the cabins exclaiming that they were more spacious than they had imagined they would be. Nicole patiently satisfied our requests for certain cabins to be extended on Wednesday and Sunday nights. For a three night stay, it averaged to about $200 per guest. Very reasonable! Nicole made it as easy as possible to reserve and pay for all the cabins. If you're looking for a venue where you can live out your summer camp wedding wishes, look no further! We can't wait to visit Fern River again for a stay at one of the cabins and a chance to relive all our wedding memories.

    Walking along a path to the river along the property.

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    15 days ago

    We had some minor issues the first night but everything was quickly taken care of. Nice clean cabins. Great location. Hosts were very nice.

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    1 year ago

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    Nicole M.

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    10 months ago

    We enjoyed our stay here, it is rather casual check in process, cabins have a decent amount of privacy with a nice creek behind property.

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    2 years ago

    We went a few months ago, absolutely beautiful place and well taken care of, and just 20 minutes out from Santa Cruz!

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    Ask the Community - Fern River Resort

    Review Highlights - Fern River Resort

    Nicole patiently satisfied our requests for certain cabins to be extended on Wednesday and Sunday nights.

    Mentioned in 15 reviews

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