Husband & I are a couple of Aussies living in Venice Beach. We'd been desperate to get out of the…read morecity for a while, so we packed the car & our little rescue-mutt & headed away into the wilderness for our 18th anniversary.
The Miner's Cabin offered a perfect, romantic, rustic retreat for us. You should think of your stay there as, "glamping". The cosy, one-room-loft-bedroom cabin is clean and basic, the structure itself, utterly charming. The bathroom is but a toilet, the entire room the shower cubicle & it's VERY clean, but most bathing happened in the river, shh, I'm not gonna lie.
The cabin's heart is the pretty balcony that looks out over the crystal-clear river, where we spent a lot of our time relaxing and cooking. The kitchen is only a small bar fridge (though they do provide a large ice chest with ample space - just don't forget to buy ice), a sink, a microwave, toaster oven & an electric frying pan. Being outdoors folks though & a cook, we came prepared. I brought a portable gas burner which made the balcony a charming spot to fry up the beautiful, Steelhead Trout I was catching (FANTASTIC fishing). We ate meals out there too, to the majestic view of the river, the mountains & the pines, immediately before us. I also brought my cast iron dutch oven & used the wonderful, functional fire pit/ BBQ down on the river rock patio to roast vegetables in the fire.
If you are wise about when to open and close windows at appropriate parts of the day, the Miner's Cabin stays wonderfully cool, even in the hottest of summer days as we experienced at around 103F. I think we used the swamp cooler once for an hour out of curiosity for what it may do. At night, the incredibly comfortable loft bed was heaven. We'd open up the pretty gable windows and enjoy the cool, evening breeze and sound of the lively river.
The big house next door, also owned by Heidi, had a large family group staying there. We'd only see them sometimes when we'd use the driveway which is shared. Even with their nearby presence, the cabin felt very secluded. Occasionally folks would float by down the river and you'd share a wave or smile. You can hear the highway which is quite incongruous as you seem so far away from civilization.
The river water is incredible. Our dog's coat and our hair and skin have never felt so good from lolling about in the water.
Heidi has very detailed instructions and information available on the website and in the email package. Be sure to read them so you know exactly what you're in for and any additional costs like a dog fee etc. All the info you need is there. Heidi is very communicative.
If you want the kind of no-frills, communing with nature experience we were after, this place is for YOU!
