The cabin straight on from the lawn: black board-and-batten siding, white porch posts, a cedar deck, and the forest rising behind the roofline

The Cabin in Ancram

A one-bedroom cabin and cedar sauna in the woods of Columbia County, New York.

A newly renovated one-bedroom cabin off a quiet back road in Ancram, in the part of Columbia County that has stayed farms, stone walls, and second-growth forest. Black board-and-batten outside; inside, white walls, a whitewashed pine ceiling, a king bed, and a full kitchen. A cedar barrel sauna stands in the trees behind the house, a few steps from a fieldstone firepit and a seasonal stream. Hudson and Rhinebeck are under twenty-five minutes by car; Millerton is closer. Starlink covers the video calls; the road has no streetlight. Sleeps four, welcomes dogs, and sends a portion of every booking to Wag Creek, a rescue-dog sanctuary in the Hudson Valley.

Forty-three hours

A two-night stay here runs from a 4:00 PM check-in on Friday to 11:00 AM on Sunday. The photographs below are in that order.

  1. The gravel drive curving through the woods toward the cabin and its shed

    Fri 4:00 PM

    Check-in opens. Your door code arrived by text this morning. The last stretch of road is gravel; the property is set back with no shared walls or neighbouring guests.

  2. The cabin straight on from the lawn: black board-and-batten siding, white porch posts, a cedar deck, and the forest rising behind the roofline

    4:10 PM

    One bedroom, one bathroom, four guests. Black board-and-batten, a cedar porch ceiling, and private parking beside the house.

  3. The sectional under a run of clerestory windows, with the glass door to the deck standing open

    4:30 PM

    The living room. The sectional is also the second bed — a queen sofa bed for guests three and four.

  4. The coffee corner by the corner windows: a kettle and a Nespresso machine on the counter

    5:00 PM

    The kitchen is stocked with the basics — oil, salt, pepper, coffee — but not dinner. Groceries are in Copake or Hillsdale, so shop on the way in.

  5. The cedar barrel sauna standing in the trees behind the cabin, its door open

    7:30 PM

    The cedar barrel sauna, a few steps into the trees behind the house. Private, for guests only.

  6. The firepit: a ring of fieldstone with four Adirondack chairs at the edge of the woods, a fire going

    9:00 PM

    The firepit, beside the seasonal stream, stocked with wood. Fully extinguish it before bed. Quiet after ten.

  7. The bedroom: a king bed under a whitewashed pine ceiling, with a bench at the foot of the bed

    11:00 PM

    King bed, Egyptian cotton, room-darkening shades. The bedroom's sliding doors open onto the lawn in the morning.

  8. The covered porch: a cedar-plank ceiling, a black table and two chairs, the gravel apron and lawn beyond

    Sat 8:00 AM

    Coffee on the porch — Nespresso and a kettle inside. Two bicycles are yours for the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, reached from Millerton.

  9. The property from above: the cabin's clearing in unbroken forest, with the Columbia County hills on the horizon

    Sat 11:00 AM

    Everything is under an hour: Hillrock Distillery 3.5 miles, Millerton and Pine Plains 5–15 minutes, Hudson and Rhinebeck under 25, Great Barrington 35.

  10. From the back deck: the gas grill, the lawn, and the sauna small against the tree line

    Sun 11:00 AM

    Checkout. Gather used towels, take out the trash, turn things off, lock up. Late checkout can be added when the calendar allows.

The stay, in numbers

Sleeps
4
Bedrooms
1
Beds
1 king bed (bedroom); 1 queen sofa bed (living room)
Bathrooms
1
Check-in
4:00 PM–6:00 PM
Checkout
11:00 AM
Dogs
Welcome, no pet fee; declared at booking

The place, briefly

  1. 3.5 miHillrock Estate Distillery — Field-to-glass bourbon and rye, in Ancram.
  2. 15 minMillerton — Farmers market Saturdays, mid-May to late November; rail-trail access.
  3. 25 minHudson — Warren Street; Amtrak station.
  4. 25 minRhinebeck — Across the river.
  5. 35 minGreat Barrington, MA — Foothills of the Berkshires.
  6. 2 h 5 minNew York City — Just over two hours by car; Metro-North at Wassaic is 30 minutes from the cabin.

Where we actually send guests →

Book

Two ways, both real. Booking on Airbnb confirms instantly. Inquiring directly reaches the host, who replies within a day.

 

Book on Airbnb — instant confirmation

Direct inquiries open once the inbox is connected. Until then, the Airbnb calendar is the one to use.