Calling all fisherman, ice climbers, rock scalers, skiers, snowshoers
and High Peaks hikers. Dancing Fern Lodge, a
secluded
4 bedroom lodge, sits on 25 acres of wooded slopes between the East
Branch of the Ausable River, and the Oak Ridge section of the Hurricane
Mountain Primitive Area. Towering white pines, wildflower meadows, lush
fern glades and glacial moraines and erratics complement views of High
Peaks
mountains beyond the Ausable. Trails for cross-country skiers,
snowshoers and hikers wind their way back up to Oak Ridge, and
bushwhackers can work their way from there to Big Crow and
Little
Crow Mountains and the Primitive Area. A short hike north leads to an
old Adirondack
farmstead, where your hosts raise sheep and chickens, and keep horses
and the family cow. Anyone for farm fresh eggs? Fisherman can walk down
the driveway to reach the East Branch of the Ausable River. The
Whiteface Mountain
ski center and the major
local kickoff points for High Peaks hiking, in Keene, Keene Valley and
Adirondack Loj in Lake Placid, are all easy drives from the Lodge.
Cross-Country skiers are moments from the Jack-Rabbit Trail, and from
Mt. Von Hoevenberg and and Cascade X-Country Ski center. Ice
climbers and rock scalers have a large covered porch, and an inside
hallway with hooks, on which to hang
their ropes and store their gear.
The Lodge features three to four 2nd floor bedrooms, which can be
configured by guests. The spacious main bedroom has a king-sized bed,
along with
bunk beds. A second large bedroom has an adjustable-for-firmness
queen-sized bed, and an adjacent room has a day bed which opens up into
two twin beds, which can be bungied together. These two bedrooms are
connected by swing open
french doors, and each has its own entrance from the hallway. A fourth
cozy bedroom has a full-sized bed. There is also a pull-out couch
sleeper in the downstairs living room. All told, the Lodge can sleep 10
comfortably upstairs, and 12 in a pinch when you add the sleeper in the
living room.
Dancing Fern Lodge is
surrounded by feeding stations for song birds, so if you love
chickadees, nuthatches, titmice and woodpeckers, you'll be in wildlife
heaven all year long. Don't forget your camera, as other wildlife
sightings include bobcat, red fox, fisher, the harmless Adirondack
black bear and moose. In the evening, Dancing Fern Lodge offers Cable TV, wireless internet access, and a
hassle-free
propane stove, where you may cuddle up and stare into the flames,
exhausted by the day's adventures. Linens,
cooking and eating utensils, make Dancing Fern Lodge a
rustic and relaxing home away from home. Seasonal chills are kept out
with heat monitors. All you
need to bring with you are clothes, food, ski gear, hiking gear or
fishing poles. Your host is within walking distance, and takes care of
maintenance and snowplowing.
Guests are welcome to visit
the nearby
Adirondack Wildlife Refuge and Rehabilitation Center, where friends and
family can meet the resident wolf and refuge mascot, Cree, and see
educational demonstrations
with birds of prey, like Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, Screech Owls,
Peregrine Falcons, Red-Tailed Hawks, and a crazy raven named Abie the
Fishman, who was
rehabilitated, but hangs around to entertain visitors.
Crate-trained, house-broken,
friendly
dogs are welcome at Dancing
Fern Lodge, but must be
left in the crate when guests are not at Dancing Fern Lodge.
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