It’s not often that a home makes you audibly ooh and aah, but when I opened the door to this wood-paneled Phoenicia treehouse (after a slow and steady, somewhat treacherous reverse down the driveway, mind you), my eyes went wide. The wraparound living room windows pulled me in, connecting the large open-plan living room and kitchen with the equally spacious back deck. For a Manhattanite, this kind of space and proximity to nature is king.
I was visiting the area with my mom on her first trip to upstate New York, and was thrilled to find the home to be just a few minutes’ drive from Phoenicia Diner—an old-school diner people line up for on weekends and buy merch from to wear back home. On a Thursday morning, it was busy but without a wait—a pro for heading Upstate midweek.
The well-decorated two-bedroom home fits up to four comfortably, so we had plenty of elbow room for the two of us. The rooms are fairly equally sized, but one has a king bed, en suite bathroom with a standalone tub, and a wall of windows overlooking the woods surrounding the house—making it worth a friendly fight over. There’s a fully equipped kitchen, should you want to bring groceries and cook meals, and a washer and dryer in the second bathroom.
During our stay, I found myself particularly drawn to the chaise tucked into the corner of the living room, as it was the perfect place to work and read while gazing out the windows at the tall trees and slow-moving creek down below. The cool, curved couch isn’t as comfortable by comparison, but is perfectly fine for sitting and chatting, and is positioned next to a deep, sink-into-it armchair. Of note, there’s no TV in the home—if you’re looking to get away in nature but still keep up with your shows, bring a laptop or tablet.
The cabin would make a lovely spot for a reading retreat or a couple’s weekend. If you come as a group, there are plenty of ways to stay entertained nearby or at home; a few classic board games sit on a shelf in the living room, and out back, you can grill meals, sit around the table with a deck of cards, or make s’mores by the campfire. Without exaggeration, there are a half dozen different seating options out back, from the hammock strung between two sky-high trees to the cushy loungers on the deck to the camp chairs positioned in front of the second firepit.
Outside of the gorgeous home, Phoenicia is a small town with a cute little Main Street to roam and dine at. From here, you’ve got easy access to a range of hiking trails in the surrounding Catskills Mountains as well as the nearby towns of Woodstock (we had a great meal at Silvia), Mt. Tremper, and Hunter. It’s right by the Rail Explorers starting point too—we were there during a rainy week, but next time I visit, it’s on my list; guided groups can cruise through the woods on a railroad-turned-pedal track. Or I’ll just return to my corner spot inside the Muddy Creek cabin—either sounds good to me.