Entire home

Country Retreat Nestled in Wooded Valley

Country Retreat Nestled in Wooded Valley

Photo gallery for Country Retreat Nestled in Wooded Valley

My home in the forest
Exterior
summer's gardens
Spring lilacs blooming
Misty spring day

Overview of Country Retreat Nestled in Wooded Valley

Reviews
9.6 out of 10 Exceptional
3 bedrooms2 bathroomsSleeps 10

Popular amenities

  • PoolPoolPool
  • Free WiFiFree WiFiFree WiFi
  • WasherWasherWasher
  • DryerDryerDryer
  • Outdoor spaceOutdoor spaceOutdoor space
  • KitchenKitchenKitchen

Explore the area

Map
Spring Grove, MN
  • Popular LocationBeaver Creek Valley State Park19 min walk
  • AirportLa Crosse, WI (LSE-La Crosse Municipal)41 min drive
  • Popular LocationLa Crosse Center45 min drive
  • Popular LocationUniversity of Wisconsin-La Crosse47 min drive

Rooms & beds

3 bedrooms (sleeps 10)

Jesse's Room- bedroom 3

Living Room 1

Master Bedroom 1

Meadow's Room-bedroom 2

Sewing Niche (in hallway)

2 bathrooms

Bathroom 1

Bathtub or shower · Toilet

Bathroom 2

Bathtub · Toilet

Spaces

Deck or patio
Kitchen
Garden
Dining Area

About this property

Country Retreat Nestled in Wooded Valley

This spacious home is nestled in a wooded clearing, giving you privacy and delight in the life of the forest surrounding you. The birdfeeder has flocks of birds visiting all year with delightful variety! We offer all the comforts of home since we also come here for our haven getaway. We have collected art, antiques and nature treasures. Enjoy reading my son's journal of the beavers living in the valley with maps of the dams and lodges!
Red Oak post and beam construction have created an open kitchen, dining room and comfortable living room. A separate family room offers an extensive library and entertainment center plus another sleeping area for 2 with use of downstairs bathroom. Large windows and a sun room give views of perennial gardens, bird traffic to the bird feeder and bath, cheeky chipmunks and squirrels running on the garden fence and silent deer. Sunlight warms the golden hues of the oak floors, wainscoting, furniture and butternut cabinets. The heated sunporch offers a lush jungle of flowering plants and herbs year round.
3 bedrooms upstairs and a hall space have beds for 8, dressers and closets. (one large bedroom has a queen and king bed in it.) An upstairs bathroom has a claw foot tub for a cozy soak.
Because we are opening our home to you with so many personal touches, we ask that you don't come here for a drinking party weekend.
The yard offers a picnic table and lawn chairs, a badminton net, a stone fire pit for roasting marshmallows or hot dogs and relaxing by the fire's glow in the dark forest with its night sounds. There is a charcoal grill. In season, the garden may have tomatoes, herbs, cucumbers, peppers. The yard and grassy clearings in the woods have scrumptious wild berries to pick; red raspberries, strawberries, black caps mid summer and big blackberries in August and September. You can see eagles and hawks soaring above and in the spring and fall, flocks of geese pass over with their plaintive honks.
Explore West Beaver Valley. Hike dry runs for crystal rocks, fossils and hidden waterfalls cut deep in the rock. Climb the bluffs to rock outcroppings with caves and wild inhabitants! Follow West Beaver Creek, rich with rare songbirds, herons, kingfishers, a mallard hiding her ducklings in the weeds. Wade or be brave and swim in a deep refreshing pool! Hike the mowed trails in Beaver Park. Take a tour of historic Schech's Mill and buy cornmeal or buckwheat flour, all within a mile!

Property manager

Lynn Selness
Premier Host
Premier Host

Amenities

Pool
Kitchen
Washer
Dryer
Free WiFi
Outdoor space

House Rules

Check in after 4:00 PM
Minimum age to rent: 21
Check out before 11:00 AM

Children

Children allowed: ages 0-17

Events

Events allowed

Pets

No pets allowed

Smoking

Smoking is not permitted
Please leave shoes in the entry. Sort your garbage into paper, recycle, trash and compost pail. Leave kitchen clean and dishes done.

Damage and incidentals

You will be responsible for any damage to the rental property caused by you or your party during your stay.

Important information

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
Parties and events are allowed on site
Host has not indicated whether there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property; consider bringing a portable detector with you on the trip
Host has indicated there is a smoke detector on the property
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit

We should mention

A car is required for transportation to and from this property

About the area

Spring Grove

Located in Spring Grove, this vacation home is in a rural area. Beaver Creek Valley State Park and Root River reflect the area's natural beauty and area attractions include Houston Nature Center and Spring Grove Aquatics Center. Be sure to check out the area's animals with activities such as game walks and birdwatching.
Map
Spring Grove, MN

What's nearby

  • Beaver Creek Valley State Park - 19 min walk
  • Root River - 16 min drive
  • Viterbo University - 45 min drive
  • La Crosse Center - 45 min drive
  • University of Wisconsin-La Crosse - 47 min drive

Getting around

  • La Crosse, WI (LSE-La Crosse Municipal) - 42 min drive

Restaurants

  • Dq Grill & Chill - 14 min drive
  • Good Times Restaurant Pizza & Bar - 16 min drive
  • Elsie's - 16 min drive
  • The Wired Rooster - 15 min drive
  • Farmhouse Eatery & Gifts - 15 min drive

Reviews

9.6

Exceptional

Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
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Rating 10 - Excellent. 59 out of 76 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 14 out of 76 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 1 out of 76 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 2 out of 76 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 76 reviews" "

9.2/10

Cleanliness

10/10

Staff & service

8.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

10/10

Check-in

9.8/10

Communication

9.6/10

Location

9.6/10

Listing accuracy

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Brandon B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
comfortable & quiet
We had a great stay. Rustic enough to feel like a cabin. Comfortable enough for the kiddos.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Susan F.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Remote and quirky
Very remote if you want to get away from it all. Not very comfortable beds.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Karen S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Peaceful birdwatching in the woods
This was a delightful home filled with interesting displays and comfortable antiques. It is not far from other houses, but the woods make it feel like you are in your own secluded get-away. The birds that visited the feeder were very entertaining. The only challenge was carrying luggage and supplies up the rough hewn stone steps from the parking to the house.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2023

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Peaceful Spot, private location.
Nice & secluded home. Outside steps are in need of repair. Place is musty, took a day to air out.Several spiders crawled out of the drain every time you took a shower.
Stayed 5 nights in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Cade M.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Excellent Bluff Country Getaway
The house and property were full of country charm. The attached green house was my favorite place to sip on wine and read. The yard was very private and rustically beautiful with the wild flower gardens and many birds coming and going at the bird feeders. The bluff country is an awesome place to sightsee and explore. From the local Grist Mill to the Amish farms.
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2023

About the host

Hosted by Lynn Selness

Host profile image
I'm Lynn. My childhood was spent in New Jersey and next I landed in the midwest where I married, had 7 children and lived for 25 years. In 1999 we all (13 of us then) moved to CA to run a bamboo nursery where the whole family could work together. We had a bunch of teens and early 20's kids by then, and we rented out our MN home. This went rough on my MN house so I reclaimed it and have been restoring it for some years now. Our CA experience was tough and I lost my husband, so I supported my 2 youngest children, Forest and Meadow, for 15 years. I established a goat dairy in the Santa Cruz Mountains where I still reside. I was so happy to be able to return to my MN home, I was always homesick for it in CA and now love coming back whenever I can escape the farmwork. Now I have 9 precious grandchildren in CA and 3 great-grandchildren, so I treasure my time there also.

Why they chose this property

Building our home was my heart's desire, to live in this scenic valley, the same wilderness valley I had first moved to in the state in 1976. I had lived near the source of West Beaver Creek surrounded by wooded hills with my baby Willow. Years later we had 5 children and bought 5 acres, cleared the house site and milled the oaks for our home in the “big woods”. I loved gathering limestone rock to terrace the hillside, build the steps, even the entry floor. From pouring the footings to shingling the roof, it was a creative work of joy with help from many friends. My last 2 children were born here and 2 grand daughters. We homesteaded for many years, raised the 7 children with our gardens, chickens and goats.

What makes this property unique

I hope you sense the tranquility and beauty of nature all around you here. The fragrances of the valley, the earthy dampness cooling the summer evenings, the magic of fireflies twinkling in the deepening woods shadows, the call of the whippoorwill, owls hoot to each other, the coyotes yelp, a lone cry of a wolf, all are spellbinding. Every season here is rich for me. I find God's voice speaking to me and refreshing my spirit in this place.
I love the friendly small town feeling of this community. They celebrate their Norwegian heritage with colorful holidays like Nordic Fest in Decorah, IA, Syttende Mai in Spring Grove, and their farm life with harvest festivals, Steam-engine Days, horse and tractor pulls. I love the cultural aspects, Shakespeare Festivals in WInona, La Crosse's Art and Music Festival, Riverfest, Lanesboro's plays, and my favorite, Spring Grove's outdoor Black Barn plays. I love visiting the Amish farms with their produce stands, maple syrup, furniture and basket shops and bakeries.
My family have always enjoyed the outdoor activities, bike trails, canoeing the Upper Iowa and the Root River, the Mississippi backwaters around the islands. There's a bird sanctuary near Alma where during migrations, swans, pelicans, Canada geese and Snow Geese gather in noisy flocks. There are little towns up and down the Mississippi for shopping, music, great restaurants, wine-tasting. My kids loved the caves near Harmony, where you climb deep into the earth, a little too deep for some of us! We never run out of fun things to do!

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