Anna’s place was marvelous. She has a farm, and a lovely retreat center that this little cabin is part of. The cabin was warm and cozy despite the cold wintery night! The bathrooms and showers are just a short walk, and very nice. “Glamping” at its best! The host , Anna, is a kind, friendly and warmhearted person. I hope to come back!

This is a great location and a lovely spot to stay. I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the farm, right next to all the fragrant herb gardens and colorful market gardens, plus a trail through a restored prairie. The campsite has nice soft grass for tenting, and you can park there. Nice benches around a firepit too. The farm shop has farm items and locally made foods (like elderberry jelly!) and craft items , including owner Karen’s silk scarves, and hand bound books. You can relax, learn about the farm and crafts, and explore the area. There are restaurants and shops just a few miles away, and you are less than a hour from Indiana Dunes parks on Lake Michigan.

What a privilege it was to spend a night here! I had been out of town and away from home the previous week, so decided I would stop here on the long drive home in order to break up my trip. It wasn't just good stopover, though, but turned into a great mini-retreat to restore body, mind and spirit.

This listing for the Creekwood Cabin is a new listing on the “Hipcamp” website. The Theisens, Todd and Sarah, are the stewards of this beautiful farm which is focused on organic, sustainable and restorative land practices on acreage that is a scenic mix of prairie, forest, wetlands, and rolling hills. They have free range cows, pigs and chickens who roam the farm freely and who are pretty happy campers themselves, it seems!

The Theisens also have a traditional woodcraft and wood products business using sustainable harvest of hardwoods on their land, turning downed trees into planks for hardwood flooring, wall panelling, countertops and other artisanal woodwork for area homes. They also craft more practical items, for example currently in production when I was there were several outhouses to be used at the future tent campsites they are setting up in various wooded groves on their farm, and also in the works is the production of several tiny homes that will serve as camper cabins on their farm. Any leftover treewood not used in their products is either chipped and used as woodchips for the miles of walking trails they are setting up on hill and dale all over the property, and for sawdust for their composting toilets for their guest facilities. As of yet, the tent campsites and tiny house camper cabins are still being constructed and are a “work in progress”, but given what I saw will be really wonderful when finished.

I stayed in the Creek Wood Cabin, a showcase of both their hospitality and their woodwork. This cabin is set in a shady grove on a hill overlooking a peaceful pond and marsh. The cabin is constructed with all local materials, and has a full working kitchen including microwave, stove, fridge and sink, so you can easily do your own meal prep. There is one open bedroom on the main floor, and 2 more double beds in the sunny loft above. The sitting area has rocking chairs and a library of books on various topics to restore the spirit. There are large windows which makes the cabin sunny and cheerful and makes the interior glow with warmth. There is a woodstove and a well stocked woodbox, but also electric baseboard heat if needed. Contrary to the original description in their listing, there is now running water in the cabin, with an on-demand water heater, so hot showers and plenty of water for drinking and cooking. However, note that the toilet is an efficient low-impact composting toilet so be prepared to "flush with sawdust" instead of water when using the facilities! Next to the cabin is a sauna which was nice before bedtime.

When I had arrived the night before, Todd took me out in his RTV to tour the whole farm to see all the animals and the farming and woodworking operations, and also showed me all the trails I could go on for my morning walk the next day. At breakfast time, Sarah came by with a basket of hot breakfast complete with fresh scrambled eggs from their henhouse!. Late I visited the cows in their peaceful meadow, including one calf who was pals with the Bernese mountain dogs of the farm and preferred to frolic with them rather than the other calves! Then more resting, writing and relaxing in the cozy cabin before continuing in my way. I recommend this cabin stay as one if the loveliest I have experienced, and I know I will be back for more! In summer, guests would enjoy being on the farm itself and learning all the Theisens share about simple low impact living and sustainable farming and restorative land management. If staying here you could also visit like-minded facilities such as the organic gardens or art studios of the nearby College of St Benedict, or the solar farm or Arboretum and restored prairie at nearby St Johns University. St Johns and St Bens also have myriad hiking trails and places for meditation both indoors and out. Guests of the cabin can easily access both campuses just minutes away by car or bike, with additional biking further afield on the nearby Lake Woebegone state bike trail. During the school year there are myriad cultural activities on both campuses that cabin guests could take advantage of, and a winter time stay would also be lovely with the chance for snowshoeing or cross country skiing on the farm itself or in the area, as well as the chance to just rest, read, write and restore in the peace and quiet and coziness if the cabin. It would be the kind of retreat that Thoreau himself would heartily recommend, but Thoreau never had it this good in his own cabin! Come check it out for yourself, or come for the tent camping or tiny house experience as soon as those options are ready!