Riparian Buffer Wooded Creek Oasis

This was a wonderful stop in beautiful country! Kristen was very welcoming, communicative and accommodating with my last minute booking. I opted for a hammock setup right alongside the creek - which was so soothing and peaceful. There was plenty of land to explore, photograph and hike around the following day - I even met 2 friendly horses! While I did not go out on my bike, Kristen said the area roads are great for biking around on.

Kristen's home and property are absolutely beautiful. I really love that she is utilizing her space to help her community and and all kinds of people (like us!) have a place that is relaxing and conducive for reflection and allows for reconnecting with nature. Very thankful to have found Kristen and Respite in the Round :)

We stayed at site 2 which was lovely. A short walk down to the creek where my 7 and 10 year old played for hours. Perfect spot for easy camping with kids.

Definitely enjoyed my escape from the city here. It’s a super beautiful piece of land.

The good - short drive from Richmond. Beautiful back roads once you get off of 85. Nice and cool in the evenings. Awesome fire pit set up with plenty of wood for both nights. She even had it covered for us so it wasn’t wet.

The not so good - we had campsite #2. It was located directly across from the house from the driveway, we weren’t anticipating being that close but based on the previous reviews we figured we’d have little interaction. My crew and I had three dogs in total. They’re all well behaved, but are vocal and love to explore. On Saturday morning we had gotten up early and around 9a Kristen and a guest were in their private garden, which happened to be across the driveway from our campsite as well. Dogs are curious in general so they ran up and were barking. It seemed to catch them by surprise so we apologized and explained they were friendly.

Then they proceeded to weed whack for a period of time including around the backside of the chicken coop which was 15 feet away from our campsite. The noise coupled with the dogs excitement of a new person was just a little much. It didn’t last long and felt a bit intrusive.

Our group made our way to the river bank area near the house with chairs provided. We were swimming and the dogs were as well when I noticed Kristen’s male guest watching us from the porch for several minutes. This prompted me to text her and ask about the noise level and she said “if you could keep the dogs more tame that would be great.” I let her know we would move further down the river away from the house.

We returned from camp after a few hours on the creek and I received another text from Kristen that other guests would arrive that afternoon and if I could keep the dogs from incessantly barking that they would appreciate that. Very off-putting. I asked when they would arrive so that the dogs could be secured and apologized and explained we didn’t know our camping spot would be right in the main area. Kristen responded that dogs will be dogs and then informed me a friend of hers would be coming around 4p to help cut fallen limbs from a tree near our site. (?!) this just happened to be right in the middle of two tents we had arranged. So again, we headed down to the creek with the dogs and gear.

We returned to camp about 445-5 and had the pleasure of listening to the chainsaw until about 530-540 as we hung at our site. It was so hot and we were exhausted and there was one big tree for shade about 20 feet from them cutting the limbs down.

I just wish the yard work was done prior or after our arrival. It wasn’t so much of a retreat for us as we felt the need to tip toe with the dogs and work around activities at the property.

Overall a nice escape from the city, although next time I would book a site deeper into the woods to get the privacy / remote feeling we were initially expecting.

Response from Kristen, the Host, on June 5th, 2020

I'm sorry you had such a negative experience. It just so happens that this is my home which I choose to open up to campers, not a state park. I will make sure and talk to guests before doing farmwork on the weekends. I do wish you had addressed that you would be bringing three large vocal dogs with your party, but you did not. You also did not pay for wood. I should have caught that and asked you about it. My apologies. I do wish the back country site had been available for you, but y'all wanted to be close to your cars and site #2 was the best option. I have updated the description to inform that a street lamp glare is visible at this site and will make mention that it is most 'central' to farm activities.

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Beautiful location with a babbling creek and plenty of space. Kristin was incredibly welcoming and it was a perfect place for the weekend. The tent platforms are both right next to the creek and we felt very safe here.

A group of us needed a last minute place to stay after performing in Durham—Kristen was so quickly welcoming to us. We rolled in in the wee hours of the night and found it with no trouble whatsoever. I only wish we had more time to explore the property! Stunning, lush and peaceful to no end. We cannot wait to see how Respite in the Round is utilized in the years to come and feel so lucky to have been able to experience it.

It's a beautiful place! A great place just an hour away from Raleigh for a perfect weekend getaway..

We needed a quick getaway from the pace and the noise of the city, and Kristen's place was perfect for that. Due to the time of year, the stream didn't have much flow, but despite that, it was very pretty. We chose to camp in our van in the field near the barn, cooked over the fire pit, and enjoyed coffee while watching the horses and the donkey in the adjacent field. Just the relaxing getaway we needed.

Wow. Super positive and flowy energy vibrating from this sacred land. K is amazing soul and is creating such a magical place to come, sit, play, sing , dance and just Bee. Peace to ya and all the love you are harnishing. Link up another time. Ps please put more compost/mulch in the garden beds.