Oak Mountain Hideaway offers a cozy place to stay, right in the heart of some of the most beautiful woods you’ll find in Pennsylvania. Instead of car alarms and lawn mowers, you’ll hear sounds of nature — birds, crickets, deer rustling through the trees, elk bugling in the distance, a coyote’s howl.
This bed and breakfast offers two rooms inside the innkeepers’ home, as well as a former hunting cabin. Cool story about the old hunting cabin, which was on the land when they purchased the property in early 2000s. Hunting cabins, almost by definition, are not luxurious accommodations, but innkeepers Anna Marie and Ed stayed in the hunting cabin while they built the main house.
After that, the cabin became nothing more than a storage shed. Then it became a set for Generational Sins; during the filming, the old hunting cabin was gutted, so Anna Marie and Ed had to make a decision: tear it down or renovate.
Lucky for us, they decided to renovate.
The result is North Star Cabin, which can accommodate four, snugly. No touch is too small for their consideration — it’s a cozy, rustic cabin with a luxurious overtone that makes for a comfortable stay, with quaint and clever artistic touches that reveal themselves as you stay. The cabin faces due north, hence its name.
Air conditioned during the hotter months, and with radient floor heating and a gas fireplace for the colder months, you’re sure to be comfortable no matter the weather.
The cabin features a comfortable sitting area with a couch and a futon (the latter providing bedding for two people if needed), a kitchen table, and a micro-kitchen with a refrigerator, stove, microwave and coffee maker, and sink. There is additional seating on the front porch — great for watching the beautiful scenery.
The inn is near a variety of things to do, from elk viewing just 10 minutes away, to hiking right on the property or in one of the numerous state parks and forests adjacent or near the bed and breakfast, to geocaching (did you know that Clearfield County boasts five different trails? — more on that in a future article), the local winery and brewery Lumberjack Taste Trail, exploring Bilger Rocks, and much more. (Check out the links below for a variety of daytrip destinations.)
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| The dark skies above Oak Mountain Hideaway, taken during our stay. Photo courtesy Oak Mountain Hideaway |
We were thrilled to realize that above Oak Mountain Hideaway is the second darkest sky in Pennsylvania. On our first night there, Anna Marie and Ed took us out for a short walk away from our cabin to view the Milky Way — one of the Experiences they offer their guests. I’m from the heart of East Coast suburbia, and so it was thrilling to view the sky with all its many stars — the majority of which are invisible in the light-polluted skies near my home. We were rewarded with seeing several shooting stars. I really believe that folks in more urban areas such as my home in the suburbs of Washington DC and Baltimore forget what a wonderful thing watching the night sky is!
It is likely you’ll get to see some critters during your stay (and not just the ones that are sprinkled throughout the cabin or the owners funny chickens). From the safety of our cabin, we heard what we believe to be a black bear amble up the driveway, sniff around, and then wander off, leaving a chewed up jug of cider behind.
We saw a small flock of six wild turkeys while driving up the road to the bed and breakfast. And during our hike, we saw the most amazing marbled orb weaver spider — also aptly commonly called a pumpkin spider.
During a campfire one evening during our stay (another Experience offered by the innkeepers), we heard the elk bugling in the distance, although one sounded surprisingly close by. We also heard coyote howling back and forth from the edge of the property. But we were both warm and well fed, as we’d been gleefully dining on mountain pies, cooked in the campfire — both dinner and dessert.
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| Making mountain pies — yummy! Photo courtesy Oak Mountain Hideaway |
If you prefer roughing it, then consider camping: Oak Mountain Hideaway offers three rustic camping spots, which can be reserved via HipCamp.
If you stay in the North Star Cabin, be sure to go on a scavenger hunt for all the critters in the cabin — we counted 36, in fact! Can you find them all?
Know before you go: Find out more about the Experiences offered at Oak Mountain Hideaway — they’re listed on Oak Mountain Hideaway’s Airbnb info (airbnb.com/h/north-star-cabin-at-omh); also on their Hipcamp listings under Extras (rates and details are posted there). In the meantime if you are interested, contact Anna Marie and Ed to make arrangements at [email protected].
Wondering how to spend your time while in Clearfield County? There’s lots to do! Check out the articles below to get some ideas:
24-in-24 Clearfield Challenge
Adventure Awaits in Clearfield County
Applewood BBQ & Grill
Bee Kind Winery
Benezette Winery
Bilger Rocks, Update to Bilger Rocks
Bloody Knox Cabin
Clearfield County Historical Society Museum
Comfort Suites Dubois
David S Ammerman (Rail) Trail
Daytrip into Elk Country
Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub
Depot at Doolittles
Depot at Doolittles Bed & Breakfast (Presidential Suite)
Dubois Dinner
Elk Visitors Center
Grice Museum
Houtzdale Rail Trail
Kayaking on Shaggers Inn Pond
Kayaking on the West Branch Susquehanna River
Luigi’s Ristorante
Marion Brooks Natural Area
Oak Mountain Hideaway Part 1: Northstar Cabin
Parker Dam State Park Cabins
Road Less Traveled Bed & Breakfast
Starr Hill Winery
Strawberrytree Teahouse & Boutiques
Victorian Lofts Bed & Breakfast
Winery at Wilcox
Getting there: 1206 Mowery Ridge Rd, Frenchville, PA 16836
Website: http://oakmountainhideaway.com/ and on AirBnB: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/27667514?source_impression_id=p3_1604933703_hCgh7hxbX9C1HcyK
