I regularly peruse over AirBnB and HipCamp for unique stays. A lot of people are over AirBnb, and I totally get it and frankly I am too now unless for whatever reason it makes more sense than a hotel, or if it is a unique stay (like cool cabin, yurt, treehouse, tiny home etc). HipCamp is another place to find unique stays, and it follows the same model as AirBnb- but I believe they started primarily as campsites on private property. There are a lot of people out there with cool pieces of land, and HipCamp is a way for them to share it with the public, privately.

I booked the Lake Treehouse just a few weeks in advance. I just stayed one night, and the people who booked for the night before me cancelled so the host invited me to book another day if I wanted. I suspect they cancelled because of dicey weather, which was the deciding factor for me not going a day earlier. However after being there, it could have been kind of need to be there in the rain!

The Treehouse

The treehouse is on the edge of host Quentin’s property on a lake in Monterey, MA. His cabin is no more than 200-300 feet away so it isn’t a private stay but it’s still secluded in its own way- the treehouse is enveloped in wisteria and so you feel like you’re in your own little world in there. The wooden structure is reached by a set of rather steep stairs, with a handle on the foot of the door to push it open before you clamber inside. Four screened walls keep the bugs out but the views open, and a clear polycarbonate roof helps make it feel open. Should you want privacy, there are canvas blinds you can roll down.

What To Do

I brought my Oru Kayak with me, and it was the first time I’ve used it in maybe a year. I was worried I wouldn’t remember how to put it together (or fold it back up), but muscle memory proved strong and I had no issues getting it ready to go and put back away. I arrived in the afternoon, so by that time the wind on the lake had picked up. I paddled upwind so I could float back to the property, taking care as to not get in the way of the speedboats and pontoons peppering the lake.

For dinner, I brought a charcuterie + cheese board and a backpacking meal, but I only ended up eating the charcuterie + cheese board. It was a good thing I didn’t neeeed a fire, because Quentin’s firewood order hadn’t come in yet and I hadn’t found any to purchase elsewhere. (Admittedly, I only checked 1 gas station). But, I did want a fire because I had some marshmallows to roast! I did find some firewood-sized cut logs along the road next to some larger felled logs, but they ended up being too freshly cut. After catching fire they prematurely faded out. So, the marshmallows that I brought were a no-go :(

It was 4th of July weekend, so naturally there would be some fireworks exploding somewhere. I got lucky and a house across the lake was shooting them off and I could see them from bed. Another house out of sight at the end of the lake was also shooting them off, and the houses seemed to have a mutual understanding of taking turns. Tinkerbell did fantastic with the noise and she didn’t make a peep.

The treehouse is on the western side of the lake, so I was eager for sunrise. I set my alarm for 5:20am and while it was a rather bland sunrise I took the opportunity of the lake being completely calm to go for a paddleboard and then a swim. Afterwards I hopped back into bed for a few hours- had to take advantage of it while I was there! Even with boats buzzing by and blasting music, the treehouse was so serene!

There was no booking after me, so Quentin invited me to stay past the checkout time if I wanted to. I only ended up staying twenty past and then made my way home. It was a very brief but nice little getaway- and Tinkerbell enjoyed it too (I think).