Plantasia Retreat at Anglin Falls

**About the Campsite **(whole property details below):

The tent platform is a 10' x 16' structure nestled in a hardwood forest with a single-pitched roof overtop. The platform is embanked by mature sourwood, oak, cedar, hemlock, beech, pine, poplar, and maple trees. Mornings waking up in the tree canopy are awash with the beautiful songs of rare birds.

Pristine water from our mineral spring is piped to the campsite, which features a fire pit, picnic table, and a porcelain farmhouse sink. Though within a forest, the site overlooks a wildflower meadow and organic gardens. You may enjoy a walk through the labyrinth of gardens and meander down to the creeks, or hike the forest trail to visit the spring. If you're lucky, you might receive the accompaniment of our cats or our dog Bella on your walk.

PARKING is in our driveway, below the site, less than 100 feet away. You will walk up a carved staircase through the woods to access your spot. The outhouse is a composting toilet connected to the driveway. To access Wi-Fi you will need to be closer to the house than your site.

The forest provides a cloak of privacy, but sound carries through the valley, so you may hear us or our neighbors occasionally. We live in an area that has NO CELL RECEPTION, and couldn't be happier about the peace of mind that comes with its absence. Neighbors are friendly as we have cultivated a village-like setting over the years, so feel free to walk the road. You can even walk to the trailhead of Anglin Falls!

When you are here, be aware that you are in the second-most biodiverse temperate rain forest on Earth. The health impacts of simply breathing the air are unquantifiable, but that is only because you are sharing a vast ecosystem with many beings. You will encounter hummingbirds, butterflies, newts, salamanders, snakes, spiders, and insects of all sorts in the daytime, and witness countless fireflies after dark. The symphony of night features crickets, frogs, owls, cicadas, and the occasional roll call of coyotes in the hills. Likewise, the plant life includes beautiful flowers, rare medicinals, briar roses, and three strains of poison ivy, so exercise reverence and caution. We ask that you respect and appreciate each and every one of these beings and their interwoven purposes within this vast web of life.

Property Details

Plantasia, the property, was developed initially by a family who moved here in the late 1800s and chiseled out a generational homestead over the following century. The land stayed within the family until 2019, when we stepped in. We are grateful for all the work they did before us, but remain in the process of making it our own.

Our area of Kentucky, with fertile soil and drinkable water coursing from the hills, has a compelling and persisting tradition of homesteading and the old ways. There is an excellent book written about it, if you're the reading type: Shelter from the Machine: Homesteaders in the Age of Capitalism, by Jason Strange.Our property, Plantasia, is thirty-five acres of hardwood forest, lined with limestone boulders and sandstone cliffs, the occasional old growth tree, and mineral springs pouring out pure delicious water. The rest of the property is an old Appalachian homestead, featuring organic gardens and orchards, two farm cats and one farm dog, bee hives, and a flock of domestic ducks. The stewards are Phil, Sacha, three year-old Aurora, and baby Arthur. We are particularly keen to welcoming other families and/or folks who live in relative sobriety.

The springs feed into creeks which criss-cross the wildflower meadow, creating spaces to splash and explore with the minnows, crawdads, frogs, snakes, and whoever else you might find. To the interest of fossil hunters and rock hounds, the creeks are packed with geodes, agates, and relics of an age when Plantasia was the ocean floor (~250 million years ago). Down the road, the trailhead of one of Kentucky's greatest waterfalls, Anglin Falls, is within walking distance (though you can also drive there and park).

Plantasia is also a short drive from Berea, the folk art capital of Kentucky, which features plenty of local shops and restaurants, as well as some beautiful trails on the outskirts of town (Brushy Fork for a relaxing stroll, or the Pinnacles for a big majestic hike).