Zu Fuß zum Old Rag | Whirlpool | Bergbauernhaus

Enjoy the outdoors near Old Rag and Shenandoah National Park! This rustic, redone farmhouse with modern amenities is a short walk to the trailhead for the hike up Old Rag, a short walk to Hughes River fishing, a 15 minute drive to Sperryville, and a short drive to wineries and other Shenandoah National Park hikes. The house is surrounded by acres of fenced open space, with a front porch, deck, hot tub, fire pit, gas grill, and 360 mountain views. The house has four bedrooms, a dining area, a large living room, a wood-burning stove, and two and a half fully renovated bathrooms.



We can accommodate 10 people. If your party is larger than 10 you can consider renting our other property, next to this one, which also accommodates 10. You can find this second property looking under my profile.



Our house is on the road to the Old Rag trailhead. It's a short walk to the Old Rag parking lots, and a few minutes farther to the trailhead, so you can start your Old Rag trek bright and early! It's also a short walk to the Hughes River, known for trout fishing, and to other hiking trails.



The property is in the area known as Nethers, with a Sperryville address, and is a 15 minute drive to the historic town of Sperryville itself. From there you can head to the Skyline Drive, Luray, and the Shenandoah River for water activities. We're also less than a half an hour by car to the White Oak Canyon trail lower parking lot. Wineries and breweries are also just a few minutes away.



About the house



The house is about 2500 sq ft., and we renovated it in 2021. You can see surrounding mountains from almost all its rooms, and in most rooms old logs adorn the walls. There is an office and sitting space as you enter, with a desk, chairs and couch. From there you can go straight ahead to a large living room, with an L shaped couch and armchairs, where you can relax and talk after a day spent outdoors, or use the 65 inch flat screen TV to stream your favorite shows.



From the living room you can enter an open kitchen/dining area, with a large table that can accommodate up to 10 people. Since this is our second home and we love to cook, we like to keep a well-stocked kitchen. You will find a large assortment of kitchen items: From cast iron cookware, to pots and steamers and non stick pans, to baking utensils such as hand mixers, baking sheets, rolling pins, muffin pans both big and small, to silicone pads, to other utensils such as knives, microplane graters and glass containers, to serving and salad bowls. There are also mugs, plates, bowls, barware, and flatware.



We also provide some kitchen essentials to get you started, including salt, pepper, a variety of spices and rubs, Spanish extra virgin olive oil, Italian Modena vinegar, baking soda, some starter ground Colombian coffee, organic sugar, Nesquik chocolate flavoring, and an assortment of black and herbal teas. We also provide an electric and a stove kettle, a moka coffee maker, an electric coffee maker that does not need paper filters, table mats, paper towels, sponge, dishwasher and dish detergent, baking paper and aluminum foil. We do not provide ziplock bags as we are trying to minimize plastic.



Off the kitchen you find the half bath renovated last year, with a Mexican Talavera sink and an antique dresser that has been reconverted as a vanity.



On the first floor, between the kitchen and entry/office room, there is also a family room with sofa, where you can cozy up to the wood burning stove, play board games, or read. We provide a revolving assortment of board games: you can refer to the picture in the platform to get an idea of what you may encounter. The games are on wooden shelves made from salvaged beams. The shelves also host a printer, which you can use if you need to; we try to leave paper, but please plan ahead in case it has run out, or there is not enough for your needs. We can provide firewood upon prior request for a fee, and you can use it for the stove, or for the fire pit outside (weather permitting) should you decide to pick up some sticks and make s’mores or toast marshmallows.



Upstairs you will find four bedrooms and two bathrooms. All the bedrooms have mirrors in them, and all have mountain views from at least one of the windows. In the hallway you will find the washer and dryer. We provide laundry supplies should you need to wash your clothes.



Turning right at the top of the stairs, you will find a king bedroom, with a cedar lane chest and antique set of drawers. Also to the right is a smaller bedroom with a queen bed and an antique chest dating to the Spanish Civil War.



To the left of the stairs you find the two bathrooms and the additional two bedrooms. Both bathrooms were renovated in 2021. One has an antique claw foot bathtub, in which you can relax after a long hike, and which also has a shower. An antique blue dresser next to it serves as a vanity. The second bathroom has a cheerful Spanish ceramic tile floor, with a glass enclosed shower and Grohe shower head. An antique sewing machine table has been repurposed as the vanity. Off the hallway with the bathrooms, you find the two remaining bedrooms at either end. The master bedroom has large picture windows, with black out curtains and a king tempurpedic mattress. The second bedroom has both a queen and a full size bed. If you need to work, it also has a small desk that you can open and use as a table for your laptop.



Outside the kitchen there is a large dining table with eight chairs on a raised deck, that easily accommodates ten, and a Weber grill (we provide tongs for the grill and utensils to scrape it). From the brand new deck deck you can see the mountains, usually the neighbors’ cows and sheep, and sometimes a llama. This deck also hosts the brand new hot tub, where you can relax after a day of hiking! For stargazing, it gets pretty dark in the area, with almost no lights in the hills and very few street lights around.



If you would like to spend time in the yard, we have outdoor games that we keep in the barn, including corn hole toss, croquet, a soccer goal, and bocce. Outside we also have a slack line between two trees and a small swing set.



Dogs are welcome and should be included in your reservation. A $100 pet fee applies for one dog per stay. Up to three dogs may be accommodated for an additional $50 per dog, per stay. No cats. No dogs under one year old.



We hope you will enjoy the farm as much as we do!



Other things to note:

*We have Starlink satellite Internet, which is fast enough stream HD movies and allow for teleconferences. The connection, however, does occasionally cut out, especially in bad weather. If the Internet does cut out for more than a few minutes please contact us. Please do not reset it, as the system will then need to be reconfigured, and we will need to send a technician who may not be available right away.

*There is very limited cell phone reception in the area. Please plan accordingly.