Adventures in Thrift: Maxfield Homestead and Mountain View Cabins

I don't normally like to promote any particular brand or store.  I'm not loyal to any particular product, I just go where the best deals are.  But this past week my family stayed at some amazing little cabins in western Washington, and I just can't help but brag about them.

Our kids have never been to the Washington coast before, so my husband and I decided this summer it was time.  I grew up on the east side of Washington (where the ocean isn't) so I only went to the coast a few times growing up, but I absolutely loved it.  I loved exploring the tide pools and looking for hidden life, and I wanted my kids to have the same experience. 

My two favorite places were Ruby Beach and La Push in Forks, WA.  So when we decided to make this trip, I went on line and started looking for places to stay near Forks.  I was already aware that the Twilight series is set in Forks, WA, but I was unprepared for just how Twilight-ified Forks had become.  Every hotel I looked at was advertising a Bella and Edward suite or Jacob Black tours.  That's all well and good for the Twi-hards, but I just wanted a simple place to stay with my family near the beach.  Even the dirtiest dumpy little motels were asking over $100 a night, and with eight of us traveling, we were going to need two rooms at least.

So I started looking into campgrounds.  We love to camp and staying in a state or national park is a really cheap way to go.  My husband insisted that if we were going to spend all day in the sand, we needed a place with a shower.  Unfortunately most of the campgrounds I looked at online didn't even have running water from a community spigot, let alone an actual shower!  I have heard a lot of people talking about camping in cabins near the beach, so I searched for parks with cabins.  Unfortunately all the cabins are made for families of four or less, were an hour or more from the beaches I wanted, and still didn't guarantee a shower.

I was starting to get frustrated when I stumbled onto Mountain View Cabins in Forks, WA.  They said their cabins sleep up to eight people, have a stove and fridge, and a SHOWER!  Not only that, but they were cheaper than the scariest motels I looked at.  So we three weeks before our trip we called and made a reservation for one cabin for two nights.

A week before our trip we called back again, to confirm our reservation, no one answered, so we left a message.  We called again the next day, same thing.  A week went by with no contact.  We tried going to their website but it was mysteriously gone.  ????  We considered panicking.  Forks is about a nine hour drive from our house, and we were going to be getting in late in the evening.  So if we got there and they didn't have our reservation, all eight of us would likely be spending the night in our van.  In the end we pressed forward with cautious enthusiasm (and called several times from the car on the way there, still no answer).  We pulled in to the Maxfield Homestead around 8PM and were welcomed warmly by the brand new manager, Christine Maxfield.  Apparently the old site manager had left a week earlier (taking the reservation book and website access with him), and the new manager was there trying to pick up the pieces.

She showed us to our cabin which was sparkling clean and ready to go, she offered to have one of the ranch hands build a camp fire for us, and was at our beck and call for whatever we needed.   My husband immediately asked for a second cabin (he always does this and it drives me crazy!).   Even though we could all sleep in one cabin, he decided it would be more comfortable to have a second cabin so we could spread out a little bit.  I told the manager we only budgeted for one cabin, and she should ignore my husband.  At that point she made me an offer on a second cabin that was too good to turn down.  So we unloaded all our gear and went to sleep in our TWO cabins.

                      

The next morning we awoke to an unfamiliar sound.  Have you ever seen the movie UP?  Do you remember the snipe, Kevin?  Do you remember the sound he made?  Well, that was the sound we heard.  We were sure there was a snipe just outside our cabin, but when peeked outside, we found a peacock perched on our front porch!  To say my boys were thrilled would be an understatement.  The ranch was full of chickens, geese, peacocks, sheep, dogs, horses, and llamas.  Lots of llamas.  My kids loved wandering around and seeing all the animals as they roamed just a few feet from our cabins. 

That day we went to Rialto Beach which is only about five minutes away, we then made our way to La Push, and on to the Hoh Rainforest.  When we got tired, we headed back to camp where our host had a fire waiting, and pulled out a bbq grill for us so we could cook our dinner.  One of our girls loves horses, so we ask our camp host, Christina, if it would be possible for our daughter to go in and pet the horses.  Christine surprised us by offering horseback riding (again for a price I couldn't refuse).  That night all our kids were able to feed and ride the horses.  For a bunch of city kids, it was  a perfect day.

I can't say enough about how gracious and helpful our host, Christine, was.  The Maxfield Ranch was homesteaded over 100 years ago, and offers a glimpse of a slower pace of life.  We wished we had more time to stay there because there was so much left undone.  Old logging roads to explore.  A 100-year-old bottle dump in the forest filled with all types of antique glass.  Tons and tons of animals.  And of course the nearby beaches.

We will definitely keep this on our list of fun, family friendly, and affordable places to visit!  If you are looking for a place to stay on the coast (the cabins are heated, so you can even camp in winter!), I would definitely encourage you to check this place out.  Unfortunately they don't have a website up yet, so the best way to make a reservation is by calling Christine Maxfield at 360-640-8735.

Marcia