Cloaked in a bit of mystery, this tiny house adventure is designed for city slicker families.
Families today are often on the move, especially in Boston and New York City where bustling is the norm. Getaway offers city dwellers the chance to escape to a secluded tiny house surrounded by nothing but leafy trees, babbling brooks, and a crackling fire – no more than a two-hour drive from the city. Frankly, it’s kind of magical.
Our weekend escape to a 200-square-foot tiny house was the perfect break for our family of four, plus the family dog. A few days of thinking small helped us return to our big lives with a fresh perspective and a slower stride.
KidTripster Tip: Getaway is growing, building tiny houses across the USA! Check the website for additional locations for an off-the-grid adventure near you.
Location
Here’s the mystery part: you don’t know exactly where you’re going until a week prior to your stay. It’s a secret! The Getaway team will contact you about your location, how to get there, and what supplies are provided before you pack (lightly) for your escape. They are easily reachable and responsive to questions before and during your visit.
Getaway locations vary depending on the city that you are fleeing. We were hightailing it out of Boston; those cabins are located in a wooded area near Epsom in southern New Hampshire, just a short drive from Boston on I-93. If you don’t want to drive or don’t have access to a car, Getaway recommends taking the Concord Coach bus from Boston’s South Station to Concord, followed by a brief taxi or rideshare to the tiny house.
Cabins
In the New York area, Getaway operates three 2-person tiny houses, three 3-person tiny houses, and one 4-person tiny house. For Boston area guests, you can choose from one 2-person tiny house or two 4-person tiny houses.
We stayed in the Ovida, which included an indoor bathroom with electric toilet (no, it doesn’t smell), a small kitchen area with a two-burner stove and mini refrigerator, two large loft beds, one couch bed, and a two-seater table. The cabin is heated for the cooler months; there are fans and screened windows (no air conditioning) for the summer. Don’t worry about bringing linens and bath towels; those are provided, in addition to biodegradable shower products. We had plenty of space and only bumped our heads on the ceiling a few times before catching on!
KidTripster Tip: There’s a sweet, personalized story behind each cabin’s name. Read about yours online before you go.
The area was remote but not too remote for a family of city slickers. A small creek ran behind the tiny house, which was a perfect place for our kids and dog to get properly soaked. They dried off by the campfire and roasted s’mores that ruined their dinner from the supplies provided in our cabin. We played cards in the cabin after dark and went to bed early for a quiet night of sleep that didn’t include the sounds of traffic passing by.
Cost: $99 to $119/night, depending on the day of the week; if you’re bringing your pet, there’s a small fee. These tiny houses book quickly, so reserve well in advance. There’s even a waitlist!
KidTripster Tip: Cell service may be spotty, and there’s no WiFi in the cabins… on purpose! Each tiny house does have a landline for calls to the Getaway team or to 911, in case of emergency.
Meals
Getaway homes come stocked with dry provisions and snacks for purchase, but we decided to drive ten minutes away to a store for a few essentials, like hot dogs and more s’more supplies. Getaway provides a list of suggested nearby restaurants, but our kids begged to return to our tiny house to play instead.
KidTripster Tip: You’ll find firewood and charcoal on site for purchase. Plan to cook outdoors.
Activities
Sip your coffee leisurely. Have a conversation. Make scrambled eggs over the campfire. Do nothing and everything that you don’t do in the big city.
We woke up with the sun and went on an early morning hike to discover a teeter-totter and a tiny house nearby, where another family with little ones was staying. That simple seesaw occupied our girls for hours until they decided to build their own tiny fairy houses in the dirt. They also played in the creek… again. My husband and I opted for free-range parenting during our forest stay and scrapped all of our plans to find a fishing hole or venture to the nearby state park. Instead, we found a soccer ball in our car and had a family scrimmage.
It was simple. Perfect.
Carla Corban Kath lives in Boston with her husband and two daughters. She grew up fighting the humidity in Mississippi and has had flat hair ever since. The only thing that makes her hair stand up is spiders… and a day with no sugar.
This writer received a complimentary stay for the purpose of this review. However, all opinions expressed are solely her own.
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