Cottage near Shenandoah NP Old Rag and White Oak Canyon

2025 UPDATE:
Please note that our cottage has changed ownership and is no longer rented as a vacation rental. For all of our repeat guests, who I have not had a chance to contact and for those of you who would like to visit the farm, please reach out. We have a few options on the main farm that we are adding to VRBO including The Barn Apartment, a studio located on the main farm. Moonshine, which is a glamping cabin and Birdsong, a secluded camping space with a private bathroom and outdoor kitchen. We hope to have a few more cottage options by this fall.
We hope you can visit and thank you to all of our previous guest.

Jen
The Farm Store at Watercress


We are located in the heart of Madison County on scenic route 231 near Old Rag Mountain and White Oak Canyon in Shenandoah National Park.
This charming cottage sits on a half-acre and is part of a 120-acre working farm. We have miles of walking paths or sit by the pond and enjoy a glass of wine or craft beer from one of our locals; Shotwell Run Brewery, Blue Quartz, DuCard or Revalation vineyards.
Our little farm store offers Animal Welfare Approved meats, cheeses, eggs, seasonal fruits and veggies and locally made products.
The cottage was a local sawmill when it was built back in the 1950s. This one-bedroom cottage has a built-in King size bed with luxurious linens, a ceiling fan and TV with DVD player. The living room has an exposed heart pine ceiling, small office area with Wi-Fi, landline telephone, full size memory foam leather futon with linens, which is ideal for one adult or children, ceiling fan, large screen TV and DVD player with lots of DVDs to choose from, dining table, small free library as well as board games. Outdoors you can enjoy an evening at the firepit overlooking pastural and mountain views, sit on the covered porch or cook up something on the charcoal grill. You have access to our farm pond, trails, the farm store and barns, all accessible by vehicle just down the road.

Farm Experiences: Please contact us for a farm tour or if you would like to visit our farm store. We offer our Animal Welfare Approved Pork, Beef, Chicken, Eggs and Lamb as well as seasonal produce, local soaps, Shenandoah National Park maps and souvenirs, local art and essential camping gear.
Sampler baskets are available for delivery to your cottage or pickup at the farm. Our breakfast basket, which includes AWA Farm Eggs, AWA Pork or Lamb Sausage, biscuit mix, local jam and local roasted coffee is a big hit for overnight guest.

Access to our river property located on a stocked trout stream is approximately 3 miles from the cottage. Just ask for a map.

We are pet friendly but do require a pet fee. We ask that pets remain on a leash when at the cottage to prevent chasing of our neighbors' cats or horses. It is also required when on the farm to prevent any chasing of farm animals including, ducks, chickens, goats, sheep, cows, pigs and cats. Please note that we have farm dogs on the property who are not leashed but they do not visit the cottage.

Our cottage property is neighbored by a lovely small horse farm. The horses sometimes come say hello over the fence. Please do not touch or feed the horses or trespass over the fence.

Please note that Madison County and the area surrounding area including Shenandoah National Park has limited cell phone service and that high-speed internet is not an option in our area. Most of our guests with AT&T or Verizon will get one to two bars at the cottage. Our Wi-Fi is perfect for checking email or searching the internet, but our satellite is too slow for video or large downloads (doing this will make the internet speed even slower for the next person). Please take this time to disconnect and enjoy the outdoors!

Please note that the cottage is located in the country! All of our homes are on well water and many homes in the area have iron, sulfur and other elements in the drinking water.

Bugs and other pests:
If you leave food on the counter or another mess in the kitchen, you might get a visit from an ant or mouse.
If you leave food outside unattended you may get a visit from a raccoon, possum, a neighbor's dog or even a bear.
If you leave the doors or windows open (without screens) you will likely get stink bugs, lady bugs, flies, spiders, etc.
If you leave the lights off at night, you'll likely see fireflies lighting up the night sky during the summer.

The lower parking lot for Shenandoah National Park (SNP) White Oak Canyon is 10 miles down lovely back roads. The parking lot for SNP Old Rag Mountain is 8 miles away and for the real adventurous a great dirt backroad to travel by if you want to travel by bike.
Shotwell Run Brewery and Blue Quartz Winery are a half mile down the road, DuCard, Sharp Rock and Revalation Vineyards are 6 miles. Bald Top Brewing is 9.5, Early Mountain and Prince Michel Vineyard are about 12 miles away. I can give you maps of nice driving tours down backroads.
Sperryville is 13 miles to the North which has some great restaurant, shops and a small grocery store. Madison is 8 miles to the South and has a Foodlion, Dollar General, 24 hour 7-11, gas stations, fast food and a few restaurants.
Looking for a great trout fishing spot? Our river property is 3 miles to the south on the Robinson River near Criglersville and a great gallery called The Possum Store, which has live music on the weekends. The Hughes River is 5 miles to the north and the Rose is 5 miles to the west, access to The Rapidan Wildlife Management Area and the Rapidan River, made famous by President Hoover, is 5 miles. Graves Mountain Lodge is 6 miles down the road. You can ride horses, attend their summer Bluegrass Festival, Fall Apple Festival or eat country style at one of their buffets, they also have a country store in Syria. Looking for some simple provisions, a great BBQ or ice cream, visit the Little Country Store just 3 miles down the road!

Please note Old Rag Mountain Trail require a permit to hike from March-November. This permit is $2 and limits the trail to 800 people per day. You must reserve online. 400 tickets are release 30 days in advanced and the other 400 five days in advance. Please see SNP website for additional info and tickets.