Carson Ridge Luxury Cabins in Carson, Washington

Whenever anyone describes a location as very nice but “not really luxurious,” I immediately lose interest. I like things to be luxurious. In fact, I love luxurious things. Bring on the luxury!

This is absolutely not a problem with the completely fabulous Carson Ridge Luxury Cabins in the beautiful, wild Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in Washington State, as they have all the luxury you could possibly want. And then some.

You might think the words luxury and cabin do not go together, but at this location they do. Believe me, they absolutely do.

When we planned a trip to the Oregon and Washington area, my husband and I  decided to include the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, after reading that it was truly an amazing and scenic place. Since my husband is a serious fan of cabins tucked away in the woods but I am a fan of luxury, when we happened upon the web site for Carson Ridge Luxury Cabins, we were hooked. We immediately arranged a stay in their perfectly exquisite Mt. Adams cabin, one of three new cabins the owners designed and built from the ground up after they purchased the property.

Online, the location looked absolutely lovely, but when we actually arrived, we realized it was going to surpass everything we had imagined. From the Oregon coast where we were introduced to the stunning beauty of this state, we drove past Portland and into Washington State through some astonishingly gorgeous scenery in the Columbia River Gorge to tiny Carson, Washington. Only 45 miles east of Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, and close to incredible hiking trails, waterfalls, wine tasting, fishing and whitewater rafting, Carson Ridge Luxury Cabins is in a truly idyllic location.

We managed to drive right past the location, as the sign is a little difficult to see and the cabins are hidden away from the road, but we found it on our next pass. We thought the cabins would be on top of some secluded mountain, far from civilization, but they are actually conveniently located right near the road. However, once you are on the property, you would not know there is a road or town nearby at all because it is so quiet. So it’s really perfect because you have a remote cabin that is right near civilization!

We pulled into the small parking lot in front of the office, a nice little cabin. Every single inch of the three-acre property is beautifully designed and landscaped and the office area is no exception. It was the perfect introduction for our stay.

We were greeted by Pete Steadman who, along with his wife Latisha, own the Carson Ridge Luxury Cabins and who could not have been kinder and more helpful during our stay. He actually helped us transport our rather bulky suitcases from the office to our cabin. Pete and his wife discovered the area and were so enchanted with it that they ended up buying the location, then making substantial renovations, adding three new cabins and making major changes in the landscaping. They have designed everything in the three new cabins to exacting standards, even making the hydrotherapy tubs state-of-the-art.

We were excited to see our accommodations for the next couple of days as we headed up to the patch through the beautifully landscaped grounds. All the cabins looked beautiful but it was when we arrived at our Mt. Adams cabin that I realized I was never going to want to leave this place. A front porch, complete with swing, faces an awe-inspiring view of the mountains. A king-size, four poster canopy bed was made up with the softest bamboo sheets we have ever felt; a hydrotherapy spa tub for two and a cozy fireplace reinforced my decision to never leave.

An evening lounging in the huge tub, time spent relaxing in the soft, warm robes they had provided, and a great night’s sleep might lead one to think they have experienced the ultimate luxury. But you would be wrong because the ultimate in luxury came the next morning when Pete appeared at our door with a complete, hot breakfast tucked neatly into a basket. That’s right. Our breakfast was delivered right to our door.

Every single thing in that basket was delicious, especially the yogurt with granola and – wait for it- pomegranate seeds. You should know that when I got home, I immediately purchased pomegranate seeds to duplicate this breakfast — because the combination of yogurt, granola and pomegranate seeds was amazing. I set our little table and we ate breakfast every morning in our pajamas with the fire blazing away. Just because we could.

There were so many things we enjoyed about our idyllic stay at Carson Ridge Luxury Cabins, but one of the best was the great location. Pete kindly spent time going over detailed maps and telling us where we should drive to see local waterfalls and other sights. One of his most appreciated suggestions was a drive to Mount St. Helens to see the blast zone left from the eruption in 1980. We had no idea it was so close and it was well worth the trip. We hadn’t realized the eruption had taken place so long ago and actually had to do some research to find the date. You might agree when you actually see the blast zone which does not look like it happened that long ago!

We started our day at one of the dozens of beautiful waterfalls in the area, the Lower Lewis River Falls. It’s quite hidden away so don’t give up as you wind through the woods to find it as you will be happy you took the time.

We were the only visitors the day we hiked to the waterfall and really enjoyed the quiet, peaceful woods and the magnificent waterfall.

After a full day of driving, hiking, photographing and marveling at the beauty of this area, we were glad to return to our cozy cabin and relax in front of our fireplace on a chilly fall evening. Although I’m not much of an outdoor girl and my idea of roughing it is a hotel without room service, I was supremely content in our little mountain cabin. I can rough it – as long as I am at Carson Ridge Luxury Cabins with bamboo sheets, a huge tub, a blazing fire and breakfast delivered right to my door.

That is my idea of the perfect mountain cabin.