I stayed at the Shire in the woods for a few days of quiet. What a beautiful place! It's in the middle of the Solana State Forest. There are cabins of all size, for families large and small. It would be great for group meetings too. My cabin was clean and welcoming, and it perfectly fit into the surroundings. There were trails to hike and nice cozy places to sit along the way. I can't wait to go back with my family or a group of friends. read more

Went for four nights. Very rustic. I've read the other reviews and agree with them. Still didn't hate it. Just noticed how worn out things are. Curtains need replacing. The dead bugs between screens and windows need cleaning out. Pillows and linens need replacing. Not dirty just worn out. The notes everywhere are tacky. A folder welcoming you with cabin rules and whatnot would be better. The main house and across from it look like hoarding homes. The octagon is closed to visitors. We only saw the property owner the day we arrived. No welcome to Shire in the Woods. It was "ya got a credit card?" There is so much potential for this place. Loved all the chickens and turkeys walking around. The horses were covered in flies and seemed miserable. The smell was pungent but it was pretty warm. Ticks were bad. We all got ticks even with spray. Would I go back? I would love to if they'd put some TLC back into the places. The pictures on their website are so old. The cost was reasonable for what was provided. Again, it wasn't horrible but it could use some love from the owners. read more

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This is a tough one to review. I was here for two nights for a solo getaway, just looking for some quiet time to reflect, journal, meditate. It's normally fully booked so was happy I claimed a cabin kind of last minute. The experience definitely had pros and cons. I stayed in the Meadows. This is a studio, with a daybed in the main room.(description says King size. It's so not.) Since I was by myself, that was fine. There's a small kitchen with microwave, toaster over, mini fridge and cook top. Also a very small bathroom. (Shower is 2x3, I'm pretty sure. Showering is nearly impossible.) What I loved, that might bring me back: The grounds. I loved stepping out of my cabin and just wandering the trails. One day I was out for an hour without even realizing it had been that long! The woods are beautiful and the trails are pretty easy to follow. I also loved the peace and quiet and "away-ness" of it all. There is enough space between the cabins that you can feel alone but not completely isolated. Sitting in the small cabin with the sun streaming in and reading and jounaling was great. So - location and surroundings - great! What I didn't love: the condition of the cabin. I wasn't expecting luxury, nor did I want it. But everything felt so dirty. The dish towels, the oven mitts, the throw pillows.. all need to be thrown out. They're gross, stained, ripped. The bed and the pillows are also kind of gross and generally uncomfortable. In hindsight, I should have washed dishes before I used them. I love that other reviewers mentioned the notes EVERYWHERE! For a place where you're meant to go to unwind, there are so many admonitions! So it's a tough call. Will I be back? I love the grounds but felt uncomfortable in the cabin. I was there in winter/early spring so didn't have an issue with bugs or smell from the horses, but others have mentioned that. Just not sure. read more

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Great layout of the property. The trails were a fun adventure with many things to see. Owners were attentive read more

Shire in the Woods - Our cabin, the Woodlands. - Vacation Rentals Near Me - McGrath, Minnesota

We stayed in the Meadows cabin in January 2023. I wanted to love this place. Unfortunately the cons outweighed the pros, and I won't return. The positives: It's a beautiful setting with wooded trails which were fun to snowshoe. The Meadows cabin feels quite private. The heat worked well (it was actually too warm for us although we turned it way down), and there's a wood stove. The cabin has a couple of live potted plants, which was a nice touch. The overall aesthetic is "thrift store" which may be good or not so good, depending on your tastes. There are restaurants, grocery store, brewery, etc within a half hour drive if you need them. The negatives: First of all, I think it's important to know that all the photos on Shire in the Woods' website and on AirBnB are many years old and not at all representative of what the place looks like right now. Inside the Meadows cabin, the "king size day bed" is actually a twin size trundle bed with incredibly lousy mattresses, nearly threadbare sheets, and flat pillows. Everything was super dusty, the carpet (in a cabin, in the woods!) was filthy, there was crusted on food on several of the dishes. Basically, nothing was very clean. Curtains are torn. Not enough basic supplies (no coffee filters, for example). There's a teeny tiny shower, but navigating your way up into and down out of it, between the toilet and sink, is not safe. The shower curtain will stick to you. And then there's the notes. Ugh. Notes everywhere. My partner found them "quirky." I found them passive aggressive, sometimes rude. Finally, this is a so called hobby farm. They have horses and miniature horses (a positive!) in small pens with minimal shelter and lots of poop (negatives!). It wasn't a problem in January, but in the warmer months you are definitely going to encounter smells and insects, so bear that in mind if you're bothered by it. read more

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We just stayed in the Loft. Cozy little cabin. Wonderful caring, attentive owners. Being fall, the trails were absolutely beautiful. Well kept as well. So peace filled and serene. Thank you Michael! Jane C. and Pat J. read more

I would have to concur with the individuals below at 1-star. They obviously stayed at the Cedar House, the description was 'The Cedar House is a unique place surrounded by decks and porches. It is built into a hill with the east and north sides facing into the forest and the other sides facing into an open southerly view...........' To the south was a horse paddock, if this was known, we wouldn't have rented that particularly location. It does smell like horse manure--Agreed. While I appreciate rustic, a sea of horse flies and ladybugs is not rustic. The 9 of us killed maybe 75-100 flies with a flyswatter before I drove 40 minutes to the hardware store to pick up RAID. Insect genocide ensued. I regret nothing. The staff was something of an eclectic bunch, from a woman kissing a swan, to a very unique groundskeeper who kept reminding me to leash my dog (while I was literally holding the dog on a leash, and he had never seen the dog off leash). To the 3-hour ordeal with a very disinterested owner's relative on the TV PIN code for the Youtube.tv application. Like it's your tv, write down the code, it's our subscription and costs you nothing. The insanity of instructions that seems to be written by a serial killer concerning all manner of things: bathmats, laundry, microwaves, cigarette disposal, are posted everywhere and were concerning. Then the cultish spirituality hippie stuff is fine, until it becomes overbearing. The other adults in the group agreed that our 3-day weekend was really just ACT-1 to a bad horror movie where the unsuspecting characters realized things aren't what they seem. The place could be great, just bad innkeepers more concerned about horse rehabilitation. Clean up the owner's portion of the property, be honest about cabins location property, and lose the attitude. read more

The place was nothing as mentioned. The pictures on the web site were from several yrs ago. When we arrived we were told the place was not ready due to the last visitors using all the laundry. Once we were able to go in, there were notes everywhere. The washer and dryer in the listing did say guests were allowed but when we got there there was a sign Do not use, Shire employees only. I complained and they said because there was a leak but we could use it. Once I did use it the washer leaked no there was no beginning. Nothing was mentioned that there was a horse farm right outside the door. The worst part of the trip was the mosquitoes and thousand of flies. We complained but the owners said the flies aren't from the horses. Not true they were horse flies. We had to run to and from the truck. How awful this experience was. There was not a tv, dishwasher, or garbage disposal. Do not stay at this place unless you want to be eaten up by flies and mosquitoes. read more

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My husband and I stayed here 4 days on our honeymoon in December 2016. It's a hidden gem. We are going back this month to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. Beautiful setting. Owners were great, allowed us to ask questions and yet keep to ourselves. Highly recommend. read more