There’s a lot of lore attached to this home in Rhododendron. It started out as an A-frame, hand-built in 1971. The builder was quoted as saying: “There aren’t any blueprints; I’d just sketch what I wanted to build each day,” which included a towering stone chimney bisecting a circular window 40 feet high. The cabin became known as a “party place,” with the rumor that Jefferson Airplane even played there once. But by 1978, the owner/builder had run into some legal troubles involving accusations of hashish smuggling and tax evasion, and so was forced by the courts to sell.

By 1996, the next owners tapped a “destination home designer” for an addition to the A-frame structure. They wanted more space but to keep the charm of the original, adding clusters of connected buildings off to the side so as not to impede the views out that circular window, and tying it all together with 900 square feet of deck space and a medley of interior and exterior woods.

Now, entry to the home appears to be in the old portion, a sweet triangle of a foyer with a peaked ceiling and wood-clad walls, leading to the soaring great room. There, the focal point is the chimney and circular window, but the views into the surrounding forest are equally stunning.

Steps away from the living area is a kitchen clocking in at 500 square feet, with custom cabinetry, stone counters, a massive central island, and its own counter-to-ceiling window overlooking the ferns and 100-year-old trees. The kitchen feeds into a dining room with windows on two sides, then a more private wing, including the primary suite with its own stone fireplace, and a smaller sitting room/office. An additional four bedrooms are all tucked into the voluminous body of the A-frame.

Cozy nooks and crannies proliferate, from the bedroom window seats with their obelisk-shaped beveled panes, to a third-floor sleeping loft tucked into the steep A-frame pitch. As feels fitting for the setting, natural wood and stone finishes predominate, including in the three and a half bathrooms, with their soaking tubs and an original sauna. Outside, there’s about three and a half acres of property to roam, with private trails, a hot tub, and a two-car garage/workshop, not to mention the area’s plethora of hiking options. It's also a six-minute drive to the Skyway Bar & Grill on US 26.

And it turns out, 53 years later, people still can’t stop talking about this house. As it’s recently become known as a luxury vacation rental, called the Forest Lodge, and featured on the Netflix show The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals for $900/night.

Listing Fast Facts 

• Address: 21395 E Sycamore Rd, Rhododendron, OR 97049
• Size: 4,211 square feet/5 bedroom/3.5 bath 
• List Date: 6/23/2024 
• List Price: $1,325,000
• Listing Agent: Gregory Sobotka, Think Real Estate

Melissa Dalton is a freelance writer who has focused on Pacific Northwest design and lifestyle since 2008. She is based in Portland, Oregon. Contact Dalton here. 

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Editor’s Note: Portland Monthly’s “Property Watch” column takes a weekly look at an interesting home in Portland’s real estate market (with periodic ventures to the burbs and points beyond, for good measure). Got a home you think would work for this column? Get in touch at [email protected].