Meet Your Host Backcountry Cabins 4-Season Activities Private hiking trails Romantic getaway? Pet-friendly vacation Meet Our Guests! Rental Rates/Prices AvailabilityCalendar E-Z Inquiry Form Email Us Phone Help Desk Join Mailing List Maps & Directions Frequently Asked Questions Safety First!  and Guest Information Adirondack Photos Adirondack Poetry An Adirondack Miscellany Personal Potpourri The Fourpeaks Story 1968-present Select Link Pages

Please WAIT! Then SCROLL DOWN for GYPSY CAMP.    [ Are you in this picture? ]
GYPSY CAMP & Cedar House
At the old Melvin farm, lilacs, ancient maples and butternuts. Our newest and smallest camp. CLICK & GO!  (On this page.)   Built at an old farmsite . . .   Amenities Summary.   Safety First! & Guest Information   About access to Gypsy.   Meet our guests at Gypsy.   The Gypsy Camp Story--How it go that way.   Guest Notes:  "we loved Gypsy. We picked the right place . . . the trailer adding a certain playful element to the whole experience"   More about Gypsy Camp (on the next page).   Lilacs and butternuts at Gypsy Camp.   Gypsy Camp: What it's like? & NOT LIKE.   Does Gypsy Camp offer what you most value in an Adirondack Vacation?  
Please SCROLL DOWN  for all 20 photos!   [Click on Photo For Full Size Image]

Cedar House and Gypsy (View West).

Kitchen Cedar House.

Rockers by woodstove.

Kitchen. North Wall.

Kitchen sink.

Built at an old farmsite with the hand-dug well still in use and the cellar nearby, lilacs, ancient maples and butternuts, Gypsy Camp is alone in a three-acre field on hiking trails with mountain views and a year-round brook.
Gypsy Camp, though small, is a two-building complex. Our old 1974 Gypsy Trailer (rebuilt 1999) with just a bed for sleeping (80 sq. ft.) and covered view deck (160 sq. ft.) is rented along with "Cedar House," complete kitchen, dining table, and woodstove (160 sq. ft., with sleeping loft, 80 sq. ft.). Propane refrigerator. Pitcher pump. Privy. For location see Fourpeaks Trail Map label [GC] and CLICK HERE for the kind of secluded living offered at Gypsy Camp.

Two buildings, two rooms, Non-smoking, Pets welcome, just 240 sq.ft. plus loft, max. 2 persons. Single or Double occupancy from $375/3days, $750/week. 11% Sales/Occupancy Tax applies to all rentals of less than one week duration. A Deposit Payment is required to secure reservation. Cancellation fees apply.  See Guest Information for occupancy limitations and financial arrangements.

Please SCROLL DOWN  for all 20 photos!   [Click on Photo For Full Size Image]

Dishes plus.

Pitcher pump (right over well).

View Jim Melvin field, Jay Mountain.

Morse (rare) woodstove.

Foldaway dining table (more chairs).

"Gypsy Camp" Amenities Summary
Bedrooms/beds: Double bed in Gypsy Trailer. Sleeping loft at Cedar House. Blankets and pillows supplied. [CLICK HERE for Frequently Asked Questions about what to bring, including linens and towels.]
Full Kitchen:  Sink with pitcher pump, apartment size (20 in.) cooking range with oven, 4 cubic foot refrigerator, dining service for 4 persons and a complete selection of utensils, dishes, silverware, pots and pans, including a toaster, a tea pot and 3 kinds of coffee makers.
Toilet: Outside Privy (outhouse).
Water/washing:  Pitcher pump at Cedar House kitchen sink. [CLICK HERE for Frequently Asked Questions about limited water at Fourpeaks Backcountry Camps. CLICK HERE for fun bathing ideas.]
Lighting: Gas lighting. No electricity. (Bring electric reading lamps, extra candles, if you like. No kerosene, gasoline or other lighting permitted.)
Fireplace/heating: Scandinavian airtight woodstove with view glass (Cedar House) Firewood supplied and propane space heater (Gypsy Camp).
Outdoors: Covered view deck with Adirondack chairs, picnic table, and charcoal barbeque grill. Hammock. Optional portable screen house. Additional fee. CLICK HERE for photo, room plan.
Miscellaneous: Dish soap, hand soap, sponge/pot scrubber, Comet cleaner, firewood, dish towels, toilet paper, trash bags, matches, candles, biscuit mix, honey, salt, pepper, sugar, etc. are all supplied.
Complete Amenities Summary and Room Plans.
Need some help deciding which Fourpeaks Camp is right for you? Use our complete Graphic Amenities Summary to compare fireplace, kitchen, water, showers, toilet, views and other amenities. For sleeping and dining capacities at each Fourpeaks place look at our Room Plans page.

Please SCROLL DOWN  for all 20 photos!   [Click on Photo For Full Size Image]

Cedar House.	Red door.	Gypsy Camp (View East).	Gypsy Camp with sun deck.	Bed with view.
Old stove, now a decorative night stand (heating by gas furnace).	View East, Jay Mountain.	Bed with view (canopy removed 2003, new ceiling).	Gypsy Camp style.

Safety First!  & Guest Information. The buildings at Fourpeaks are spread out on a 700-acre property, 2-1/2 miles end to end. To maintain an orderly, clean and safe place to live, the good will and cooperation of our guests are essential. Prospective visitors must familiarize themselves with propane (gas) safety, fireplace/woodstove safety, water safety, housekeeping responsibilities, arrival arrangements, and other matters that will affect their personal safety and comfort at Fourpeaks. If you're considering a Fourpeaks vacation rental,  CLICK HERE  for our Safety First!  & Guest Information pages.

 Access to our Backcountry Camps. There's year-round auto access to The Cabin, Sugar Camp, New Camp, Gypsy Camp and Thoreau House. CLICK HERE for driving directions right to camp!
Spring, Summer and Fall, guests at our two remote camps, Wolf's Nest and Ridge Camp, meet us at our Camp Barn Office. There, we take their food and gear and jeep it up to camp. And we take it back down when they leave. There's no need for them to pack it themselves.
In Winter, and other times when road conditions are unfavorable, guests at Wolf's Nest and Ridge Camp must carry their stuff on their own (Wolf's Nest, 5/8 mile or Ridge Camp 1-1/2 miles). Firewood plus propane for lighting and cooking are already in place at camp. Wash water is at the Well House at Ridge, but wash water must be carried up for Wolf. A full orientation to camp precedes the visit. Extra backpacks and a cargo sled are available for loan. Visitors to Ridge and Wolf's Nest are not required to pack out trash on departure.
No guest vehicles. Except for short access roads off Stonehouse Road (to Thoreau House, Gypsy Camp, Sugar Camp, New Camp and The Cabin), the use of guest vehicles on Fourpeaks roads and trails is strictly forbidden.
[More about access at Frequently Asked Questions.]

 Meet Our Guests at the Fourpeaks Photo Guest Book! A fun way to learn about our Adirondack backcountry vacations. Who came. Where they're from. Where they stayed. The Season. What they did here. Photos, Letters and Guest Book entries. CLICK HERE for our Photo Guest Book.
Pet-friendly vacations.   Romantic getaways.    Families with Kids.

See Gypsy Camp photos at our Guest Book Pages for Pam and Rich and Kim and Dan.

Discount Prices. We love to see guests come back. To make it easier, guests earn Frequent Flyers Points they can use toward Year-round Discounts. CLICK HERE to see our Reduced Rate Plans for Returning Guests.   Fourpeaks (almost) for free. Work here part-time on the trails or cleaning to pay your way. CLICK HERE  to learn about our Fourpeaks Work-Stay Program. Fourpeaks for free. Have a home or apartment in New York City? Plan your ideal Fourpeaks getaway and let us know what you have to offer in exchange. CLICK HERE to learn about a Fourpeaks Home Exchange.

The Story. At Melvin Farm.
Back from a trip to France in '73 we admired the design of the Gypsy wagons so much I just had to build one. I told Merritt about the idea and his Dad Frank gave me the frame and wheels off an old Chevy truck he had fixed up for a woods wagon. Merritt and I built it over the Winter. Scaled down to just six by ten it was a perfect fit. We bolted floor planks to the truck frame and built the walls right on it. Two storm windows rigged awning style gave lots of light plus another little window at the kitchen end. The roof/ceiling was round like a gypsy wagon should be, with a skin of plastic corrugated roofing. A 24-inch foldout cot served for a bed (now doing duty at The Cabin Screen House). It had a sink, a camp stove for cooking, two gas lights and a funny little potbelly stove. I decorated it with paisley cloth from India--a nice touch.
In the Spring of '74 we brought the Gypsy trailer up to the Cow Pond at the end of the woods road on the Hurley lot. It was a line camp, sort of. A place to hang out, another Tiny House, a base to explore that beautiful corner of the property by Rattlesnake Knob. It was so pretty there I got to work sketching and building Ridge Camp, right there by the Cow Pond. Got it all done by Thanksgiving. (CLICK HERE to hear the story about Ridge Camp.)
When Ridge was done we brought Gypsy back down and set it up at the end of a woods road (now the downhill leg of Cedar Trail) that leads out from Melvin Farm (AKA Boughton Field and Gypsy Camp field) into Cedar Swamp. I thought it would be nice to have a camp right at the edge of that forest of beautiful trees. We set a privy nearby.
Problems came up with that location. There was no opening for light and it was very wet and rocky. No way to get the bush hog in with mud holes and rocks around the camp. The place just grew up and Gypsy stayed there for years and years.
(CLICK HERE to hear The Whole Fourpeaks Story--1967-2003, 7 camps, 3 barns, 1 Stone House, 700 acres and 40 years.)

---

#1095 "we loved Gypsy. We picked the right place . . . the trailer adding a certain playful element to the whole experience"

---

[Handwritten note Oct 13, 2003.]
Thanks you Martin, Irene and George (the charmer) for making our stay here at Gypsy comfortable We had a lovely time getting lost in the woods and trying out the battery shower (cowboy showers are definitely the best way to go!).

We hope to see you again, when we'll have more time to chat and ask questions--

We never get a chance to be alone and really appreciated the privacy.

Take care,
Julia

---

From: Your Adirondack Guiude
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 07:33:31 -0400
To: u*****a@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: Your Fourpeaks visit 10/10/03 to Gypsy Camp

Dear Julia,

Thanks for your nice note. I couldn't tell from it if you
used the battery shower or not. Was that your cowboy shower?
Need feedback. Let me know. Thanks. Please visit again.

Best wishes, Martin

---

Subject: Re: Your Fourpeaks visit 10/10/03 to Gypsy Camp
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 11:06:36 -0400
From: "julie c"
To: Your Adirondack Guiude

Hi Martin~
I had to revisit the website--guess I had some of my terminology mixed up.
To clarify: the tin washtub method (not cowboy bath) was exquisite. We
warmed up some water in the sun, thanks to the great weather, and mixed it
with some water we boiled on the stove. Just sat out in the tub in the sun
and took turns pouring pitchers of water over each other. This was all of a
bath I needed and it was nice and rustic--appropriate to the surroundings.

We used the battery shower to rinse off with. It felt like more of a
novelty; I can't say that it was necessary. It's very simple and fun to use,
however, and I 'm sure there are some guests who would appreciate it.

I'll add some other comments in the guest book, but just wanted to let you
know how much we loved Gypsy. We definitely picked the right place, with the
gypsy trailer adding a certain playful element to the whole experience. We
felt like carnies traveling from fair to fair, and imagined that there was a
big festival taking place in the field around us. Obviously, it was
fantastically inspiring for us to be there.

Thank you, again. Have a wonderful autumn.

Julia
. 
Are you in this picture? Fourpeaks hosts now welcome paying guests to a 700-acre rest and playground for vacations in the Adirondack Great Camp tradition. Couples appreciate Fourpeaks secluded settings. Adventure families have fun exploring our accessible wilderness. Folks with dogs enjoy the open spaces to run their pets. A private nature retreat, a place for restoring personal energies. Are you in this picture?  CLICK HERE to find out!    [More about this at Frequently Asked Questions.]

Inquire about a Fourpeaks Adirondack Vacation/Getaway.   (Easy Inquiry Form.)

Email us  with questions or feedback.   (Easy Email form.)

Phone our Help Desk with  Tollfree or  Cell phone contact any time.

No time for Fourpeaks right now?
Keep up with us through occasional newsletters. CLICK for sample.
"Hints of Balsam and Pine from our Corner of the Adirondacks"
Join our mailing list!  (Easy form.)

Enjoyed your Fourpeaks visit?  CLICK to Tell a Friend!  (Easy popup Email form.)
Please Rate Our Fourpeaks Website. Whether you're an experienced webmaster or just a novice surfer, you may have feedback or suggestions to help us improve. We well remember the visitor a year or so ago who complained about the unpleasant glare from the HTML default royal blue links. That lead us to entirely revamp our background and link colors, making them softer, more eye pleasing. And the Florida expert who warned us about frustrating visitors with blind links. We followed his advice and now carefully identify each link so visitors know before they "click" exactly where they're clicking to.
Your comments or suggestions will be equally appreciated. 
[CLICK HERE for easy email form for your feedback/suggestions.]  Thanks.