FOR RENT:

Rustic, secluded 3-bedroom home looking down on private Navarro River swimming hole plus two detached cabins. Near Philo in Mendocino County’s beautiful Anderson Valley and immediately next to 850-acre Hendy Woods State Park with miles of trails plus outstanding virgin redwood groves. The surrounding forests and river keep you cooler in summer’s heat. There are great views from the deck and numerous windows of the river, both upstream & downstream, with its abundant wildlife, including water birds, salmon and otter. With practically no homes in sight you feel privacy and seclusion, yet you’re only 5 miles from Anderson Valley stores, restaurants, galleries, vineyards and tasting rooms, 20 miles from the ocean, and 30 from Mendocino, an art, food & wine lovers heaven, plus near-by airport, golf course, fishing harbor, whale-watching cruises, and several rivers for boating, swimming, hiking and biking.

The house has one large bedroom and two small ones, one bathroom with tub and shower and room for washer and dryer, a large kitchen-living room, a small entrance porch and a deck overlooking the Navarro River. It can be heated by both a wood stove and a propane heating stove. One of the two cabins has a wood stove and mini-kitchen but no bathroom; the other cabin can be used for storage, art studio or office. We will not allow little children (due to river edge danger) or pets. The rent is $1400 a month. A commitment of staying at least one year plus a $500 damage deposit and first and last month’s rent (= $3300) in advance is required.

If you are interested in renting this property, here is some additional information you should know about it. An application form is available by clicking the icon on the bottom right of this page. If you’d like to apply to rent this property, you must print out this application form, fill it in and return to us at the address at the bottom.

The property is located at 18575 Philo-Greenwood Road and is currently occupied, so please do not go to look without making an appointment first (it is not visible from the road). Once invited, you get there from Highway 128 by turning west on the Philo-Greenwood Road, 3 miles north of Philo, cross the Navarro River bridge, turn left into Hendy Woods State Park, turn left into the first driveway, and stay left at the first fork in the driveway, and you end up at a brown house with two detached little cabins right on the edge of the river. That’s the property for rent. It is currently occupied, so before visiting it you must contact me to make an appointment: 707-937-1113; email

POSITIVE FEATURES:

River front setting. Great views from the numerous windows and the deck of the river, both upstream and downstream, with its always changing nature and abundant wildlife, including salmon, otter, and numerous water birds. It also has its own private beach and deep swimming hole right below the house.

Adjacent to Hendy Woods State Park (850 acres). You can walk numerous trails and into the Little and Big Hendy Woods– the only giant, old-growth redwood groves in Anderson Valley. One can also walk on beautiful woods trials 2-3 miles upriver to just west of Philo and on into that town for a meal, shopping or whatever.

Tranquil seclusion. With practically no other homes in sight, and being surrounded by just trees and the river, except for the occasional agriculture-related noise on neighboring property (disclosed below), it is very private, quite and peaceful.

Cool escape during summer’s heat. Because of the river and the cool redwood forests all about, when most of Anderson Valley is sweltering, it’s usually about 20 degrees cooler around this well-shaded river house, which is a true blessing if you don’t like 100+ degree heat.

Convenient location. It’s so secluded and quiet, and yet it’s close to so much: Philo, 5 miles away, for groceries, mail and restaurant; Navarro, 7 miles away, also with a restaurant, a grocery store, PO and a gas station; Boonville, 9 miles away, with several stores, shops, restaurants, a micro-brewery, hotel, airport, and the county fairgrounds. Anderson Valley, in which the house is situated in the midst of, has numerous orchards and vineyards, wine tasting rooms, rivers to boat down & parks to recreate in. The Pacific Coast is 20 miles away, with numerous beaches and harbors, several coastal villages, historically preserved Mendocino (an art, food & wine lovers paradise), a golf course, an airport, rivers for swimming, hiking & boating, and Fort Bragg with its fishing harbor, whale-watching cruises, Skunk Train, major stores, numerous art galleries and restaurants.

I asked a recent renter to list things she liked about living there for 7 years. Here’s what she sent me (unedited): “Ten things I love about this place (there are more than ten really):

1. The river front setting
2. Tranquility (most of the time)
3. All the windows in this house
4. Guest cabin setting & footbridge
5. Access to Hendy Woods & trails
6. Private swimming hole
7. All the wonderful wildlife
8. Secluded country setting yet close to stores
9. Wood stove in the bedroom is very cozy in winter
10. The deck!!”

NEGATIVE FEATURES:

This same renter also sent me: “Five things I don’t care for:

1. House isn’t properly insulated, sometimes cold and difficult to heat in winter
2. Shared driveway with Gowan’s agricultural traffic & cherry orchard guns
3. Muddy puddles in winter.
4. No indoor shower [We have since added a shower to the bathtub.]
5. Flooding & fear of flooding in winter” [We have since raised the house above flood levels.]

The main house is sited on a bluff just above the Navarro River. Flood water entered the house in 1974, 1995 and 2006, averaging once every 16 years. One or both of the cabins were flooded five times in this 32 year period, and portions of the land twelve times. The flood waters have always receded in a day or two, never staying high for long. To prevent future flooding of the house, we spent $22,000 last year to raise it 3 feet and place it on a new perimeter foundation that locates it higher than any recorded flood levels. The land and cabins could still be flooded briefly. Renters would have to purchase renters’ insurance if they want it.

DISCLOSURES:

Flooding. Discussed above.

Agricultural noises. While the state park is a quiet neighbor, the other two contiguous neighbors– the Gowan’s (next door) and the Bates’ Apple Farm (across the river)– are agricultural operations and therefore occasionally generate noise. The biggest of these problems is that the Gowans sometimes use “cherry guns” to keep birds from eating their cherries just as they are ripening, usually during June. This produces a gun-sounding noise triggered every few minutes, which can be heard on the property and sometimes in the house. They did not use the cherry guns this past couple years but may again. One can also sometimes hear tractor noise, pumps drawing water from the river, and vehicle noise of workers &/or renters next door at the Gowan’s.

If you are interested in renting this property, print the rental application form (by clicking the icon on the bottom right of this page), fill it out, and post, email or fax it to Tom Wodetzki, 31901 Middle Ridge Road, Albion Ca 95410;
; or fax # 707-937-5602

 

 

Tom Wodetzki, owner, 707-937-1113, fax: 707-937-5602,