Walnut grove

The brand new cabins are wonderful! We stayed in redbud cabin. I do not have any complaints. The location is superb. It feels like we are in the middle of the forest when we sit on the deck. We saw the white squirrel! The location was perfect for the wine trail and visiting giant city park. Wow is all I can say. I did not realize that southern Illinois was so gorgeous. We plan on returning this fall (if you are not already booked)!

Very Cozy and Warm

We stayed at Oak Grove Cabins in December and loved our visit.  The snow was the perfect touch! I can not say enough nice things about the cabins and the hosts.  We felt very welcome and at ease during our visit.  The photos on the website do not show just how beautiful it really is.  You have to see it to believe it.  So much attention to detail and comfortable.  The fireplace kept us warm and the hot tub was amazing during the snow fall.  We will be back for sure!

Wonderful Time

I enjoyed my stay very much at Oak Grove Cabins.  The weather was cold, but the cabin stayed nice and warm with the fireplace.  The cabin was stocked with so many things I did not expect like full size shampoo and body wash.  The snow made the visit even more memorable.  I am looking forward to taking a trip down this summer on the harley.  Everything was very clean and well taken care of.  I will recommend Oak Grove Cabins to all of our family and friends.

10 out of 10

We can not say enough good things about your cabins.  We stayed in Oak Grove Cabins two times before over the past couple of years (at cabin 2) and loved it.  When we saw that you had new cabins we had to try them.  We got really lucky because someone had to cancel only a few days prior and we saw it open online by a chance since I have the page bookmarked.  We stayed at your new Walnut Grove Dogwood Cabin and it was amazing.  I love the elevated deck!  We loved sitting outside at the table at dinner and the hot tub at night.  Even though it was a little hot we still got in the hot tub!  It was a little too hot still to have a fire, but I saw that you have plenty of wood ready.  Cant wait to come back.

Just what we needed!

We loved our stay at Walnut Grove Cabins Dogwood Cabin.  It was perfect!  I love the new gas grill and the deck overlooking the forest was peaceful and beautiful.  The wildlife on the acreage is amazing.  We saw birds that we had never seen before.  The decor is stunning!  We felt very relaxed and can not wait to come back this winter.

Found a new great pet friendly retreat

Just stayed at cabin 1 and was so excited to find a place that allows pets.  My dogs travel everywhere with me, and it is often difficult to find a pet friendly place to stay (especially one that allows both dogs).  The cabin was very clean and decorated well.  The king size bed was cozy and we loved sitting in the hot tub under the stars after long days of discovering the Shawnee National Forest trails.  Our favorite trail was Little  Grand Canyon.  It is simply amazing.  We enjoyed making a bon fire outside and sipping wine, then retreating inside to watch a movie.  On our next visit we are going to try the new zip line.  Already looking forward to returning.  

Another good time

This was our third time coming to cabin 3 and we already can not wait to come back next year.  Each time we come to Southern Illinois we find something new to see.  We enjoyed the Tunnel Hill Bicycle trail even though the weather was a bit cool for this time of year.  Always look forward to coming back to the comfort of the cabin after a long day of exploring.  See you next Spring!

Very nice cabin

The cabin was very comfortable and cozy.  We enjoyed a couples weekend getaway on the wine trail.  There was plenty of room for the four of us and appreciated having separate bedrooms.  It was the perfect weekend.  We had everything that we needed in the cabin.  The wine trail maps were a great touch.  The cabin was very clean and well kept.  We will be back.

Southern Hospitality

You have provided us such a fantastic place for our escape to Southern Illinois.  We live in the Chicago suburbs and were impressed with your cabins.  When we ran out of towels you were quick to provide more and even asked us if there was anything else we needed.  Thank you for being so kind to us on the phone when I forgot to bring our directions with us and our GPS told us the wrong way to go.  I appreciate you going above and beyond what I would expect of a host.  The cabin was clean and cute and we enjoyed all of the effort that you put into the binder on area information.  We wish you much success on your new cabins you are building.  Since you told us about them we drove down the road to take a peek.  Cant wait to stay in one of the new cabins next summer.  This was our first trip to Southern Illinois and had no idea how beautiful it is.  I will recommend your cabins to everyone at home and tell them that it was worth the drive.  Thank you again, and we are looking forward to coming back to the south.

Warm and private

Just left after a three night stay at Oak Grove Cabins.  The fireplace kept us very warm at night and the hot tub was very clean.  We appreciated the privacy and the location was perfect.  We enjoyed a great evening at Rustle Hill Winery and loved coming home to the cabin.  The extra bed was great because my husband snores.  We could not believe all of the extrras!  Will plan to return next fall.

Could not have found a better place

The photos on the website do not do this place justice.  It was even better than we expected.  The cabin was fully stocked and clean.  We are already planning our trip for next year.  Very relaxing and comfortable accommodations.  I am surprised by how much you get for the price compared to a hotel room.  We have found a new tradition.

Perfect Getaway in the woods

Just last week my wife and I spent our 7th Anniversary at Oak Grove Cabins.  The cabin was very clean and  was very private.  The location was perfect.  We enjoyed visiting Giant City State Park and the wineries which were all just a short drive.  There was an area attractions book that the owner put together showing everything that there is to do in the area.  The hot tub was very private and we could not see any other cabins or homes from our cabin.  The wildlife was great.  We saw plenty of deer and waking to the birds was beautiful.  The king size bed was very cozy and loved having a sanctuary to come home to after a day of exploring.  We did not want to leave and will be recommending this amazing getaway to all of our friend and family.  

Mr Tinkles

Mr. Tinkles said...
I grew up in southeastern Illinois and was a student at SIU in the early to mid 70's. I like to think that I was a pretty good student and tried to make the most of my college experience. That's not to say that I didn't get a little crazy at times.

Since my college days, I've had this recurring memory of a particular late night cruise in my roommate's car on some unknown remote back roads in the Carbondale area. In this memory, my roommate was driving the car with 3 passengers including me. I should mention that alcohol was involved. (Who ever said college students are always smart and responsible?) Through all of the following years, I have always wondered where this particular cruise through the country happened.

In this memory, we're driving down a hilly road, thoroughly enjoying going up and down the hills at a pretty good rate of speed. Then all at once, the road abruptly ends. My roommate couldn't get stopped in time and we kept going straight. Someone was watching out for us because there was a narrow dirt road straight ahead instead of trees. However, the dirt road had some really deep ruts, and when we hit it, the car bottomed out hard and we came to a quick stop. We thought it was the funniest thing ever at the moment. All of us were laughing and got out of the car so my roommate could try to back out to the road. A nice lady came out of a house that was to the left of the dirt road to ask if we were okay, which we were. I don't remember much about the lady except that I felt bad that we had probably scared her with our very abrupt and unintentional entrance into her peaceful country existence, but I do remember what the house looked like.

As I said earlier, I've wondered for years where that incident happened. Then, we're staying at Oak Grove Cabins last week and I ride my bicycle down Rowland Road for the first time towards the cemetery. It was a challenging ride because of several rolling hills. Then, all at once, there it was straight ahead, the same setting as from the 70's road trip. There was the dirt road straight ahead, past the 90 degree turn towards the cemetery (minus the ruts from the 70's), and the house next to the dirt lane.

I just thought it was really weird coming onto that scene after all of these years of wondering where it was. Finding that spot was just another interesting part of my visit to Oak Grove Cabins.

Perfect Place for our Honeymoon

Dear Dorothy and Ron,

Thank you for providing us such a perfect destination for our Honeymoon. We could not have been more pleased. We thought of traveling to Gatlinburg, but found everything that we were looking for much closer to home and at a better price. Maybe next time we will get a chance to meet you, but we did love the privacy! We absolutely love your cabin and plan to spend every anniversary at Oak Grove Cabin 3. Thanks again!

Thank you note

Hi Dorothy!

I just wanted to follow up in writing what I told you over the phone. Maybe
you'll want to print this out and fit it into your Guess Comment scrapbooks
on the end table. I am delighted with your place! You seem to have spared
no expense in constructing, decorating and outfitting the cabin. I'll be
surprised if you tell me you don't hold a PhD in Hospitality Management. I
say this, in part, because of the time and effort you took in compiling that
massive fount of tourist information in the binder on the coffee table. You
left nothing out, thinking to include even Google maps to help locate
stores, etc.

Although the cabin and everything in it is attractive, what I like best is
the location. It is quiet and peaceful, especially at night, which is
something I always hope for when looking forward to spending some vacation
time in a cabin setting. That isn't always guaranteed, but I quickly found
out that Oak Grove Cabins would not disappoint me in this regard. It's nice
you're able to offer your guests a quiet setting, while at the same time
allowing them to be conveniently close to the "big city" for all its goods
and services.

Thanks for an enjoyable and memorable stay!

Very nice, and very clean cabin. We did not want to leave, and are sure we will be back.

Please tell us what you think

We have had so many guests say that they would like to have a place on line to share their stay on line.

I would love to hear what our guests think!

Here is what some of our comment cards have said:

We loved our stay, it was the perfect setting. We will be back. 03/07

Thank you for sharing your cabin. It is the perfect place to relax, 05/07

You have thought of everything. We felt very comfortable and had a great time. 06/07

Best cabin ever! 08/07

Oak Grove Cabins Rock! 09/07 (this was a honeymoon couple that even left us a photo!)

You have a great place and your pictures do not do it justice. 11/07

Like it said, I really love this business because I love to hear from our guests, so I hopefully will hear from you.

Thanks,

Dorothy
http://www.oakgrovecabin.com/
and...
http://www.southernillinoiscabins.com/