A Sweet Remodeled Cottage You Can Stay In

Charming Location in Northeastern Iowa

The Trout River log cottage is a beautifully restored 19th-century Norwegian-built log house nestled in the rolling hills of Northeastern Iowa. This charming and rustic log cottage sits on a bluff that overlooks the Trout River Valley and is just seven miles from downtown Decorah. The farm that this charming log house sits on is the perfect place to enjoy the beauty of Northeast Iowa. The log cottage is small and simple and has everything to make your stay comfortable and relaxing. You can enjoy watching the sunset from the large front covered porch with its breathtaking views of the Trout River and spend time at night stargazing under a pitch black sky. The Trout River meanders just down the hill from the log house and can be accessed by a five-minute walk through the woods.

Outdoor Activities and Natural Beauty

The log house is located on a property that has over a half-mile of stream frontage. The Trout River where the log house sits has clear spring water that makes for excellent year-round trout fishing, or swimming and relaxing on a hot summer's day. The hiking is also great, whether it be on the hiking trails and deer tracks that run through the oak forest, or along the trout stream, or through the several fields of native prairie grasses. Just down the road from the log cottage, there are 120 acres of public land just that is available for fishing, hunting, and hiking. And just a few miles beyond that is a large and remote 1,000 acres plus at the Coon Creek Wildlife Management Area. You can stay at one of the prettiest farms in all of the Driftless Region.

A Rich History of the Log House

This charming log house was built in the 1850s and originally used as a Norwegian-Lutheran parochial school. The log house is built of old growth oak, walnut, and elm trees, the log house, feels rich and textured and steeped in history. In 1898, the log house was disassembled, moved across a field and then a log house construction as a log house by the Norwegian immigrant Peter Losen. The log house remained lived in until the late 1970s when it fell into disrepair. Then in 2007, the log house was disassembled, moved to its present site, and became a lesson in building your log cabin.

Restoration Process and Community Connections

The log house construction took three years as it was lovingly restored. The Losen descendants were close family friends, and in 2007, they gifted them the building. When taking on the log house construction project the log house was stripped to the logs, everything was numbered, and then hauled by the trailer with loads of siding, logs, foundation stone, bead board, pretty much everything that was reusable was taken back to the farm. The amazing part of this log house construction is that nearly every piece of the log house was reclaimed, and those that aren't like the windows were replicated to match their original building materials. The log house is something to see and a pleasure to stay in.

More Information and Unique Farm Experience

You can find out more information about this charming log house and the log house construction on the Trout River Log Cabin website. You can find out on the site how you can stay in this log house construction that is full of history is one of the most beautiful locations. The log house location sits on a farm that has a small herd of about fifteen belted Galloway cattle. The cattle are completely grass fed. The farm each summer also raises chickens and sometimes the farm has goats.