Located on Old Richmond Road, the outdoor recreation center Boone Creek Outdoors offers several ways to enjoy and appreciate the natural splendor of the area. Perhaps the most relaxing is an overnight stay at a rustic cabin on the property that opened as a short-term rental earlier this year, or a weekend getawat at its sprawling creekside lodge, which recently reopened for short-term rentals after more than a year of renovation and repair.
Near collapse when owner Burgess Carey purchased it in 1994, the lodge has recently been refinished as a spacious yet cozy getaway and respite. It was originally intended as an amenity for annual members of the Boone Creek Angler’s Club, a private fly-fishing club that allows members exclusive access to a unique trout fishing location on Boone Creek, but members rarely used it for overnight lodging. Having also served, on and off, as temporary lodging for builders and zip line operators who worked with the recreation center, the home has recently become available to the general public for short stays that can also include temporary membership to the Angler’s Club.
With four bedrooms and four bathrooms, the 4,500-square-foot lodge can host 10-15 people comfortably. Multiple decks and patios as well as a spacious yard area on the edge of the creek provide visitors with direct access to the pristine Boone Creek and a spectacular view from the bottom of the gorge.
The home was built in 1981 by former property owner Sam Whitehead, who abandoned the property by 1984. It’s rumored to have been a hideaway affiliated with the notorious Lexington crime saga outlined in Sally Denton’s 1989 book “The Bluegrass Conspiracy.”
Walking into an upstairs room that was formerly hidden from the rest of the house and has been converted to a fourth bedroom, Carey explained that at the time he purchased the property, the room was “completely enclosed with no windows and no skylight. It was all plywood and had outlets going all the way across the wall.”
“From downstairs it felt like a vaulted ceiling,” he said, “and if you look at the roofline outside, it looks like it matches what’s down there. Without this [newly added] window giving it away, you’d never know this room was here.”
Today, while the skeleton of the home, its original stone foundation and stone floors, and many original fixtures from the first iteration of the lodge — including a striking wooden shelving system in the main floor library/den — remain, much of the home has been completely gutted and rebuilt to address water damage and other natural damage. Carey and his team chose to keep the original floor plan intact and to incorporate some of the original countertops and fixtures, including a 1980s-era jacuzzi tub. The kitchen is perhaps the most changed part of the lodge, remodeled to be functional for caterers and small events held on the property.
Carey’s wife, Sarah, took the lead on the furnishings, which help the lodge feel both warm and inviting while also rustic and connected to the outdoors.
The lodge remains available year-round at a discounted rate to annual members of the Boone Creek Angler’s Club. A short-term membership option is also available for those whom an annual membership wouldn’t work, such as visitors from out of town, and includes access to the property for fishing and hiking.
Carey emphasized the lodge is not intended to be utilized as a party house but rather as a means for responsible parties to access and enjoy the area’s amenities. It’s a great location for staff retreats or for quick family getaways geared toward relaxing amidst nature, he said. Notably, access to the house is only available via a very steep and rocky driveway that requires renters to have a vehicle with four-wheel drive.
A cabin on the property, which is smaller, more rustic and easier to access, sleeps four and is available to rent on AirBnB.
For more information, visit www.boonecreekoutdoors.com/lodge-rental.
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