Wisconsin Log Cabin for Sale on 13+ Acres on the Peshtigo River

Are you looking for true, end of the road privacy with "not another cabin in site" seclusion on the water? This is the log cabin for you. Swedish scribed log cabin is sheltered on 13+ acres of wooded land. 1000’s of acres of county forest adjoin to the north. The meandering trail along 675 feet of shoreline along the famous Roaring Rapids of the Peshtigo River completes the setting. A wood-fired hot tub on the deck overlooks the forest and river. If you've dreamed of building a cabin "up north", and simply can’t make the time, this is your shortcut to having it complete and ready to enjoy.

Land & Location Property Info

How many times have you taken your valuable time to drive up to a "secluded" cabin in the woods only to find that it is wedged in between other cabins? This is typically true on waterfront cottages where the frontage part of the land can be cut down to 100 front feet, or sometimes even smaller.

This Wisconsin log cabin for sale has 1/8 of a mile of frontage on the north shore of the Peshtigo River. A trail all along the water opens to glimpses and views of the rapids, boulders, riffles and pools. Not another home is in site across the river.

Way back at the actual and true end of a dead-end gated private road, the 13.2 acres of wooded land is also adjoined by other good sized tracts of land. The closest neighboring house is also on the Peshtigo River and sits on nearly six acres to the west. To the east is an 80 acre tract on the Peshtigo River with its road access from an entirely separate road. To the north are 1000's of acres of Marinette County Forest.

The Marinette County Forest is about 231,000 acres and is the second largest county forest in Wisconsin. Within its boundaries, the township of Silver Cliff has more than 37,000 acres of this county forest land. Whitetail deer, ruffed grouse, woodcock, wild turkey, black bear, racoon, red and gray fox, coyotes, weasels, chipmunks, beaver, muskrats, gophers, Canada geese, duck, opossum, red and gray squirrels, sandhill crane, woodchucks, fishers, cottontail rabbit, bobcat, mink, martens, badger and the occasional timber wolf or moose all call Marinette County home.

The county forestland immediately adjoining the property does not show any official roads on the official maps, but an abandoned overgrown logging road leads off the property into the forest waiting to be explored. Hiking, snowshoeing and berry picking is out the back door. Farther away from property, but ridable to, are hundreds of miles of ATV and snowmobile trails.

Should you ever want to leave the property for more "Up North" fun, the Silver Cliff area is rich with recreational features and possibilities: High Falls and Caldron Falls Reservoirs, Governor Thompson State Park, the Peshtigo River State Forest, road and mountain biking, several golf courses, groomed cross-country ski trails, waterfalls, and, of course, Peshtigo River whitewater rafting.

The Peshtigo River is well-known among whitewater kayakers and rafters throughout the Midwest. This property for sale is located on the famous "Roaring Rapids" section which has nearly five miles of class II to class IV rapids with many waves, holes, eddies and chutes. This is a playboaters paradise for kayakers, canoeists and rafters. The cabin overlooks a mile-and-a-half stretch of continuous class II boulder fields and rapids just above an area known by the locals as "Area 51".

Log Cabin Info

Finished in 1994/1995 this cabin is a one-of-a-kind hand-built Swedish scribed log home. A first-floor bedroom with screened double-hung windows spanning two walls overlooks the forest and river; imagine the best night's rest of your life with only the sound of the rushing river and breeze through the trees. A great room with tall vaulted ceiling is the main living space with windows and double doors opening to the deck with the river down the hill. The living room transitions directly into the kitchen providing a central living, cooking and dining space. Anchoring the great room is a beautiful, blue enamel antique wood burning kitchen stove which provides warmth and rustic cooking. Wood fired pizza anyone?

Ladder to loft is reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie as a snug place to read a book, take a nap or listen to red squirrels scamper across the roof. A back corner from the great room and kitchen is set up as an open sleeping bedroom; leave as is, or easily partition for an additional bedroom. The bathroom with sink, toilet and shower is behind the door around the corner.

Fire up the Snorkel wood-fired hot tub and go a hike or snowshoe through the forest and come home to a relaxing spa on the deck overlooks the Peshtigo River through the trees. Half the deck is open to the sky and half the deck is covered by a vaulted log overhang for outdoor living in almost any weather.

If you've always wanted to cut the cord and be more self-reliant, the cabin is set up for off the grid living. Electricity can be provided to the household by generator to power up the lights and water well for the bathroom and the kitchen. A full-sized propane tank fuels other household systems like propane lights/lanterns, hot water heater and refrigerator/freezer. Yes, clean propane can be used to make heat that produces the cold inside the refrigerator; learn more here: howstuffworks.com

Other practical aspects of the cabin include four inches of foam ceiling insulation creating a six-inch-thick roof for durability and energy efficiency. A full walkout basement with eight-plus foot ceilings is accessed by double doors for easy and abundant storage of supplies, gear and firewood. Basement houses hot water tank, well, well pump and pressure system and electrical panel. An oversized wood burning stove in basement provides extra radiant heat to the cabin’s floors and the overall structure.

Just off the cabin, a tool shed with work bench houses tools and fix-it supplies for self-sufficient cabin repairs and maintenance, or just to find a hook and hammer to hang a picture. Many hand tools and yard and garden tools are included.

In addition to all of the stuff in the shed, almost all of the cabin's furnishings, from beds to chairs and tables are included with the sale. This is a turn key opportunity to buy the cabin and begin enjoying it immediately. You can make changes and outfit it for your needs as you experience the property and figure out what you want, but you will not have to spend thousands of dollars before you get up there for the first weekend. A huge supply of split firewood for the hot tub, kitchen stove and fire ring is ready for that first weekend.

Property Directions: From Silver Cliff, northwest of Crivitz in Marinette County, Wisconsin: Travel Northwest on Parkway Rd. (Cty I / Rustic Road 32, with a length of 37 miles, this is Wisconsin's longest Rustic Road.) to left on Wolfe Ln. to left on White Water Ln. to Bear Cave Rd (Private Road) on left. Log cabin for sale is 1/2 mile past gate at end of road.

Land & Cabin Showing Information: Locked, gated road. Seller requests listing agent attend showings with 48 hour notice to listing agent.

Update: interior photos can be seen here on YouTube

I'm happy to provide additional property photos, interior photos and maps. Please call, email or text me.

Please contact Patrick O’Hearn at 1-920-227-3860 for help with this property. Thanks!

Addtional Log Cabin Property Info

The owners of the land and cabin have enjoyed a nearly 30-year love affair with the property. Here is a brief history from the owner:

When we first looked at the land we walked in on a logging road that still had piles of pulp to be removed. It had very recently been logged and logging slash was still evident. We purchased the property in 1989-1990, with the intention of building a log home.

We designed the cabin and obtained the county permits. We wanted a Swedish scribe fit* for the logs, because we were familiar with that style of log building by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) program and on administrative sites of the U.S. Forest Service.

We hired a logger from Crivitz to cut the logs for us. We specified red pine with a 14 inch butt to a 9 inch top; the typical piece was 45 feet long. The logs were cut as part of a thinning of the red pine plantations along Highway 141 at Stiles Junction. Two semi-loads were delivered to a rented farm meadow just west of Waukesha, where we were living at the time.

Our family spent two years peeling, cutting and fitting the wall logs; meanwhile, the foundation and deck were built at the site on the Peshtigo River. The building was disassembled in Waukesha, trucked to the river site, and assembled using a log truck with a knuckle boom loader.

The top and last tier of logs for the walls was kept at the Waukesha site and the roof structure was built on the top tier during the next year. The top tier and roof were trucked to the property and assembled on the cabin using a crane. The roof was built in our fourth year of construction. The roof is insulated and intended for winter use of the cabin.

Windows, doors, and utility systems were added once the cabin was closed in and could be used. In total, our family has spent at least a year of time at the site over the past 25 years. We have a photo scrapbook of the construction of the cabin, that we would be pleased to show a buyer.**

Sidebar: One of our sons helped with this cabin and later went on to obtain a PhD in mechanical engineering. He entered the timber frame construction industry and managed his own company in New England that built about 150 structures. He relocated to Vancouver Island, British Columbia and again has a company that builds Timber Frame structures and specializes in one-of-a-kind historic preservation jobs.

We sincerely hope the next owners of this Peshtigo River Cabin will find as much use and enjoyment as we have. -Gil & Lucy

* Scribing logs means that the logs are cut and formed to fit together like tightly fitted puzzle pieces. Swedish Cope logs have a round top with the bottom cut concave in a half moon pattern so that the logs overlap each other when stacked.

** Seller's photos scanned and presented in cabin movie.