Emerald Glen Getaway — Local services in Town of Morris

We have now been to Emerald Glen (formerly known as Glen Highland farms) 9 times. 9 years in a row! So you probably know this is gonna be a good review. The getaway was created by the previous owners John and Lillie. They built it as a camp for inner city kids coupled with rescue border collies. After a few years back around 2007 the kids camp ended and the border collie rescue continued and they opened the site up for dog owners to rent cabins rvs and tents. We found it in 2013 and went for first time. So organized, so clean, so beautiful. The trails are shortish but amazing wity butternut creek by its side. Dogs and humans can swim in the crisp water. The property before it was sold in 2020 was 3 seperate lots totallying 160 acres. Unfortunately one 30ish acre lot was sold sepaeratly and is no longer part of the getaway. So lost are the bullfrog pond and dog memorial at the top of a trail but that doesnt take away much if the experience. You still have well over 100 acres to explore and plenty of water with the creek/river. We were worried when we heard the property was for sale we thought that it was likely the end of this amazing vacation but luckily a young couple from California Ian and Mindy purchased it and continued to run the site as a dog getaway. They have also kept the previous owners high standards. Fresh water for humans and adults at every trail stop…new camping chairs at every stop and they even added carved out 2 new trails in 2021. Its rarely too crowded and sometimes you may even be the only ones there. Just make sure your dog is trained and socialiZed. Most dog interactions are friendly. The suprising highlight of the getaway is the comunal cookout area. Its amazing. All the wood you need is cut for you if you want to cook with wood as i do. But they also have gas grills which i ignore. Dont eat at your RV eat at the cookout area everyone isnfriendly and adds to the experience. Rvs have bathroom, cabins and cottages dont but the outdoor batharooms are “world class” and clean. Normal flushing toilets and cozy showers. One cottage has its own open air shower which i just used and was great. If u need a bathroom many times per night stay in an RV or the conner house (previously not for rent and now available with new owners). If you dont mind a 1 or 2 minute walk to bathroom at 3am stay in a cottage or cabin as they feel more camping than an rv to me. Rvs are more cramped in my opinion. Either way this is the place to go for a long weekend or more if you have dogs and we usually stay 4-5 nights. Even better kids under 18 not permiitted and I hope Mindy and Ian continue that policy as kids would totally change the feeling of a dog oriented vacation to a problematic issue of kids mixing with other peoples dogs and potential liabilities. But from what i gather they are on the same page as us and continue the adults only policy. Next year will be...

If you are a dog-lover this is an absolutely fantastic place for a dogcation. We just spent 11-days in the Bark 5 with our two Chihuahuas and had a great time. Read on for a more thorough review.

It's expensive. It's hard to justify the prices and yet I'd still argue that if you can afford it, it's worth it. There are cheaper options out there, but there is very little in terms of direct competition. As many dog-lovers know most places that say they are dog-friendly are merely dog-tolerant. That's what sets Emerald Glen apart: This is a truly dog-friendly place. Is it overpriced? Yes. Is it still worth it? Also, yes.

There's a lot of different accommodations. We stayed in the Bark 5 which is super roomy, offers a kitchenette and an outdoor shower but no bathroom! That's going to be a deal breaker for some. There is a nearby shared bathroom up the hill. But it does seem crazy to spend nearly $300 a night for a place without a dedicated bathroom. Nevertheless, the outdoor shower was wonderful. And the cabin was great.

The trails are a lot of fun. There's plenty of little stations along the way to rest, hydrate, and even get out of the sun or rain for a bit. One of our favorite things to do was duck out of a summer thunderstorm at Barking Beach or Honchos and take an afternoon nap as the rain came down around us.

There was plenty of wildlife to see. We encountered beaver, deer, groundhogs, lots of chipmunks, turtles, toads, frogs, voles and tons of birds. Plenty of stuff to keep the dogs sniffing about.

There's also lots of great places for playing fetch and huge containers filled with tennis balls and the plastic throwers. We had a lot of fun teaching our new puppy how to fetch the frisbee while we were there.

The trails are not terribly long. If we walked all the trails in a loop it's probably less than 4-miles. There are a couple small hills but nothing very taxing. And while a 120-acres is not huge by any measure it never felt crowded. We often had the trails or little stations, like Barking Beach all to ourselves.

The real magic is the Hound Hub. It's the central cooking area with plenty of grills and a wood-fired stove area. There's plenty of food prep space and everything you need to get your meal going. But definitely bring a sharp knife or a knife sharpener because, as you can imagine, the shared knifes are not very sharp.

The Hound Hub really depends on the guests, of course. We stayed for 11-days and got to meet some of the most friendly and social guests as well as guests that were relatively anti-social. So that's the luck of the draw. But the good news is most guests were return customers; some had been coming here for over 20-years! And the repeat guests were also some of the most warm, friendly, and generous we encountered during our stay.

All in all we had a wonderful time. Yes, it does seem overpriced, but we will definitely...

We just made our first trip to Emerald Glen and both we and our 2 goldens had an absolutely wonderful time! We were there from a Sun-Tues so pretty much had the place to ourselves-next time we go back I'd like to be there when there is a bit more activity going on. We stayed in an RV which was ridiculously comfortable (I fully expected the RV to smell like wet dog, and we would have been okay with that--but it was spotlessly clean and odor-free!), but honestly now that I've seen how close the cabins are to the toilets/showers and Hound Hub where you can grill your food, have access to a Keurig, toaster, microwave, refrigerator, etc. I would consider staying in one of those next time. The Hound Hub also offers a really nice assortment of family games, books and DVDs you can borrow, which was really nice. Plenty of tables under cover where you can eat/chill, a fire pit to hang out at with others if you choose. In light of the fact that it was 2 of the hottest days thus far this summer, we were happy to have AC in the RV. I wish I could put into words the joy our boys were experiencing during these few days...they are fortunate to have a place close to home where they are able to be off-leash often, but THIS...this was different. It is literally dog heaven. Every walk a new adventure, water stations, lounge chairs, hammocks, covered areas and poop stations along the trails. One hot night we took them to the local ice cream shop and they had their first official "pup cups" The staff could not have been more accommodating and available. We had such a relaxing time and plan to return again. If you go, plan on doing nothing but chilling out and focusing on your dogs' experience. Explore the trails, take them swimming, take a walk by flashlight, meet other dogs/people who love their pups. It was a truly wonderful experience,...