Ask John Odonnell
The Crane Mountain Horse Farm is a rare find in the Adirondacks: a year-round home with spectacular views of Crane and Huckleberry Mountains, horse pastures, woods, and a pond.
This property, located just outside of the hamlet of Baker’s Mills in the Town of Johnsburg. It is 141 acres, including ~14 acres in pasture, with a portion of that pasture in a food plot for whitetail hunting. Horses are regularly turned out in these pastures to graze. There is a small pond (just shy of a quarter acre) not far from the house, which can be used for swimming, fishing, or simply entertaining.
The Cape Cod style house was built in 1987 by the current owner. It is 2,300 sqft, with 4 bedrooms and 2 full baths, plus an additional unfinished bedroom. It has a modern kitchen and a dining room with a view, a full basement with a Bilco-style door for walk-out access. The house has a single-bay garage, which is better described as an attached wood and utility shed. In addition, there is a separate 2-bay garage that is heated and insulated, offering a year-round work space capable of housing all the equipment useful for such a property.
The home is heated by a hot water radiator system, powered by an outdoor wood boiler. In the colder months, the wood boiler also heats the domestic hot water; for the warmer months, there is an electric hot water heater as the outdoor wood boiler goes idle. The house can also be heated by fuel oil if desired.
The household’s potable water comes from a mountain spring in the woods, uphill from the house. The water is gravity fed to the house from the spring and is pressurized by a pump and pressure tanks in the basement. This system has been in use since the house was constructed, and has suited the needs of a family of 5 over the years.
The property is comprised of 2 tax parcels, on both sides of Barney Hill Road. It could be subdivided; uphill from the current home location, there are additional sites on the property that offer fantastic views of Crane and Huckleberry Mountains. It also has great potential for an outdoor recreational business, such as glamping, tiny homes, horseback riding, or a dude ranch.
Other possible ventures; the property could be used as a small commercial or hobby farm to raise beef cows, sheep or goats, employing the wooded portions as a silvopasture. The forested portion offers an endless supply of specialty wood products, a lifetime supply of firewood, and bolts for mushroom cultivation. The property has great habitat for morel mushrooms, as each spring the property produces them by the pound. Small groves of maple could be tended to and developed into a sugarbush. The variety of vegetation between trees, shrubs and grasses offers a great opportunity for honey production.
The property has a successful track record for deer hunting, producing large-bodied bucks for the 40 years of ownership. The landowner has established and maintained a productive food plot and has restored pastures that benefit both the horses and the wildlife. He has also selectively harvested timber over the decades, which further enhances wildlife habitat.
The region offers unlimited recreational opportunities, with several hundreds of thousands of acres of State Forest Preserve, ~130,000 in the Town of Johnsburg alone. State Forest Preserve lands offer camping, hunting, hiking, and back-county fishing, as well as horse trails and snowmobiling at certain locations. Also within the region, there are hundreds of miles of rivers and streams for fishing and whitewater rafting. Nearby lakes include Lake George, Lake Champlain, Loon Lake, Brant Lake and Schroon Lake, each offering public launches and marinas for seasonal boat storage. The nearby ski village of North Creek is home to Gore Mountain Ski Resort, several restaurants and attractions, and grocery and hardware stores. More amenities can be found in Warrensburg, Chestertown, and in the Glens Falls region.
The Crane Mountain Horse Farm is just an hour from Saratoga Springs, 1½ hours from Albany, less than 3 hours from Montreal, and under 5 hours from NYC. Nearby airports include Albany International (1.5 hrs), Plattsburgh International (under 3 hrs), and the smaller Warren County Airport outside Queensbury, NY (~45 minutes).
Property shown by appointment. Proof of funds required.
