Cast-iron clawfoot soaking tub on the covered porch at Gardener’s Log Cabin

Wychwood · Duxbury

A Vermont Cabin with a Clawfoot Soaking Tub on the Porch

Gardener’s Log Cabin in Duxbury has a cast-iron clawfoot soaking tub on its covered porch, looking out over a cottage garden of wildflowers and lupines. You fill it with warm water and sit out in the open air under a roof. That tub is why most people find this cabin when they go looking for a Vermont cabin with a clawfoot soaking tub.

This page is about that one thing. I’ll tell you what the tub actually is, where it sits, how the seasons affect it, and what the garden and porch around it are like.

The Tub on the Porch

The tub is cast iron, a real clawfoot, and it sits out on the covered porch instead of inside a bathroom. You soak under the roof, out of the weather, with the garden and the trees right in front of you and ten wooded acres quiet around you.

It’s seasonal, so if the soak is what you’re coming for, book the warmer months. Cast iron holds heat well, and filling it takes a while. There are no jets and no cover to lift off — it’s a plain soaking tub.

Inside, the cabin carries a light botanical look that echoes the garden. The one bathroom has a shower only, so the porch tub is where you’ll want to soak.

The Cottage Garden and the Hillside

The tub looks out over a cottage garden of wildflowers and lupines, which is where the cabin gets its name. For a few weeks in summer the lupines take over; the rest of the season the garden keeps changing, and it’s easy to watch while the water cools.

Below the garden there’s a fire pit cut into the hillside. Most guests soak as the light fades, then move down to the fire once it’s dark. In winter, when the tub is drained and put away, we keep snowshoes at the cabin for the ten acres of woods.

Who It Suits

The cabin sleeps four across two bedrooms, a queen and a loft with twins. That fits a couple who want the porch tub to themselves, or a small family or two friends willing to take the loft in exchange for the garden view. It’s one of two log cabins on the Wychwood Estate, and the lighter, more botanical of the pair.

You get here on Ward Hill, a town-maintained dirt road, and then a short shared private dirt road at the end. Check-in is by keypad, so you can arrive whenever suits you. Like all of our properties, it’s strictly pet-free and allergen-free, which keeps the interiors clean.

What Is Nearby

Duxbury sits between two mountains in a good stretch of the Mad River Valley. Sugarbush Resort is 22 minutes and Mad River Glen is 20, so a soak after a ski day works well in the months the seasons overlap.

Waterbury and Waitsfield are each about 13 minutes for groceries or a meal. Lawson’s Finest Liquids in Waitsfield is the closest brewery at 12 minutes, and American Flatbread’s flagship red-barn location is 14. If you want to walk after a soak, the Hedgehog Brook Trailhead onto the Long Trail is 15 minutes away.

Where to Stay

Common questions

Is the clawfoot tub available year-round?

No. The cast-iron clawfoot soaking tub on the covered porch at Gardener’s Log Cabin is seasonal, best used in the warmer months. In winter the cabin relies on its fire pit, and we keep snowshoes on hand for the surrounding woods.

Where exactly is the cabin, and how do I get in?

Gardener’s Log Cabin is on the Wychwood Estate in Duxbury, Vermont, on ten private wooded acres. You reach it on Ward Hill, a town-maintained dirt road, then a short shared private dirt road. Check-in is self-service by keypad.

How far is skiing from the cabin?

Sugarbush Resort is 22 minutes away and Mad River Glen is 20 minutes. Stowe Mountain Resort is 41 minutes. In the months the seasons overlap, a day on the mountain pairs well with an evening by the fire pit.

Can I bring my dog?

No. Gardener’s Log Cabin, like all Moonlight Woods properties, is strictly pet-free and allergen-free. This keeps the light botanical interiors clean for guests with sensitivities.

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Last updated July 2026