Our group of 6 adults and 5 kids (ages 6-11) stayed 5 nights at Owl's nest last week. Everything was as described on the VRBO site. Pictures are very accurate. Bathrooms were updated. There was plenty of spaces for us to spread out and not be under each other's feet. The outside deck was a favorite hang out. The kids loved the hills. Kitchen had all the basics we needed for meals. Each day we filled our half dozen water bottles to take with us and the ice maker had no problem keeping up. Tap water was just fine for making coffee. Be sure to unplug the coffee pot since it does not have an auto shut off. The drive in on the gravel road is quite steep with many hairpin turns, but it's a very well maintained road. With the long summer daylight hours, we luckily never had to drive it in the dark. I think that would be scary. It is a bit of a long drive if you want to come and go often, but we had breakfast at the house, then headed out for the day and were back at the house for cocktails and dinner each evening. It was a really great choice for our group.

Our group of 9, two grandparents, parents and 5 kids (12-2) stayed at the Owl's Nest for 4 nights. The home had plenty of sleeping options and everyone found a place they could relax. The house had a full basement to allow the adults and kids to separate when we wanted to. The kitchen was stocked with pots and pans for us to make meals. The fridge was big enough to hold our needed groceries. The ice maker in the freezer worked well. An auto-shutoff coffee maker would be a great addition to the kitchen. The drive up to the house is scenic and semi-rustic. You will utilize gravel roads and switch backs to get up to the Nest. But if you take it slow, you can avoid car sickness. The Owl's Nest would be good for a non-sightseeing Black Hills visit. We found it uneasy just to run back to the house between tourist site visits. If you're looking for a local visit or a place to just stay at, the Nest would be a great spot.

Home was lovely and well kept with ample space and accommodation. The one complaint we have is that upon reading the listing and booking the stay no where did it mention that trailers were not to be parked on the property. That information was not given to us until 3 days prior to our arrival. The sole purpose of our trip was to ride motorcycles and that meant trailering them there and thus needing a place to park our trailer on the property. Wish that tidbit of information was on the original listing, or at least in the confirmation email shortly upon booking (we booked months in advance); as opposed to shortly before we left for the trip.

We enjoyed our stay at the Owl’s Roost. It was clean and fit our needs. The host and management were very pleasant and went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable. The views from the house are beautiful and stargazing at night is amazing; however, it should be noted that the gravel road to the house is long, curvy and bumpy. All in all we were pleased.

This property seems to be older with some really nice updates. Each couple in our group got there own floor with bedroom, bathroom and living area. The weather was fabulous and the Owner was very easy to work with.

We loved the house but didn’t like that we were required to wash and dry our towels before leaving. There were notices that if we used the washer and dryer but they broke, it would be our responsibility for repairs. We also already paid a cleaning fee. We loved how spacious the house was and had many beds to sleep in. It’s beautiful property but not convenient to run back to when out doing tourist things.

The place was very nice and tidy. It was nice to finish touring for the day to come back to the house to sit on the deck and enjoy the scenery. Our grandchildren loved having their own rooms for the week. Would definitely rent again if in the area.

Home was immaculate peaceful beautiful area everything good amenities wonderful can’t wait to go back

Enjoyed the peace and quiet. Clean property in the black hills. Would recommend it.

The property is amazing as are the views. Wake up, grab a cup of coffee and watch the sun fill the valley below, then after a day of activity, grill on the porch while watching the sunset. The house is big with more than enough room for a 4 person family like ours or for a larger family. The Owl's Nest is so conveniently located, you can be swimming at Lake Pactola in 20 minutes or see many of the area's attractions within 45 minutes or a day trip to the Badlands about an hour and a half away. We value a more remote and quiet place and the Owl's Nest is just that. It's literally at the top of a mountain, you can see a few neighboring houses but it's so quiet and private. Dan and Rae have done an amazing job on the house and really make people feel at home. They were easy to communicate with and extremely thorough, providing a long list of things to do, suggestions for food, etc., even down to providing safety and emergency info. We highly recommend staying at the Owl's nest you will not regret it and will make some great memories!

The host and property manager were very attentive and responded to all questions promptly. The hosts provided a book containing information on local attractions, emergency facilities, places to dine, sightseeing tips, etc. that was extremely helpful. Our children and grandchildren had a fantastic time. This home and the location gave everyone the true Black Hills experience. Sitting on the deck in the evening listening to the wind blow through the pine trees is something that has to be experienced, it can not be described. We would definitely recommend this property to anyone wishing to truly experience the Black Hills!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Owls Nest. Our group of 5 adults and 5 kids, this house fit our needs for everyone to have a bed and shared bathrooms were no issue. The kids loved sleeping in the bunk beds down stairs and had pretty much claimed the basement as their own place. I do wish the queen in the kids bunk room could be placed in the room with the double beds just for a room that an adult could sleep with some privacy as well. The beds were comfortable with nice supportive pillows. The views were incredible and the weather was perfect. We brought stuff to make s'mores but quickly realized open wood fires were not allowed. We would have liked to sit out doors more but with out a way to stay warm with a fire, that was kinda out of the question. A propane gas fire pit would be really nice on the back deck. We made due with using the oven to make s'mores and they were delicious. The location was good in proximity of all the sight seeing places to visit about 30 mins from everything. The house its self was farther off the hwy than I expected. We made sure to pack a cooler of food for lunch and snacks and then leave for the day. Not a huge deal but was a slight inconvenience if we forgot something or came back to have lunch and then head back out. Over all the stay was wonderful and we fell in love with the Black Hills of South Dakota. We are already talking about coming back next year with more family! Thank you all for sharing your cabin with the Colvin family!

Great secluded location.

Cabin was fantastic. Weather was challenging hailed on us. Bit we still had fun. 2 lakes for kids to have beach time and fishing caught a couple nice trout. Hiking trails. Needles highway

The property was very nice, clean & comfortable. The view was beautiful.

The owls nest was exactly as described. Plenty of room for every one to have their space. It was located in the middle of everything the black hills offer. Favorite part was the deck with grill. We would stay their again and definitely recommend.

We stayed at the Owl's nest for 3 nights. We used the cabin while we visited Mount Rushmore, Keystone, Custer State Park, The Badlands, and Deadwood. Everything was relatively close. Cabin had everything needed to cook meals. Beds were comfortable. Amazing views. Everyone in our group enjoyed the cabin. One thing to be aware of, the road to the cabin and the driveway is VERY steep. We had rented a 12 passenger transit van, and the van struggled to get up the road/ driveway.

Great

My family had a wonderful time at the Owls Nest in the Black Hills. Beautiful setting and so much to do in the area. The house was large enough to accommodate the grandkids and the area had so much to offer the adults and kids alike. There was UTV and horseback riding, ziplining, mini golf, and the Beautiful Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Badlands, Custer State Park, and Wall Drug.

We enjoyed our stay at The Owls Nest during bike week.. Only downfall was the Switchbacks on the 3 1/2 Mile road up and down the Mtn..Road was hard packed gravel but few spots were soft(in switchbacks) and the 90 plus degree turn into the driveway which was not good for bikes(soft gravel and many ruts,makes it tough if you're on a bike),Had to stop at bottom of driveway to let the woman off the bikes before attempting to drive up to house..Lots of loose stone on pavement which causes to lose your footing... Brett the Mgr was very accommodating with everything as well as The owner Dan... By the end of our week there,we mastered the driveway..Other than that we loved our stay there.. Thanks Dan and Brett.. AL MacDermid

The cabin was perfect for our family stay. We enjoyed being so close to all the attractions but far enough away to enjoy the Black Hills beauty at night. Plenty of room for everyone to spread out.

The Owl's Nest is an ideal location for any visit to the Black Hills! The home is beautiful and spacious and offers seclusion, tremendous views from a wrap-around deck, and an ideal location in the central Black Hills region. It is close to Mt. Rushmore and Custer State Park and not far from other destinations. Great for families. We will be returning!

We had such a great time at the Owl's Nest! It was the perfect location for easy access to all the things that we wanted to do but also very secluded! Would stay there again!

We wanted to be off the beaten path for our two couple vacation to the Black Hills area. This was a great home to use as our base - we went both North and South to visit numerous Black Hills attractions. We had plenty of room, and enjoyed our evenings there, after the daily treks.

Great house though a bit of a challenge....rugged road at night...super location and well appointed.

Every fall a couple of us moms with daughters that are also best friends, take our girls on a girls/moms weekend out. We all have or love horses so it started out as fall trail rides, but there is always the fear of 4 days of rain so this year, since 2 of our daughters live in Rapid City, we decided to find a nice cabin for all of us to stay in. We had a blast, great house with plenty of game room space, big deck, beautiful views and plenty of beds! The cabin was the perfect fit for us and I would highly recommend it to other groups. The property manager was great, and when texted with a question, he always answered back within minutes and so very helpful and polite.

Very Beautiful Home!

It was a beautiful peaceful location. We enjoyed our stay. The location is not trailer friendly. There is no WIFI or central air conditioning - only wall air. The deer, turkeys and cows wander thru the area which was very cool. The location is very private and the views are amazing. We were not able to eat on the deck as the bees were very bad. Pactola Lake is close by and enjoyed the beach and jumping off of Jenney Gulch. Overall it was a great trip and we had a great family get together. Thank you very much for sharing your amazing house.

With the current situation in the world booking months in advance seemed ill sighted. So on a whim we decided to make a last minute summer trip. Found the "Owl's nest" luckily it was available due to a last minute cancellation. It worked out perfectly, beautiful views, plenty of room for kids, no busy roads to worry about. Daily routine; get up, enjoy coffee and the view from the deck, go for a hike around the house, go out and explore the hills, come back grill, enjoy a cold beverage and call it a day. You can tell the Dan and his family take great care of their hideaway in the Hills.

Property was exactly as shown on the site. It is pretty remote and exactly what we wanted. Tremendous views from the deck and superior night sky. We saw the neowise comet with our naked eye (it was even better through binoculars). We only used a little bit of the house - it is really big and could handle a sizable group. The Black Hills are beautiful and Custer State Park is amazing, especially the Needles Highway and Wildlife Loop Road. You are several miles off the beaten path here, and need to be comfortable driving gravel switchback roads, but it is a great base to explore the area.

Great place

We had two families that needed a place to stay that was central to the touring locations. This house was a little remote, but perfect for our home base. Kids had plenty of space to spread out on the lower level, and the main floor was set up perfect for the adults to play cards and not disturb the kids. The view from the deck was incredible - perfect with a cup of coffee in the morning. Thank you!!