This Tennessee Retreat Lets You Spend The Night In A Hobbit-Style Village
Sleeping in an ordinary hotel suddenly feels a little boring once you see this place. Rounded doors, grassy rooftops, and cozy little rooms make the entire retreat feel pulled straight out of a fantasy story.
This Tennessee escape invites guests to slow down and enjoy a night that feels completely different. The village has a playful look, but the peaceful setting makes it just as appealing for anyone craving a quiet break.
You can spend the evening outside, admire the unusual buildings, and wake up surrounded by nature.
No wizard costume is required, although nobody would blame you for bringing one.
The experience feels whimsical without becoming overly themed. It is comfortable, memorable, and easy to enjoy at any age.
For couples, families, or friends planning a weekend away, this hobbit style retreat offers the rare chance to sleep somewhere that makes the trip itself feel like part of the adventure.
Earth-Sheltered Gully Huts That Redefine What A Bedroom Can Be
Round doors are not something most people associate with a good night’s sleep. At Forest Gully Farms, that is precisely what greets you.
The three Gully Huts are constructed directly into the hillsides, built from white cedar and insulated naturally by the surrounding earth.
Two huts serve as sleeping quarters, and the third is dedicated to communal cooking and dining. The red hut holds two twin beds and a queen Murphy bed, while the yellow hut features a queen bed, a twin, and a twin trundle.
Together, they comfortably accommodate up to eight guests.
Bamboo flooring gives the interiors a clean, understated elegance that balances the rustic exterior. Each hut comes equipped with air conditioning and heating units, soft linens, warm blankets, and plush pillows.
The earth above acts as natural insulation, keeping temperatures steady regardless of what the weather outside decides to do. For groups needing a little extra room, an optional Dragonfly Wagon can sleep two adults and two children.
These are not cabins dressed up with a clever theme. They are genuinely original structures that make sleeping feel like a small adventure.
A Living Permaculture Farm With 29 Acres To Explore
Owners Jon and Mandy Giffin did not set out to build a typical farm.
Their 29-acre property in Santa Fe, Tennessee operates as a working experiment in permaculture and food forestry, designed to function as a self-sustaining ecosystem rather than a conventional agricultural operation.
Fifteen of those acres are open for guests to explore freely.
Permaculture is a philosophy of working with nature rather than against it. On this land, that translates into an intricate layering of plants, animals, insects, and soil systems that all support one another.
Native plants grow alongside beneficial herbs, and bees contribute to the health of the entire landscape.
The result is a farm that changes continuously with the seasons, offering something genuinely different each time someone walks through it. There is always a new plant in bloom, a new crop coming in, or a new creature going about its business.
Jon and Mandy bring real knowledge and genuine passion to what they have built here, and that care is evident in every corner of the property.
Spending time on land this intentionally cultivated has a way of shifting how you think about food, ecology, and the ordinary act of being outside.
Foraging Fresh Food Straight From The Garden
There is something quietly satisfying about eating food you picked yourself minutes before it hits the pan. At Forest Gully Farms, that experience is not a special event or a guided tour add-on.
It is simply part of staying there. The gardens and surrounding grounds are available for guests to harvest from directly, connecting meals to the land in the most literal way possible.
Depending on the time of year, that might mean gathering blueberries, blackberries, or fresh vegetables from the garden beds.
The property also produces pawpaws, persimmons, and mulberries, fruits that many people have never tasted and that do not turn up in grocery stores.
Collecting eggs from the resident hens in the chicken coop is another highlight, especially for younger guests who may never have seen where breakfast actually comes from.
Jon and Mandy also share recipes that make use of what the farm produces, including a wild sumac lemonade that draws on plants growing right on the property. The edible landscape here is not decorative.
It is functional, generous, and genuinely delicious. Foraging even a small portion of your own meal changes the way the food tastes.
Everything seems a little brighter when you know exactly where it came from.
The Green Hut Kitchen And The Joy Of Cooking Outdoors
Cooking on a trip is not always a chore. Sometimes it becomes one of the better parts, especially when the kitchen has its own personality.
The green hut at Forest Gully Farms is the communal cooking and dining space, outfitted with a refrigerator, convection toaster oven, microwave, and coffee maker.
Basic cooking ingredients, plates, cups, and utensils are all stocked and ready.
Just outside the green hut, a gas grill provides a straightforward option for anyone who prefers cooking over an open flame without the setup. The fire pit nearby serves both practical and atmospheric purposes.
Preparing a meal while the sun drops behind the Tennessee hills is a different kind of dinner experience altogether. Large dining tables, positioned both inside and outside the hut, give the whole group room to eat together.
The absence of a standard kitchen sink is worth knowing in advance. Dishwashing happens at the bathhouse nearby, which is a short walk from the huts.
That detail fits the overall character of the place. Forest Gully Farms is not trying to replicate a vacation rental condo.
It is offering something more stripped back and deliberate, where even the act of washing dishes becomes part of a slower, more grounded rhythm of daily life.
Waterfalls, Trails, And Hammocks Hidden Across The Property
Not every great landscape announces itself. Some of the best parts of Forest Gully Farms reveal themselves only when you slow down enough to look.
Two small waterfalls sit on the property, reachable by foot along trails that wind through the natural forest. The paths are well-maintained and offer a genuine sense of moving through living woodland rather than a manicured park.
A natural swimming pool on the grounds provides a refreshing option on warm days. It is the kind of spot that earns its appeal through simplicity.
Clear water, shade overhead, and the sound of the surrounding forest make it feel like a discovery rather than an amenity.
Hammocks are strung at various points across the property, and handcrafted benches are placed in spots that seem chosen specifically for their quiet and their views.
The trails also serve as an introduction to the farm’s edible plants. Walking them with any curiosity means encountering species you can actually identify and, in some cases, taste.
The property rewards people who wander. There is enough ground to spend a full afternoon exploring and still feel like you have not seen everything.
That sense of unhurried discovery is something the outdoor spaces here deliver with real consistency and charm.
No Wi-Fi, No Distractions, And A Scavenger Hunt Through The Woods
Leaving your phone signal behind can feel uncomfortable for about the first hour. After that, something else tends to take over.
Forest Gully Farms at 6016 Fly Hollow Rd in Santa Fe offers no Wi-Fi and limited cell service, a deliberate choice that reflects the philosophy running through everything on the property.
The point is not inconvenience. The point is presence.
Without screens competing for attention, the farm fills in the gap naturally. A scavenger hunt designed around the property’s flora gives guests a structured reason to explore, identifying plants, learning names, and noticing details that would otherwise go unnoticed.
It works particularly well for children, who tend to engage with that kind of activity with genuine enthusiasm once they are not staring at a device.
The farm’s two dogs, Jedi and Trooper, add their own kind of welcome to the experience. They are friendly, calm, and known to accompany guests on the walk to the bathhouse after dark.
The overall effect of a stay without digital noise is a kind of recalibration that is difficult to manufacture any other way. By the second day, most people stop reaching for their phones entirely.
That shift alone is worth the drive to Santa Fe.
The Bathhouse And Practical Details Worth Knowing Before You Go
Honesty about a place is more useful than enthusiasm alone. At Forest Gully Farms, the bathhouse sits near the front of the property, a short walk from the Gully Huts.
It provides 1.5 baths and a laundry room with a large sink for washing dishes. The separation between sleeping and bathing is part of the design, not an oversight.
The water supply comes from an underground aquifer and is filtered through a UV light and sediment system. Toilet paper, towels, and rags are all provided.
The walk to the bathhouse at night is lit, and as mentioned, the farm dogs are known to accompany guests on the journey, which takes the edge off the darkness quickly enough.
A few other details are worth noting before booking. The huts do not have standard sinks.
Cell service is limited inside and around the structures. The property is described as a rustic, nature-immersive experience, and that framing is accurate.
Guests who arrive expecting a polished glamping resort may find the experience jarring.
Those who come prepared for something genuinely off the grid, a working farm with creative accommodations and real character, tend to find exactly what they were hoping for.
Reading the listing carefully before arrival makes a meaningful difference in how the stay unfolds.
Santa Fe, Tennessee And The Road That Leads To Forest Gully Farms
The address is 6016 Fly Hollow Road, Santa Fe, Tennessee 38482, and the drive to reach it is part of the experience.
Located roughly an hour southwest of Nashville, the route shifts gradually from highway to two-lane road to the kind of winding country lane that makes you slow down whether you intend to or not.
The landscape opens up into farmland, hills, and stretches of forest that set the tone well before arrival.
Santa Fe is a small, quiet community in Maury County. The surrounding Fly area has a distinctly rural character, with neighboring farms and a general store that feels like it belongs to a different era of American life.
The sign at the Farm entrance reads Appointment Only, which underscores the private, intentional nature of what Jon and Mandy have created here.
The farm can be reached by phone at +1 615-509-0533, and more information about booking and the property is available at forestgullyfarms.com. Planning ahead is important, as this is not the kind of place you stumble into on a whim.
The distance from Nashville makes it accessible without being crowded. That balance between proximity and genuine seclusion is part of what gives Forest Gully Farms its particular and lasting appeal.