Red River Cottage w/firepit, Blackhawk on the Fox!

Entire home in South Elgin, Illinois

  1. 6 guests
  2. 2 bedrooms
  3. 4 beds
  4. 1 bath
Hosted by Erik & Cindy
  1. Superhost
  2. 8 years hosting

Listing highlights

Top 5% of homes

This home is highly ranked based on ratings, reviews, and reliability.

Self check-in

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Beautiful area

Guests love this home’s scenic location.
Greetings Airbnb viewers!

Come visit our wonderful riverfront cottage, ready and waiting. A two bedroom 750 sqft house with 1 bathroom on just under an acre property.

A special place to relax, do some fishing, grilling, and roasting marshmallows on the fire. Located in a secluded unincorporated Fox River neighborhood in Kane County just a half mile from Blackhawk waterfall via bike path. The subdivision is hidden between the Jon J. Duerr and Blackhawk forest preserves.

The space
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DUE TO SOME UNFORTUNATE SITUATIONS WITH PREVIOUS GUESTS, WERE ARE TAKING GUESTS WITH NO REVIEWS ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS. THANKS FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.

Spring is upon us! Flowers bloom in the springtime. In May, you are pretty much guaranteed to see baby geese. There are several mulberry trees on the property that tend to be in full swing in the early summer. Summer tends to book up solidly, so start planning now!

The location within the 1940's Five Islands subdivision lends itself naturally to the quaint cabin theme.

The house is a small 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom ranch house. The first bedroom has a queen sized bed, and the other has twin sized bunk beds. Please note, the bottom bunk is low to the floor, and might not be suitable for some guests. We also have a full sized sofa bed in the living room, with a memory foam mattress.

Snuggle up in the living room for movie night on the 50" TV (we have Netflix and all the channels on YouTube TV). Order a pizza or cook a meal in the kitchen. Toast marshmallows over the fire in the large fire pit in the backyard. We also have a basic charcoal grill in the yard, and a picnic table. The kids will love the swing that hangs from a 30 foot high branch in the oak tree. The dining area of the living room has a full kitchen table to eat or do some work. The kitchen has a bar style table Erik made himself from an old dresser.

The backyard offers a front row seat to watch the river as it takes its brief northwest detour before turning southbound again toward St. Charles. The house is about a 5 mile drive to the charming streets of downtown St. Charles to the south, and Elgin is 5 miles to the north. There is plenty of bike trail nearby, leading to the 8 foot high Blackhawk waterfall, and a long bridge that runs diagonally across the big bend in the river; a great place to see the sunset.

If you're into fishing, you can fish right from the property. If you have a boat, there's a small boat launch right in the neighborhood. There is also a park district boat launch just a few miles away.
Sorry, swimming in the river is not recommended (we wish!)

PARTIES: We often get requests for large gatherings on the property. Unfortunately we do not feel comfortable with more than 12 people on the property at a time. It's a quiet neighborhood, and we don't want to draw too much attention to the house. There is also not adequate parking for large events. Lord willing, we would like to host a party venue someday.

The house is 32 miles from O'Hare airport, and 42 miles from Midway airport.

Guest access
Guests are welcome to park in the driveway, or there is always Uber or Lyft. Guests are allowed to use the entire property, except for the garage.

CHECK-IN IS AT 4:00 PM AND CHECK-OUT IS AT 11:00 AM. Back to back bookings are very common for us, and we ask that you respect these times. We take early check-in and late check-out requests on a case by case basis.

Other things to note
We've been hosting this riverfront property for 4 years and counting, and we feel so blessed. Our guests have ranged from families on vacations, to couples having romantic getaways, to people in town for work, to people just needing a place to crash.

The house is located in a great spot. The yard is about an acre with 185 feet of river shore in a small neighborhood hidden between two forest preserves. Enjoy a private place to view the water, fish, and rest. Take a 10 minute walk along the trail to Blackhawk waterfall, or continue to explore the 35 mile Fox River trail. While on the trail, stop to watch the sunset from the bridge amidst the five islands. Jump in the car and take a drive to downtown St. Charles, IL, a great place to walk down Main Street, shop and eat and soak it all in. While in St. Charles, ride the big paddle boats, or the little pedal boats! Go miniature golfing at Pottawattamie Park. As part of the "Tri-Cities", Geneva and Batavia are similar river towns that are very close by. And so is Elgin, with a population of 110,000 and a riverboat Casino. It's really a great area to visit.

Please be aware that this property is in a wooded area! Although we try to keep the critters away, it bugs and wildlife are a thing.

Fast Modern WiFi! Relax in a peaceful setting while enjoying the convenience of 210Mbps WiFi, delivered to the house via a fiber optic line.

The house is 43 miles from downtown Chicago, about an hour drive.
The house is 22 miles from Woodfield mall, a 30 minute drive.
The house is 10 miles from Santa's Village Azoosment Park, a 20 minute drive.

Where you’ll sleep

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What this place offers

River view
Waterfront
Kitchen
Fast wifi – 298 Mbps
Dedicated workspace

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Rated 4.97 out of 5 from 287 reviews.

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This home is in the top 5% of eligible listings based on ratings, reviews, and reliability
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Overall rating

  1. 5 stars, 98% of reviews
  2. 4 stars, 2% of reviews
  3. 3 stars, 0% of reviews
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  5. 1 stars, 0% of reviews

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for cleanliness

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for accuracy

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for check-in

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for communication

Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for location

Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars for value

Where you’ll be

South Elgin, Illinois, United States
This listing's location is verified and the exact location will be provided after booking.

Neighborhood highlights

The house is in the Five-Island unincorporated subdivision hidden along the Fox river halfway along the 10 mile stretch between Elgin and St. Charles, IL. While you're in the area, don't forget to drive by the historic Al Capone's hideaway building, about a half mile upstream.

Meet your host

Superhost
513 reviews
4.96 out of 5 average rating
8 years of hosting
Born in the 80s
Where I went to school: Conant Highschool, Hoffman Estates, IL
We both grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and moved to the Fox Valley in 2004, Cindy to Judson College and Erik to an apartment in Elgin. We were married in 2007. On a visit to the then Al Capone's Hideaway and Steakhouse, we were amazed at just how hidden away the restaurant was and we fell in love with the area. We finally bought our house here near the big bend in the Fox River in 2017. I work full time at a test lab, and Cindy works a seasonal job at Santa's Village, a local amusement park. We have two daughters, and a long-term rental house in the area and a short-term as well, in addition to the guest room in our own home. We are excited to share the tranquility and charm of this part of the Fox Valley, right here in Chicago's backyard.

Erik & Cindy is a Superhost

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Host details

Response rate: 100%
Responds within an hour
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Things to know

Cancellation policy
House rules
Check-in: 4:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Checkout before 11:00 AM
6 guests maximum
Safety & property
Nearby lake, river, other body of water
Carbon monoxide alarm
Smoke alarm