This Glass Cabin in the Wisconsin Woods Comes With Floor-to-ceiling Windows, a Cozy Fireplace, and Beautiful Forest Views

It’s like forest bathing, but from bed.

Susan and Norbert Calnin had one question stuck in their minds: “What would it be like to put a bed in the woods protected from the elements?”

And then they did. The Glass House at Anaway Place — sitting on 80 rolling acres in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area — puts a transparent line between its guests and nature. “We wanted to provide a place where our guests could feel and absorb the sounds and changing light of nature, from the moment they arrive through the sights and sounds of first light to night light," says Susan.

With 360-degree floor-to-ceiling windows, a gas fireplace, air conditioning, a queen-sized bed, a kitchenette, and a detached full bath — accessed via a short wooden walkway from the house — it’s a definite leap forward from glamping, while still retaining the vulnerability of being in nature.

"The word 'glamping' wasn’t around when we first opened the Glass House [in 2005], but it certainly encompasses the experience for that cabin,” says Norbert. And like glamping, the experience changes across seasons: Opening in early spring, the house’s first guests have long views into the surrounding trees and landscape, the Calnins explain. As summer approaches, the view becomes increasingly intimate — a drop in a dense forest, nothing but trees, hooting barred owls, chirping crickets, and the light of the moon.

The Glass House’s dawn-to-dusk, light-to-night experience has been so well-received, the Calnins knew they hit on something worth replicating. Skewing toward larger groups and offering even more luxury and space, the Meadow House, Woodland House, and new Hillside Cabin also incorporate heavy glass elements, with fully equipped kitchens, woodstove fireplaces, Wi-Fi, and more.

Quiet, wooded, and unmistakably remote, the seven-site Anaway Place — rebranded from Candlewood Cabins in 2021 — sits about six miles from Richland Center, a small city roughly 90 minutes from Madison. The 20th-century main street vibes flow along Court Street, with local storefronts like Kelly’s Coffee House and Ocooch Books & Libations giving the town a stroll-worthy feel.

Go out a bit further, and you'll find a long list of world-class surprises: Within a 30-minute drive, visitors can grab their next meal in Viroqua, one of the greatest organic farming towns in the U.S., home to the James Beard-nominated Driftless Cafe. Looking southeast, an evening is always well-spent at American Players Theatre, one of the best classical theater companies in the country (eye the outdoor, in-the-woods Hill Theatre). Then, there’s Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin and the psychedelic House on the Rock, a maze-like masterpiece of kitsch, imagination, and stairways to fantasy lands.

Lastly, the Lower Wisconsin River Road, a 100-mile scenic byway along Highway 60, transports visitors across the remnants of the ancient Ocooch Mountains. The road follows the curves of the Wisconsin River, an ever-changing route from hill to valley, from one Driftless surprise to another.