A small family house on The Hill in Great Barrington — walkable to downtown, twenty minutes from the lodge.

25 BRAINARD AVENUE

Twenty minutes north of Race Brook Lodge, just up the side of "The Hill" in Great Barrington, sits a small family house we love. It's our home when we aren't up at the lodge — and through the warmer months, while our family is at RBL, we open it to a handful of guests who want to be in the thick of downtown Great Barrington without giving up a real kitchen, a quiet bedroom, or a backyard to come home to.

The house sleeps six across three bedrooms — a king, a double, and a bunk room — with one and a half baths and a sun room that fills with light. The kitchen is the heart of it: a long butcher-block island with a gas cooktop, a deep fridge, plenty of room for two people to cook and a third to keep them company. Books on the shelves, art on the walls, a fireplace in the living room when the evenings cool.

It's a walking life from here. A few minutes down the hill puts you on Main Street — Number Ten, Prairie Whale, Rubi's, the bookstores, the river. The other direction, past a quiet stretch of houses, drops you at Lake Mansfield for a morning swim. Hiking trails, swimming holes, and the rest of the Southern Berkshires unfold from the front door in every direction; the Appalachian Trail, Bash Bish Falls, Race Brook Falls, and Bartholomew's Cobble are all an easy drive.

It's our home, so we treat it like one — and we're glad to share it.

The House

Sleeps: 6 Bedrooms: 3 — one with a king, one with a double, one with a bunk bed Baths: 1.5 Property type: Entire home, on its own lot

Amenities

Kitchen — full kitchen with gas range, refrigerator, dishes and silverware, and a butcher-block island.

Bedrooms & laundry — in-unit washer and dryer, linens, hangers, iron, and the usual essentials.

Heating & cooling — central air conditioning, central heat, and an indoor fireplace for cool evenings.

Connectivity — Wi-Fi throughout the house and a TV in the living room.

Bathroom — hair dryer, shampoo, hot water.

Outdoors — private backyard, sun room, free parking on premises, private entrance.

Safety — smoke alarm, carbon monoxide alarm, first aid kit on hand.