Mountain Cabin Retreat

Address: 282 Rosario Park Road

Status: On the market

Price: $699,000

I had strong pangs of déjà vu driving up Highway 154 last week. My son John and his bride, Natalie, got married in a magical weekend-long celebration at Lake Cachuma last month, using one of Cachuma’s lakeside group campsites, so that their friends from across the country could camp out, catch up, and enjoy each other and the occasion. As the mother of the groom, that meant driving up and over the pass quite a few times that wedding weekend, which I didn’t mind one bit.

In fact, every drive to the wedding site felt like a well-choregraphed scene in a musical. Each time I left Santa Barbara, the sky would be cloaked in a drizzly gray blanket of fog, but at a particular point on the pass, as if on cue, the clouds would part, the sky would turn blue, and the sun would shine. I considered it a sign of good luck for the bride and groom.

Last week, I drove the same route to visit a house for sale at 282 Rosario Park Road. At my appointed turnoff to Stagecoach Road, the clouds performed their same well-rehearsed parting, making way for blue skies and sunshine. I soon learned that a different kind of love story awaited me.

Rosario Park Road is an enchanted setting: a private community of 20 homes on a quiet mountain road surrounded by a tranquil backdrop of tall, mature trees and lush green hillsides. It feels like Big Sur, yet the neighborhood is within walking distance of Cold Springs Tavern, and it is just a short drive down the hill to Santa Barbara.

Also known by the locals as “Cabin 12,” 282 Rosario Park Road is a two-bedroom, one-bath home built in 1945, with just under 700 square feet of living space. I was fortunate to be shown around the property by the owner himself. It soon became obvious that he knows and loves every inch of the house. Jason and his wife, Katie, bought the house in 2015. In the years since, the arrival of their two daughters, two years apart, has made the house feel a little too cozy for them, but no less cherished.

Jason toured me around and pointed out improvements he has made inside and out: from new windows to a new heating system and brand-new fence around the yard. He told me about the community, which has its own water district with a private community well. I barely refrained from asking, “Are you sure you want to leave?” The house is adorable, and the setting is magical. I imagine that growing up here would be an enchanting experience, with all the lessons that nature can teach.

Built into the hillside, the house is, in essence, two stories, with the main living area on the top floor. A large front patio, with a lovely hilltop view, leads to the front door, which opens onto the living room. Large and bright, with an inviting brick fireplace against one wall, this main room also offers a view alcove perfect for a window seat or reading nook. 

The two bedrooms are on either side of the living room, with the bathroom just inside the larger of the two. The master bedroom also has a wall of windows overlooking the front of the house, with a treetop view that must be mesmerizing year-round, watching nature’s changing display throughout the seasons.

The kitchen is along the back of the house and has been completely remodeled with quartz countertops, recessed lighting, and newer appliances. A back door opens onto another deck with a different view, plus another staircase downstairs, providing good traffic flow in and around the house and yard.

Down below, a large, unfinished “man cave” provides an excellent storage or workroom space. Another finished room with a separate entrance is currently being used as the laundry room, but it’s big enough to be a guest room.

A large patio on this lower level with a built-in barbecue pit is the perfect outdoor entertaining space. The front yard is large and flat, with a chicken coop, fruit trees, a big area outfitted with chairs and a fire pit, and a terraced vegetable garden on one side. Two girls rode by on horses and called hello to Jason.

We walked down the road to the edge of the property to check out the newly rebuilt garage and to enjoy the house from a different viewpoint. Just about everything that I remarked upon, from the beautiful flowering bushes out front to the fenced garbage area, was Jason’s handiwork.

As I was saying goodbye, a neighbor drove up the street and paused to chat. Everyone knows everyone on Rosario Park Road. When Jason introduced me, the neighbor jokingly asked me not to tell too many people about their special community.

This mountain enclave, only minutes from town, offers solitude, tranquility, and friendly living unlike anywhere else. As I drove back down the pass, tendrils of fog curled around me like a dream sequence in a movie, willing me to forget that magical Rosario Park Road ever existed. But it was an experience I wouldn’t soon forget.

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282 Rosario Park Road is for sale in Santa Barbara, offered by Kirk G. Hodson and Jon-Ryan Schlobohm of Compass. Reach Kirk at (805) 886-6527 or kirk@kirkhodson.com. Reach Jon-Ryan at (805) 450-3307 or jr@jon-ryan.com.