I stumbled upon the Black Crane Treehouse looking through Airbnb for unique spaces in the PNW. We had a three-day weekend and wanted to do a quick get-away to somewhere new that wasn’t too far of a drive from Portland. This Treehouse in Bremerton, Washington - located on the Puget Sound - checked off all our boxes and made for an incredible weekend away in nature.

We can’t wait to get into the details with you!

The Treehouse is located on a magical property – Rockland Woods – in Bremerton. Rockland Woods was developed by a couple from Seattle, both artists, who wanted to support other artists in their creative process. The short-term rental of the treehouse helps to fund their non-profit “Rockland Artist Residency” that funds a 3-week residency for artists to work on their craft in the Artist Studio/Barn that sits just below the Treehouse. Throughout the property you can see different pieces of art and they even have a little shed with t-shirts, cards, and ceramics for sale - which adds to the experience.

Their 20 acres of property starts at the lake and extends deep into the forest with a winding and steep dirt road taking you to the different structures. There is a main lodge, artist studio, glamping area, air stream, and of course the Treehouse tucked into different parts of the property. The entrance to the dirt road sits right across from their lake access point which has a dock and canoe available for any of the guests to venture out on. We opted to stay on land in favor of exploring the hiking trail behind the property. This property is dog heaven! There is a 1-mile (well-marked) loop through the woods that became our morning and evening dog walks. Odin had a blast running up and down the trail, hopping over down trees, and tracking the scent of all the different animals we saw scurrying around. He was in full adventure mode and we all looked forward to those walks.

The Treehouse is spectacular and leans into contemporary and artistic design. The inside is open concept with a bed facing the big windows with a view over the tree tops and lake. The kitchen was well equipped with a small convection oven and burner that we used to make several meals at home and enjoyed them in the banquette eating area. A true highlight was the amazing shower/bathroom that had a heated toilette, rain shower, and beautiful tile. The interior was minimally decorated with an emphasis on the views with large windows and skylights. Note there are no window coverings, but the location is very private and we didn’t have any issues with waking up too early because of the sunrise. The most memorable elements for us were definitely the rain shower, the beautiful ceramic dishes and mugs that we used with each of our meals, and the balcony where we enjoyed coffee each morning looking out at the view.

We wanted to make the most of our only full day, so we split our time between exploring the outdoors and exploring downtown Bremerton. We spent the morning hiking on Gold Creek Trail in the Olympic National Forest – it was just 5 minutes down the road. It was a beautiful day and the parking lot was filled with hikers, bikers, horseback riders, and dirt bikers (a true multi-use trail). We hiked for a few miles up to a summit where there were picnic tables and a view of the Puget Sound and mountains. Then we headed 30 minutes into town to refuel with some great pizza at Evergreen Pizza Co and walk through the free Puget Sound Navy Museum. The theme of Bremerton is definitely Navy ships and we recommend taking some time to look at the ships and walk through the different parks scattered around town.

After two nights, we enjoyed our last balcony coffee date and packed up our bags to head home to Portland. We saw the hosts on our way out who were there doing some maintenance on the main lodge. Shawn was very friendly and was glad we had such a nice stay.

We would highly recommend the Treehouse for a special get-away. Bremerton being a small town 30 minutes away contributed to the experience because we opted for spending the majority of our time on the property and in nature which made for a perfect recharge.