Annual Roundup of Upstate NY Bungalow Colonies

  |  May 23, 2013

Yes, we love bungalow colonies. It’s still our dream to buy one, modernize it and get all our friends to turn it into an affordable co-op getaway. In the meantime, we like to keep track of colonies that are still running. Many are co-ops, but some still have a single owner and a bevy of renters. If you know of more, please email us!

Lake Huntington Summer Community

Lake Huntington Summer Community

The obsession started when we first read about Lake Huntington Summer Community, one of the few upstate new york bungalow colonies that offers short-term rentals (we’re hoping to go this summer, but haven’t decided yet which one best suits us). 17+ acres, 50+ families, it promises “benign neglect” for parents wanting their children to go out the door and play — something city kids can’t do.

Many more colonies on the jump. Got some to add? Email us!

winding-brook-acres

Winding Brook Acres

Winding Brook Acres
New on our radar, the Hudson River-side community is coy about the details. We know this: it’s a great locale. It has a pool, lots of hiking in the Black Creek Preserve and access to the river. Word on the street is this one is not so much about community. More about being in nature. There’s a unit for rent for $1,150 a month, and we’ve had word that there’s one for sale as well.

 

forest-lake-country-club-hopefully-junction

Forest Lake Country Club, Hopewell Junction

Forest Lake County Club
In Hopewell Junction, a surprising find on the east side of the river. The $15,000 bungalow listed on Craigslist reveals little. Here’s what they say about the community: “About 110 Units on many many acres of land (about 100)
Ball courts — Very Large Lake Access for boating and swimming lifeguard on duty — Shows in our clubhouse. also a card room.”

 

silberts-resort

Silbert’s Resort
We admittedly know nothing about this place, other than they’ve got a bungalow on the market for $10,000 and the NYTimes wrote them up in ’93. If you go, give us the skinny!

 

pine-lake-rainbow

Pine Lake Park

Pine Lake Park
Call the conflict of interest division! Pine Lake is an advertiser here, and they have one unit listed in our real estate listings section. They tend to rent for the whole season, and the colony is located in Westchester County — definitely the closest one to the city that we’ve found.

 

lansmans-coop

Lansmans
This is one of the few colonies to successfully transform into a 21st century version of its 50s heyday self (they have a website for folks who want to reminisce about the mid-century colony). Per the website: “100 beautiful wooded acres off Murphy Road in Woodbourne, NY. The approximately 85 summer cottages are situated throughout the grounds. Lansman’s sports a grand in-ground heated pool, four tournament tennis courts, full court basketball and paddleball courts, baseball and sports fields, the premier summer day camp, a casino and restaurant, weekend shows, a card room, full time maintenance staff and much much more.” They have bungalows for rent or sale including a one-bedroom bungalow with deck–$4,500 for a full spring-through-fall rental, or $12,000 to buy.

 

buffalo-colony

Buffalo Colony
The Buffalo Colony, also in Woodburne, N.Y. has a swimming pool, basketball and volleyball courts and a communal building, and 30 units spread out over 103 acres. Many of these are larger homes, suitable for families or groups of friends, including an early 19th century schoolhouse — which looks very nice to us. They have bungalows for rent and for sale.

 


flume-bello

Fiume Bello
The name means “beautiful river,” so-called for the Mamaketing Brook that bisects it. Located in Spring Glen, N.Y., the colony is a co-op of 12 bungalows on eight acres, a common building called the Casino, and a pool. One bungalow is currently for sale, profiled last year on Upstater–the bungalow was then $26,500 and is now asking $18,000. They don’t officially rent here, or let you sublet, so the way in is buying. Taxes: $2,400/year. No train, but the Short Line bus goes to the Post Office on Old Route 209.

 

rosmarins-colony

Rosmarins Colony

Rosmarins
Rosmarins has 100 cottages, a lake, pool (one for grownups and one for kiddies), tennis courts, playgrounds, a snack shop, a day camp for the kids and a Saturday night lounge act! It’s in Monroe, N.Y., 39 miles from the George Washington Bridge, and, if you tire of colony life, 10 minutes from Woodbury Commons.

 

Spring Glen Woods
One we haven’t visited ourselves but an owner there wrote us and told us about it. The skinny, according to their website: “a seasonal bungalow community in upstate New York, about 90 miles from NYC, comprised of 20 charming units built in the 1940s. Open from May until mid-October each year, we enjoy the beautiful Catskill mountain views, our spacious pool, community room (with a stage!), playground area, basketball court, laundry room, and good friends.”

Spring Glen Corners
Spring Glen Corners, also in Spring Glen, N.Y., has 22 bungalows, a children’s play area, pool, landscaped grounds, a garden, rec room, laundry room and communal canoes. They do allow rentals and suggest that’s a good way to get in with the community. Currently a unit for sale for $59,000, with annual taxes and fees of $3,600. Here’s more from the owner: “It’s a double bungalow in Spring Glen Corners with more than twice the usual space of a typical bungalow because we also have two sleeping lofts and a huge yard that no one else uses. We’ve completely modernized the electric system and put on a new roof. We’re selling equipped and furnished (except for the kitchen table and my daugher’s bedroom set) so it’s completely turn-key.” Contact the owner if interested. The NY Times wrote up the colony in 2005.

 

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