Slabsides: A wooded inspiration and naturalist's haven

Written by the late naturalist John Burroughs, those simple words on a sign greet visitors as they step from the woods into the clearing that encompasses Slabsides. This rustic woodland cabin and surrounding 180-acre sanctuary in West Park was where Burroughs retreated to write, study nature and entertain friends and family.

Nature lovers who want to relive the setting that inspired Burroughs can visit Slabsides and the sanctuary, which is owned by the John Burroughs Association.

Red-orange efts dart amid in the fallen leaves and acorns sprinkled on the ground. If you look beyond the porch, you can imagine the celery farm Burroughs tended in the swamp before the cabin. By the door of the cabin hangs a spiral notebook filled with signatures, poems and musings of other visitors moved by the tranquility and beauty of the surrounding woods.

"I feel very close to him over there,'' said Burroughs' granddaughter, Elizabeth Burroughs Kelley, 88, who lives in West Park on the bank of the Hudson in a house her father built. "I used to go over every weekend to talk to the people who came. ... Over the years, hundreds of people came there. I've had people say, 'I feel vibrations, happy vibrations there.' What made a difference, of course, was his spirit.

'Kelley, who has written several books about her grandfather and Slabsides, said her Burroughs showed visitors the pleasure they could have by just observing nature. Built in 1895, the rough-hewn log house has a porch perched on cedar posts that Burroughs himself helped set. Inside, the cabin remains as Burroughs left it when he died in 1921 at age 84. His straw boater hangs on the wall. His desk is arranged as if Burroughs wanted to jot down a thought.

Slabsides, a National Historic Landmark, is furnished with simple pieces made and used by the naturalist.

John Burroughs retreated to write, study nature and entertain friends and family at Slabsides.

The bedstead from yellow birch; table legs from staghorn sumac trunks; the handles on the cupboards and door from cypress-root dug from the nearby swamps. The stones in the chimney come from the nearby cliffs. Flags from Vassar students decorate one wall. Photos of a full-bearded Burroughs with visitors rest on a table, including those of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Teddy Roosevelt. Along the gravel road, a shining pond filled with snapping turtles mirrors its surroundings ... sheer rocks festooned with red and gold flora. At the end of the road, visitors are greeted by Broglio's Bacchus, a statue of a man atop a beer keg. Once the site of Broglio's Hotel, which burned down in 1938 or 1939, remains of former gardens and terraces are still visible.

The Pond House, according to ranger Bill Conciglio, was either a carriage house or servants quarters for the hotel. Bill lives upstairs. Inside the small rooms are decorated with photos of Burroughs family, his son Julian, granddaughters Elizabeth and Ursula, and brother Hiram. It houses a meeting room for the society, a library with most of Burroughs' 25 volumes.