Welcome to Kaia

Settle in

Your first 15 minutes

Drop your bags. Open the bifold doors. A Kaia tote is waiting on the kitchen island with bread, honey, and a note — and your wine is chilling in the wine fridge. Read the laminated card by the front door (two minutes, covers the essentials), then explore. The dock is out the back door, The Hollow is in the second building, and everything for the lake lives in The Boathouse.

Arriving

From NYC: GW Bridge → I-80 W → NJ-23 N → Union Valley Rd → Greenwood Lake Tpk. About 70 minutes.
From I-287: I-287 N to NJ-23 N, then the same route. About 60 minutes.

The exact address and directions are in your booking confirmation — pull them up before you leave the highway.

Parking: Pull into the driveway — it holds three cars. Please don't park on the grass.

Your door code is sent separately. Enter it on the keypad — the lock confirms with a green light and a click. The same code works on the front and back doors.

The House

Two buildings, exclusively yours: the main house (4 bedrooms, kitchen, living, dining) and a second building whose lower level is The Hollow.

Kitchen

Fully stocked for serious cooking — Nespresso (pods in the upper cabinet), kettle, toaster, blender, full cookware, knives, and bakeware. Spices, olive oil, salt and pepper are provided. The tap on the far right of the sink is filtered drinking water — use it for coffee and cooking.

Living room

The 12-foot bifold doors open fully to the deck and lake. To open: lift the handle, turn the knob, then fold the panels. To close and lock: fold the panels shut, lift the handle, turn the knob until it clicks. The Sonos Arc plays from your phone over AirPlay.

Fireplace: the floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace anchors the great room (operating instructions to confirm before launch). Please turn it off before bed — it's also on the checkout list.

Bedrooms

• Primary: king bed, lake-facing French doors, walk-in closet, ensuite with rain shower and heated towel rack. The robes on the hooks are yours to use.
• Bedroom 2: queen, blackout curtains, shares the upstairs bath with Bedroom 3.
• Bedroom 3: queen, blackout curtains, the other half of the upstairs bath.
• The Cove: four bunks with clip-on reading lights — great for kids, or four friends who don't mind a ladder. It's the ground-floor room; the first-floor bath is a powder room, so both showers are upstairs.
• Extra bedding (blankets, pillows, pack-n-play) is in the hallway supply closet.

Laundry

Washer and dryer off the kitchen; detergent pods and dryer sheets provided. Please don't use bleach — it harms the septic system.

The Boathouse

The basement of the main house — everything for the water lives here.

• Paddleboards (2) on the wall rack, paddles alongside
• Kayaks (2) ready at the dock; spare paddles and seat cushions here
• Life jackets in multiple sizes on labeled hooks — please wear them on all watercraft (house rule and NJ law)
• Beach towels on the white-oak shelf (separate from bath towels)
• Canoe and the towable tube live here too (exact spot to confirm)
• Coolers — two sizes, one soft-sided · Fishing gear — 4 rods and a tackle box

Take what you need. Return what you can. The water is just out the back door.

The Lake

Your dock is steps from the back door — please keep it to 6 people at a time.

Kayaks & paddleboards: the kayaks are ready at the dock; paddleboards, paddles, and life jackets are in the Boathouse. Our house rule is that everyone wears a life jacket on the water, which is stricter than the law asks — the law is below, and there are parts of it people are usually surprised by.

The rules on this water

Greenwood Lake lies in two states. The house, the dock and everything within a paddle of it are at the New Jersey end, so New Jersey's rules are the ones below. The northern end is in New York and is governed by New York's — worth checking before you make a day of paddling up the lake.

Life jackets. A US Coast Guard-approved jacket has to be aboard for every person, on any vessel, in both states. Two cases require it to be worn rather than carried:

• Every child aged 12 or under, any vessel, any time of year. New Jersey fines the operator up to $250 for it.
• Everyone aboard, 1 November to 1 May, on any vessel under 26 feet — and that expressly includes canoes, kayaks and paddleboards. It has to be securely fastened and worn while you are underway or drifting. This one catches people out: it is a cold-water hypothermia rule, not a summer rule, and the lake is coldest exactly when it looks most inviting from the deck.

Speed, if you have a motor. New Jersey sets three limits specifically for Greenwood Lake, and the third is the one that applies to the water in front of this house:

• 45 mph maximum anywhere on the lake.
• 15 mph from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise.
• 5 mph within 200 feet of the shore, a dock, a pier, a raft or float, or any anchored or moored boat. Our dock, and the swimmers off it, sit inside that zone.

North of the state line you are in New York, under New York navigation law and the village's own ordinance: no wake-producing speed north of the buoys at the two arm entrances, and no jet skis between sunset and sunrise.

Bringing your own boat? The dock takes one vessel up to 20 feet. Anything with a motor needs its own liability insurance, and the person driving needs a boating safety certificate New Jersey recognizes — required for every power vessel and every jet ski on New Jersey's inland waters, though not for our kayaks, canoe or paddleboards. Out-of-state certificates are honored for visits under 90 days. No fueling at the dock, and please rinse the hull before it goes in: invasive weed travels between lakes on trailers.

• Jet skis: 16 or over to drive one, and not between sunset and sunrise.
• Towing the tube or a skier: daylight only, and you need a second adult aboard facing backwards to watch the person being towed. Stay 200 feet off any dock, pier or structure and 100 feet from anyone in the water. Towline 35 to 75 feet.
• Drinking: the limit is 0.08, the same as it is in a car.

Two things about this water

Algae, in warm still weather. Greenwood Lake gets harmful algal blooms, worst at the New Jersey end — which is our end. The state advised against contact with the water on the New Jersey side for much of the summer of 2019, and there were further advisories in 2023 restricting swimming, wading and paddling. In warm, calm, late-summer weather, check the NJDEP status before you get in, and stay out of any green scum whatever the advisory says. Keep the dog out of it too — dogs are far more likely than people to drink it.

Never walk on the ice. Not at any point in the winter, however solid it looks and whoever else is out there. Greenwood Lake has variable currents and wildly variable thickness, and it does not freeze reliably. There is an ice-fishing culture on this lake; it is local knowledge built over years and it is not something to take up for a weekend.

Fishing: rods and tackle are in the Boathouse. The lake has walleye, largemouth bass, muskellunge, and panfish. A NY or NJ license is valid anywhere on the water — buy online via the QR code on the fishing card.

Binoculars & stargazing: Vortex binoculars on the deck railing (look for bald eagles, herons, and osprey), and a Celestron telescope on the dock — download the free StarSense Explorer app, dock your phone, and it points you to the night sky.

Outdoor living

Hot tub: the cedar hot tub on the deck is kept warm and ready — rinse off sunscreen first, no glass in or around it, children only with an adult, and slide the cover back on when you're done. Please don't adjust the settings or chemicals; if something looks off, message us.

Gas grill: on the deck — brush the grates, preheat about 10 minutes, and turn the burners and gas supply off when you're done. Grill tools hang alongside.

Fire pit: propane — turn the knob to ignite, no matches needed; please turn it off when done. The s'mores kit and roasting sticks are on the kitchen counter.

Deck: arrange the Adirondack chairs and blankets however you like. If rain's forecast, please bring the cushions in.

EV charger: Level 2 on the driveway (J1772; Tesla adapter in the dock box). Cornhole boards are on the lawn, bags in the storage bench.

Bear country

Black bears live here. Not rarely, and not somewhere further up the mountain — here, on this road.

That is less alarming than it sounds. Bears are wary of people and would rather avoid you. What changes a bear's behavior is food: one that finds nothing to eat moves on and you never know it came, and one that finds something to eat comes back, brings its cubs, and eventually has to be trapped or destroyed. So the trash rules below are the most consequential paragraphs in this guidebook, and they matter after you have gone as much as while you are here.

Food and trash — the part that actually decides it

• Everything goes inside the bin with the lid shut — never in a bag set beside it. A tied bag is not a container. The bins are the certified bear-resistant kind and they live in the garage; that is where they stay, not on the deck or the porch overnight.
• Please don't put anything out at the road. Collection here happens on set township days, and putting the bins out is not something we ask of guests. Trash left at the end of the driveway on any other day stands out overnight, which is precisely how a bear learns an address.
• Recycling counts as food. An empty can smells like what was in it. Rinse bottles and cans and put them in with everything else, indoors.
• Brush the grill down and shut the lid after you cook. Grease is a meal.
• Nothing edible stays outside overnight — not the cooler on the deck, not the s'mores kit, not a dog bowl by the door.
• Walk the dog on a leash around the house and bring them in at night. This is bear country and NJDEP asks the same of everyone who lives here.
• Latch the windows and lock the bifolds when you go out or go to bed. Bears have opened unlatched doors and windows at properties on this lake — it is the reason the lifting-handle routine is worth getting right, and not only a matter of security.

If you meet one

This is New Jersey's official guidance, and it is worth reading once now rather than for the first time in the driveway.

• Stay calm, and make sure it knows you are there — speak in an assertive voice, sing, clap. A surprised bear is the problem; an informed one usually leaves.
• Never run. Back away slowly instead.
• Don't hold eye contact. A bear can read it as a challenge.
• Make yourself look big — wave your arms. With other people, stand close together with your arms above your heads.
• Leave it a way out. Never corner one, and if a bear somehow gets into the house, prop the doors open and let it leave.
• Huffing, jaw-popping or swatting the ground means you are too close. Back away slowly, no eye contact, don't run.
• Standing on its hind legs is not a threat. It is getting a better look or a better scent.
• A bluff charge happens when a bear feels cornered or wants your food. Stand your ground, avoid eye contact, then back away slowly. Do not run.
• If it will not leave, get inside or into the car.

Smart home quick start

It works invisibly — but here's what's in your hands.

• Lights: “Alexa, turn on [room] lights” · “Alexa, set living room to 40%.”
• Temperature: each room has its own mini-split with a wall remote (heat and cool — press mode to switch). Default 72°F.
• Sonos: AirPlay from any Apple device or use the Sonos app — Arc (living room), Era 100 (bar), Era 300 (theater), and the portable Roam for the dock.
• Streaming: Apple TV in the theater, Fire TV in each bedroom — sign into your own accounts; they sign out after your stay.

House rules

We keep them simple because we trust our guests.

1. Maximum 10 guests — the booking should match who's staying.
2. Quiet hours 10 PM – 8 AM. An exterior noise sensor monitors levels. There is one exterior camera, at the entrance garage; it does not cover the dock, the deck, the hot tub or any part of the inside of the house, and there are no microphones inside.
3. No smoking or vaping inside — anywhere, cannabis included. There is a deck, a fire pit and a considerable amount of night sky for it.
4. Shoes off inside. The white-oak floors are the clue.
5. Life jackets on all watercraft. Non-negotiable.
6. Nothing down the drains but toilet paper, water, and soap — the septic system is sensitive.
7. Lock the bifold doors when you leave: lift the handle first, then turn the knob.
8. Pets: well-behaved, house-trained dogs stay free — the house is named after ours. Tell us you're bringing one so we can have the place ready, and please don't leave a dog alone in the house.

Area guide

Outdoors

Dining — on the lake

Dining — Warwick village (~20–25 min)

Drive times are approximate — confirm hours before you go; some lake spots are seasonal.

Essentials & day trips

ShopRite and a pharmacy are ~10 min (West Milford). Warwick Village (20 min) is a charming main street of shops, ice cream, and restaurants. Farther afield: Storm King Art Center (45 min), Bear Mountain (45 min), West Point (50 min), and Woodbury Common outlets (40 min).

Before you message us

Quick fixes for the usual hiccups.

Emergency & safety

• Emergency: 911 · Host: number on your laminated card
• Hospital: Chilton Medical Center, 97 West Parkway, Pompton Plains (25 min)
• Police (non-emergency): West Milford PD, (973) 728-2800

Fire extinguishers: kitchen (under sink) and dock. First-aid kit: kitchen, upper cabinet left of the sink. Flashlights: entry-table drawer and each nightstand.