127 Cabin Co.: The Story Behind The Step and The Trek

Introduction: A Design-Led Hudson Valley Cabin Stay on a Working Farm

There’s a certain kind of stay that doesn’t need to announce itself.

Set on a working farm just outside Montgomery, New York, 127 Cabin Co. cabins in the Hudson Valley are quietly becoming known for something more specific than aesthetics alone: a way of building that feels personal, restrained, and deeply connected to place.

Created by Evan McGowan and Courtney McGowan, the project consists of two A-frame cabins—The Step and The Trek—designed not as rentals first, but as extensions of a working farm and a long, evolving relationship with land.

“It’s literally built on our family farm. Me and my wife built both of them by hand. We designed them. We host them, we clean up. It’s our thing.”

From Farm Life to Hudson Valley Cabin Rentals

Before cabins, there were smaller acts of building.

Chicken coops. Small structures. Farm experiments that didn’t feel like hospitality at the time, but later became the foundation for it.

For Evan McGowan and Courtney McGowan, the shift happened when they noticed something simple: people were already coming to the land. A canvas tent stay proved there was appetite for something slower, more immersive, more tied to the farm itself.

That question followed naturally into design:

If people are already here—what does it look like to stay here properly?

“If they can book out this canvas tent on our farm, what could I do?”

That became the early logic behind what is now design-forward A-frame cabins in Montgomery, NY.

The Step: A Minimal A-Frame Cabin in Montgomery, NY

Explore: The Step at 127 Cabin Co.

The Step is the original cabin at 127 Cabin Co.—a compact A-frame cabin in Montgomery, New York designed for slow living.

It was built with a clear constraint: sit lightly on the land. Not to dominate it, not to frame it too aggressively, but to exist within it.

The architecture follows that idea closely. A small footprint. Clean geometry. Natural materials that echo the surrounding farm rather than contrast it. Outside, open fields stretch uninterrupted, with a slow presence of wildlife and farm animals moving through the landscape in their own rhythm.

Inside, the experience stays consistent. Minimal, warm, and unforced. The space is intentionally reduced to what matters most—light, material, quiet.

This is what defines The Step as a Hudson Valley minimalist cabin stay: not what is added, but what is left open.

“There’s nothing about your first build. It’s just your first.”

The Trek: A More Elevated Cabin Stay in the Hudson Valley

Explore: The Trek at 127 Cabin Co.

The Trek is the second expression of the same idea—refined through experience.

Still located on the same working farm near Montgomery, NY, it builds on The Step but introduces more space, more ease, and a slightly more elevated interpretation of the cabin experience.

This is a modern cabin stay in the Hudson Valley that feels more open without losing restraint. Interiors are expanded. Layout is more livable. But the core language remains the same: natural materials, soft light, and an emphasis on stillness over stimulation.

“The Trek is bigger. We kind of learned what we took from The Step and we implemented it in The Trek.”

Together, the two cabins form a small system of design-led A-frame stays in New York, each calibrated slightly differently to the same landscape.

Design Language: Cohesion Across Two Hudson Valley Cabins

Across both cabins, the design approach is intentionally consistent.

Evan McGowan and Courtney McGowan developed a shared visual language built on restraint—where materials, proportion, and light do most of the work.

A subtle Magnolia green runs through the structures as a quiet anchor point, tying The Step and The Trek together without flattening their differences.

This is not about decoration. It’s about continuity across experience.

“I wanted them to have a personality. I wanted them to be iconic… one cohesive design.”

The Setting: A Working Farm in the Hudson Valley

Unlike curated hospitality environments, this is a working farm stay in the Hudson Valley.

The distinction matters.

Wildlife moves through the fields naturally. Farm animals shape the sound and rhythm of the land. Seasons are not aesthetic—they are operational, visible in real time across the property.

The cabins exist inside this system, not apart from it.

And while the setting feels quiet and removed, it remains close to Montgomery and the wider Hudson Valley—where cafés, small shops, and local culture sit within a short drive.

Most guests don’t leave often. Not because they can’t, but because the land holds attention.

Guest Experience: Slower Time, Thoughtful Detail

Inside both cabins, the experience is shaped by reduction.

A custom guidebook created by Evan McGowan and Courtney McGowan sits within each stay, blending practical information with the story of the cabins themselves. It functions as both object and narrative—something to use, and something to keep.

Outside, the farm becomes the primary experience. Walking paths, open fields, river edges, and seasonal shifts create a sense of movement that doesn’t require scheduling.

This is what defines a slow cabin stay in Montgomery, NY: nothing is structured, but everything is present.

Direct Booking: Staying Closer to the Source

127 Cabin Co. is gradually building a direct booking cabin experience in the Hudson Valley, alongside platform listings.

Each stay includes a small, intentional gesture: a welcome envelope left inside the cabin with a personal note, small details, and an invitation to return directly.

“Next time, consider booking direct and save 10%.”

It’s not framed as a discount strategy—it’s framed as continuity.

Recognition and Media Attention

As interest in design-forward cabin rentals in New York has grown, The Step and The Trek have been featured across design and hospitality storytelling platforms.

Despite that visibility, the operation remains small, hands-on, and directly run by Evan McGowan and Courtney McGowan.

“It was a cool moment… one, I built this; two, I took the photo.”

Looking Ahead: Expanding the Idea of 127 Cabin Co.

The future of 127 Cabin Co. is still forming.

There is consideration for a third cabin on the property, along with a broader ambition to expand into additional builds—potentially helping others create similar A-frame cabin experiences in the Hudson Valley and beyond.

What started as one structure is now a framework for thinking about architecture, hospitality, and land.

“Eventually, I want to own as many as I possibly can.”

Why 127 Cabin Co. Belongs on Locèlle

127 Cabin Co. sits exactly where Locèlle focuses: at the intersection of design-led stays, real places, and direct connection to hosts.

The Step and The Trek are not standard vacation rentals. They are architectural responses to a working farm—shaped by Evan McGowan and Courtney McGowan, and grounded in material restraint, land, and lived experience.

They are quiet by design. Intentional by default. And increasingly rare in today’s landscape of Hudson Valley cabin rentals and A-frame stays in New York.

Explore The Step and The Trek on Locèlle and book directly with the hosts.