A Cabin in the Woods, Reimagined: Inside Index Cabins in Washington

At the end of a quiet road in Index, Washington, the North Fork of the Skykomish River runs past six acres of forest. The trees stand as they always have, and the cabins sit among them rather than in their place.

The man behind them is Nick Pietsch. He went to the University of Colorado to play football. He was a punter, needed a major and, because he liked collecting crystals in Washington, landed in geology. He finished the degree, skipped graduate school and went into surgical sales with Johnson & Johnson.

What he always wanted was a cabin. He grew up going to a family property on Hood Canal, in western Washington.

"I just love the idea of tinkering around, fixing up stuff, and curating spaces for enjoyment." — Nick Pietsch

Today Nick and his family live in the Seattle area, about an hour from Index, and he drives up a couple of times a week to work on the property. Index Cabins now has seven cabins, each shaped by his ideas and his evolving approach to design. Three of them are on Locèlle, where you can book directly with Nick.

Where it began

Nick and his wife found the land in 2010: two run-down buildings on three and a half acres, bought as a family retreat for skiing in winter and the river in summer. They fixed them up, then bought the lot next door, where the road ends. Nick spent three or four years finishing the cabin there, expecting friends and family to fill it. Few did, and it sat empty.

So they decided to share it with travelers. The first guest arrived in 2016. Around the same time, Nick converted a shed into a fourth unit for about $30,000, his first new build. In 2017 he left medical sales to run the cabins full time.

A hotel room in the forest

Nick's idea of what a cabin should be has stayed remarkably consistent.

"I always like to say I wanted to create a W hotel room in the forest." — Nick Pietsch

The converted shed, called Clay Baby, set the look: black and white throughout, a white marble shower, stone countertops and an induction cooktop. Each cabin since has taken that idea in a different direction.

The Treeframe Cabin: an A-frame among the trees

The Treeframe came next. Raised thirteen feet above the forest floor on four trees, the A-frame makes its structure part of the experience. At about 455 square feet, the triangle shapes nearly everything inside. The living area sits below, and the bed occupies a loft tucked beneath the pitched roof. Plywood walls give the interior a contemporary feel, custom triangular windows follow the frame, and skylights open the slope above the bed. Ahead, the river, the mountains and the forest fill the view.

→ View The Treeframe Cabin and book direct

The Sea Containers: steel, stone and the sound of rain

With The Sea Containers, Nick pushed the concept further. He had saved an Instagram photograph of another container cabin, and he knew a spot in the forest where he could build on the idea: two shipping containers, the upper one cantilevered out toward the trees.

"These containers are so strong. Structurally, you can cantilever them further than you normally would, like a normal, regular building." — Nick Pietsch

The result is a cabin built on contrast, industrial structure set against the surrounding forest. One open room below brings cooking and lounging together, and the bedrooms sit above, reached by a floating stair of glulam timber and steel. Skylights bring daylight in over the bed, and some of the windows have no blinds at all, so the trees stay in view from inside.

The materials carry the contrast through. A steam shower lined in white marble and lava rock opens onto the forest through a floor-to-ceiling window. Overhead, the roof is bare steel, a reminder of the structure itself, and when rain moves through the Cascades, its sound becomes part of the stay.

→ View The Sea Containers and book direct

The Adventure Frame: room to play

The newest addition, The Adventure Frame, takes a different approach. Here the emphasis is on bringing the outdoors inside while making room for play.

The living room is wrapped in rock paneling, with the fireplace set against it, so the space feels like a cave carved into the landscape. The kitchen is black and sharply defined, and a steel staircase leads to the second floor. An indoor climbing wall and a movie room make the cabin just as inviting on rainy days as it is when the sun comes out.

→ View The Adventure Frame and book direct

Outside, one of the patios glows from below. Nick embedded LED rope lighting beneath clear glass beads in the ground, so it gives off a soft light after dark. Winter sometimes undoes the effect, and he goes back and fixes it.

That willingness to keep adjusting and improving is part of the process. Subcontractors handle the larger jobs, such as framing and drywall, while Nick takes on much of the smaller work himself.

How guests live here

The land is as much a part of a stay as the cabins. There is a grass field, a sauna and cold plunge by the river, and a 225-foot zipline across a forest field with a quad track beneath it. One person can ride the line while a friend takes a quad around the track. Zipline and quad rides are booked separately.

Asked what he is proudest of, Nick talks about the whole creation, particularly the open spaces and the forest he has worked to preserve.

"Somebody could have come in and bulldozed that forest and built some punk little A-frame or a big A-frame or something back in the woods, but then you don't have the woods anymore." — Nick Pietsch

Over the years, Nick has grown Index Cabins from a single underused cabin into a seven-cabin property supported by a small team. His approach to hosting is still personal. He leads with kindness and makes a point of making sure every guest has a good stay, an approach that has helped him keep Airbnb Superhost status every quarter. Part of every stay also goes to conservation, trail and local history groups in the valley, among them the Sierra Club, the Washington Trails Association and the Index Historical Society.

"If you lead with the kindness, it seems to pay off." — Nick Pietsch

What comes next

Nick isn't looking to keep adding cabins. His focus now is on refining what is already there, remodeling existing spaces and making the small improvements that make a stay better. He would rather keep the cabins thoughtful and well cared for than keep building for the sake of it.

He counts himself lucky to have found the property, and to have worked with a county that has supported the business. Beyond that, the work is much as it always has been: tinkering, fixing and finding ways to make things better. Sometimes that means redoing a patio every few months when winter takes its toll.

For Nick, the appeal is still in the process itself.

Book Index Cabins direct on Locèlle

At Locèlle, we believe the best stays begin with a connection to the people behind them. That is why we introduce travelers directly to the owners of design-led homes, so you can book a distinctive place to stay without added platform fees, and talk to the person who built it before you arrive.

Index Cabins sits on six gated acres along the North Fork of the Skykomish River in Index, Washington, about an hour from Seattle and 20 minutes from Stevens Pass. Sunset named it a winner in its 2026 Travel Awards. Three of its seven cabins are featured on Locèlle, and each page connects you straight to Nick's own booking site.

• The Treeframe Cabin. An A-frame thirteen feet up among four trees, with a king bed in the loft and a private hot tub on the deck. Sleeps four.
• The Sea Containers. Two shipping containers, a marble and lava rock steam shower and a hot tub on the roof. Sleeps six.
• The Adventure Frame. A rock-paneled living room, an indoor climbing wall and a movie room, beside the zipline. Sleeps six.

No middleman and no added platform booking fees, just a direct connection between the guest and the person who makes the place special. Choose a cabin above to see the full gallery, check dates and book directly with Nick.

Photography courtesy of Index Cabins.

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