128 Arapaho Trail, Sparta, NJ

Built in 1945 and accessible only through a half-mile private dirt road, 128 Arapaho is one of the 29 homes in the private Arapaho Lake Community. You would feel completely alone with the mother nature here, although it is less than 3 miles away from Sparta, a major town in the area.

The community consists of like-minded residents who are passionate about one thing: mother nature. Here you never hear the sound of a lawn mower. Nobody maintains a lawn. Nobody has ever proposed getting the dirt road paved, and probably no one ever will. Things are left to the powers of the mother nature, and it just works perfectly.

128 Arapaho is one of the few lakefront homes in the community. While every house there is unique with its location and surroundings, being located right at the lake makes 128 Arapaho even more special. The location does not only offer a unique, beautiful view throughout each season, but it also provides easy access to the lake. Fishing, swimming, canoeing, ice-skating or ice-fishing are activities that are available to you just a couple of steps away from your own deck.

Perfect as a weekend cottage for nature-lovers. Extremely quite, and very private. If you like to be surrounded by trees, that's all you have there (in addition to the lake).

Located less than 3 miles away, Sparta is one of the major towns with great bars and restaurants, lots of entertainment including a movie theater and a bowling center, and cultural events based on its german heritage such as the “Weihnachtsmarkt” (christmas market) during Christmas. Lake Mohawk, one of the biggest lakes in the area is right in Downtown and offers great views and restaurants at the lake as well as the facilities of Lake Mohawk Country Club.

128 Arapaho Trail

Stop & Shop Supermarket

(2.4 miles)

Downtown Sparta(less than 3 miles)

Located less than 3 miles away from Downtown Sparta, and only 2.4 miles from a Stop&Shop Supermarket.

Lake Mohawk Country Club

Only 50 miles away from New York City (60-75 minutes) and accessible through the I-80 highway where the traffic is almost never a concern (especially once you learn when not to use the express lane).

Great weekend getaway / vacation house. Permanent stay requires the following considerations: • Water supply is from a community well which provides water only from April 30th until November 1st (6

months). It is shut off during the winter months due to freezing concerns since most of the pipes are not underground. Still, we have used the house on most of the weekends throughout the winter months and just brought a few gallons of water from the supermarket nearby. It worked perfectly. Digging a private well is an option (many houses have it), but we never considered it.

• The capacity of the septic system does not meet today's standards. Water consumption per person was much lower back then when it was built. The daily use of a dishwasher and washing machine would probably challenge its capacity. Upgrading it would be challenging due to the limited size of the land on property and big rocks in the back of the house. An upgrade would probably require an alternative septic system that can be installed on properties with limited size (estimated cost of upgrade: 30-35K). In our opinion it is not a great option since it wouldn't be worth the required maintenance, and the negative effect on the landscape which is currently very natural. It's operation may be also a little noisy.

• There is no insulation in the house which makes heating during the winter months more expensive. Insulation can be installed, but it would turn this highly enjoyable cottage to a regular house.