Just Listed in the Poconos: Mountaintop Rancher in Jim Thorpe

To be technical about it, this mountaintop house at 270 Maury Rd., Jim Thorpe, PA 18229 isn’t a ranch house because it has that second-story primary bedroom on top of it. But otherwise, it’s a rancher in form. And besides, if you were building a house on a mountaintop with great views, wouldn’t you want to put the room where you will sleep in a place where it got even better views? / Photography by Nick Gildner via Zurn Realty and Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors MLS

The Pocono Mountains region actually encompasses four counties: Monroe, Pike, Wayne and Carbon.

And while it may not have the Delaware Water Gap, Carbon County is home to some incredible mountain scenery and one of the most picturesque towns in all Pennsylvania: Jim Thorpe.

Jim Thorpe — known as Mauch Chunk until the Oklahoma town where the legendary Native American athlete came from refused to give him a decent memorial — is a beautifully preserved piece of the 19th century nestled in a valley ringed by the mountains that have given Carbon County the nickname “The Switzerland of America.”

And this Jim Thorpe ranch house for sale sits right near the crest of one of those mountains.

Strictly speaking, it isn’t a ranch house, but take the primary bedroom off its top and a ranch house is what you get.

Of course, you wouldn’t want to do that, because then you wouldn’t be able to wake up to this sight in the morning:

View from primary bedroom balcony

This house faces west, which means that you get fabulous sunsets from its deck, its sunroom and your private balcony. But you also get great views of  Beltzville Lake, Blue Mountain, the town of Jim Thorpe itself and even Allentown from the yard surrounding this house, the deck attached to its front and the huge picture windows and sliding doors on the inside.

Sun porch

You enter this house through its sun porch, which features full-height windows and sliding doors all around.

Main-floor deck

On one side of the sun porch, a sliding door leads to the main-floor deck.

Kitchen

Next to that, a door leads into the kitchen, which is at one end of a totally open main-floor living area. Though this house dates to the mid-1980s, you can see that its kitchen has been kept up to date with granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances.

Dining area and living room

At the other end of the main floor is a wood-burning fireplace that graces the living room. In between these is the dining area.

home office

This house has three bedrooms in all, one on each floor. The main floor also has a hall bath and a home office. Theoretically, you could use the home office as a fourth bedroom, but doing so would be unwise because this room also serves as the access point for the stairs to the primary bedroom.

Primary bedroom

Primary bedroom

The knotty-pine plank paneling gives the bedroom an extra measure of rustic charm.

Primary bathroom

The primary suite also has a large walk-in closet and a bathroom with dual vanities and a tile-lined shower.

Basement rec room

Down below, the walkout basement contains the third bedroom, a spacious rec room and a patio located under the main-floor deck.

Backyard

Berry Run

All of this is set on five and a half wooded acres, only a small portion of which are cleared for its backyard. That acreage includes a chicken coop, a barn, a storage shed and Berry Run, which flows through your property.

Besides its setting and amenities, something else makes this Jim Thorpe ranch house for sale attractive:  Its location. If you like live music, the Penn’s Peak concert venue lies just up Maury Road from here. Jim Thorpe’s lovely Victorian town center is a short drive away, and Beltzville Lake, where you can go fishing, swimming, boating, sunbathing on the beach and more at Beltzville State Park, is even closer. Blue Mountain, home to one of the best ski resorts in the Poconos, is a little ways to the southeast of Beltzville Lake.

The other thing about its location that makes this place attractive is that you can get to it from Philadelphia in less than two hours. From the northwestern suburbs, the trip takes even less time.  That means your Poconos vacation can begin that much sooner and last that much longer.

That makes this house such a find that you may want to shout it from the mountaintop. Buy it and you can.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 3

BATHS: 2

SQUARE FEET: 2,716

SALE PRICE: $625,000

OTHER STUFF: Since this property is not part of a resort community, there are no homeowners association fees, and you won’t have to worry about running afoul of rules beyond those of Penn Forest Township if you want to rent this house out for short stays so it can help pay your mortgage.

270 Maury Rd., Jim Thorpe, PA 18229 [Deborah A. Garner and Danielle C. Rodgers | Zurn Realty via Zillow]