The historic estate is nestled on 10 wooded acres just an hour from New York City.

Escape to New York City’s Secret Suburb

Within a single historic estate, discover both an exclusive lakeside retreat and the Empire State’s most hospitable watering hole.

Words: Liz Wallace
Images: Scott Wintrow for Gamut Photos

Known as “New York City’s secret suburb,” the estate-dotted enclave of Waccabuc is home to a population that peaks at 500. Hence, the community is inherently insular, and within its borders, this property represents a new apex in exclusivity.

Built in 1928 for a descendant of the Meads, one of the original families of Westchester county, the home impressed from the start. (In the first of many luxurious upgrades, the early owners hired a team of 20 men to move a boathouse across the frozen lake and adjoin it to their property.) The house was sold once in 1940, and then again in 1990 to its current occupant, who in 2001 built a 6,000-square-foot addition, plus an infinity pool, a driving range, and two golf greens over the next decade.

With its shingle siding, gabled roof, and dormers, the plentiful outdoor areas have an inviting Nantucket feel.

Driving up the stone-wall-flanked path today, you encounter 10 private acres of elm, birch, and pine trees, which embrace the 10,000-square-foot residence. “It’s a true sanctuary,” says Compass agent Dylan Hoffman. “You can’t see any other houses from the property, which is surrounded by woods, including a protected reserve to the west.” Yet the piece de resistance remains, unquestionably, the exclusive 300 feet of waterfront on Lake Waccabuc.

In keeping with its town’s tony pedigree — Keith Richards, Blythe Danner, and Sean Combs have all called Waccabuc home — the estate is designed to capably entertain. There’s room for everyone here (the current owner famously throws a party for 150 every Thanksgiving). The chef’s kitchen easily accommodates group cooking, with a marble-topped island easing prep and a wine refrigerator ensuring no one is empty-handed for long.

Nearly every space, including the comfortably rustic gameroom, boasts views of Lake Waccabuc.

Host formal dinners amid the bay windows that offer endless lake views, then dole out toddies around the stone-framed fireplace that dominates a full wall of the den. As if on cue, the kids will disappear to the cozy wood-planked game room for billiards and movies.

Toss on a sweater, and the grounds become your second home well into late fall. Friends can take in a round or two of golf, then converge on the covered deck to grill or linger around the stone patio. After festive nights, early risers will emerge from the quaint guest cottage or any of the five guestrooms — each with a lakefront Juliet balcony — to stroll, coffee in hand, down to the rustic boathouse and soak in the panoramic views from the 100-foot dock, rebuilt in 2014.

The boathouse, complete with a 100-foot dock, makes the lake feel distinctly yours.

So whether you’re hosting hundreds or just a handful, rest assured that everyone will be relaxing or reveling in comfort, a mere jaunt from Manhattan.

View more of this idyllic upstate retreat at Compass.com.