A chef who left Manhattan for a field, 180 acres of pasture, and a grist mill that has been standing since 1805. About ninety minutes from New York City, this is what wellness looks like when nobody is trying to optimize you. A destination that allows you to slow down, connect with the senses, and feel whole again.
Tucked into the foothills of northern New Jersey sit two connected family-run properties: The Farm at Glenwood Mountain, a 180-acre working organic farm, and The Mill at Glenwood, a restored 1805 grist mill that takes overnight guests. Together they make a quietly persuasive argument that has nothing to do with biohacking and everything to do with being fed, being outside, and feeling nourished.
The Backstory
Steve MacLean trained at the French Culinary Institute and cooked in New York restaurants before landing at Brick Farm Tavern, a farm-to-table establishment in New Jersey. Around 2011, he and his wife Candice went looking for something different. The reason they give is refreshingly simple: they wanted good, clean food for their young kids, and they were willing to do the work to grow it themselves.
The land they took on had been largely abandoned. Over roughly a decade, they turned it into a real farm. Today the pastures hold pigs, free-range chickens and ducks, and a small herd of grass-fed Highland cattle. All produce, flowers, and herbs are USDA certified organic. They call it sustainable farming: clean inputs, animals on grass, and little distance between field and table.
The Stays
There are four distinct overnight options across the properties, each with their own personality. Bring the whole family, come as a duo, or request an entire building for a milestone weekend.
The Farmhouse. The most sociable stay. Five bedrooms and two bathrooms, steps from the heart of the farm with the pool, pastures, and organic gardens close by. Intentionally designed for relaxation, it is the natural choice for a friend-group getaway or a multigenerational trip where everyone wants to be under one roof.
The Cottage. A little smaller. Four bedrooms and three bathrooms overlooking the vegetable garden. The one-floor layout makes it a good pick for families with small kids or grandparents in tow. Guests can wander straight out into the gardens from the door.
The Milk Suite. A single suite with a queen bed and full bath, sleeping two. Steps from the barn, it’s best for a couple who want a quiet countryside night, or for a bride who needs private respite throughout the day’s events.
The Mill at Glenwood
One mile from the farm is the Mill at Glenwood. Built in 1805, it was the working center of Glenwood for over a century. The last wheat went through its grindstones in 1919. It later spent years as a bed and breakfast, with the original machinery preserved, and now the MacLeans have brought it back to life.
The Mill is their newest and most distinctive lodging option. Seven suites that can sleep up to twenty people total. Suites carry the building’s working past in their names: the Pulley Room, the Waterwheel, the Millstone Suite, the Finery, the Heritage Room. There is a sauna, wellness room, and waterfall just outside that provides a constant low sound of moving water that may just lull you to sleep.
You can book a single suite or take the whole mill for an event.
Instead of a spa menu it offers a daily rhythm for softer living. Mornings bring warm herbal water in the shared spaces and an optional gathering in the garden built around eggs, herbs, and honey. Breakfast is served over a long, unhurried window so that guests can savor instead of rush. Afternoons are deliberately empty, with blankets set near the waterfall and a small card that reads, “Sit. Listen. Stay longer than you planned.” Evenings mean fires lit around the property, broth if you want it, and the lights left to dim naturally at sunset. At night there is herbal tea, a book in each room, and a note on the pillow: “You’ve done enough today.”
Probably the exact instruction most of us need to hear. Even current wellness culture has turned rest into a performance, something to track and optimize. The Farm and Mill at Glenwood’s quiet counterargument is that nourishment is older and simpler than that. It offers real food, sleep to the sound of water, and someone telling you that you can stop now.
Farm Dinners
On select evenings through the warm months, Steve cooks a four-course tasting menu built almost entirely from what the farm produced that week. The setting rotates with the season and the weather: an organic herb garden strung with lights, the renovated 1930s dairy barn, or the chef’s table close to the kitchen, often with cows grazing in view.
You are essentially paying a trained chef to cook you a private tasting menu a short walk from where the food was grown. You can bring your own wine and arrive early to walk the fields before sitting down. Seats run around $125 and are limited, so they book up quickly. Between dinners, the on-site market is open Friday through Sunday in season, where you can take home the same grass-fed meat and organic produce that ends up on the plate.
Weddings
Given all of the above, it makes sense that the properties are sought-after for weddings. The farm’s framing is simple: our farm, your day, a place where love, land, and table come together. What that means in practice is a celebration where the food is not an afterthought, cooked by a chef who also happens to have raised most of what is on the plate.
The Herb Garden sits front and center, and hosts everything from cocktail hour to a full seated dinner while the sun goes down over the pastures. Beyond it are the restored barn, lawn, flower garden, and orchard, so the celebrations can move through several distinct settings across the property. The Milk Suite near the barn is perfectly situated for the bridal party to get ready or rest privately throughout the day. The Farmhouse, Cottage, and the Mill can all be rented for overnight stays.
They are currently booking 2027 and 2028, so you’ll want to reach out sooner rather than later if interested in reserving the properties for a wedding or any event.
The Details
The Farm at Glenwood Mountain
1801 County Road 565, Sussex, NJ 07461
Website: thenjfarm.com
Instagram: @thefarmatglenwood
The Mill at Glenwood
1860 Glenwood Road, Glenwood, NJ 07418
Website: themillatglenwood.com
Instagram: @themillatglenwood
Getting there. The closest major airport is Newark Liberty International (EWR), about an hour south by car. Stewart International (SWF) in New York’s Hudson Valley is a little closer, roughly forty minutes, but flies far fewer routes, so most visitors land at Newark. From New York City it is about a ninety-minute drive.
Good to know. Farm dinners run on select evenings in the warmer months, have recently seated around $125, and are BYO wine, so bring a bottle you like. Seating is limited and sells out, so book ahead through the website. For overnight stays, the Farmhouse sleeps up to twelve, the Cottage up to eight, and the Mill can be booked by the suite or as a whole building; there is also a smaller Milk Suite near the barn that suits a couple or a wedding-morning stay. The on-site farm market is open Friday through Sunday in season for grass-fed meat and organic produce to take home.
Dinner dates, pricing, and availability change with the season, so confirm the specifics directly with the property before you plan.
Photography courtesy of the Farm at Glenwood Mountain and the Mill at Glenwood.