A little more than one year ago, Craig Finke and Corey Flick presented a vision to create an eco-friendly getaway in the hills of Brown County.
This fall, that vision has come to reality.
Situated to the East of downtown Nashville and adjacent to the Brown County State Park, Harmony Tree Resorts opened last month.
The 56-acre property features a full restaurant and bar, several options for overnight stay and around two miles of hiking trails.
The restaurant at the resort is the Sycamore Saloon, and was built from a horse barn that was already on the property, which used to be Rawhide Ranch.
The three business partners came before the Brown County Area Plan Commission on Oct. 27 of 2021 to have the property rezoned from residential (R1), but the petitioner, ADF Construction, requested it be changed to general business (GB).
Rawhide Ranch was developed under three special exceptions to allow various business use.
Building upon what is already on the property, the Saloon repurposes original wood from the barn and combines it with sleek modern elements that refine the space, ultimately offering a mix of rustic and luxury features.
The Saloon features food, a full bar, several televisions and a stage for music performances. Just outside is a beergarden-style seating area and a group-sized fire pit.
Situated above the Saloon are 11 rooms ready to book, called the Sycamore Suites. The suites all follow a Western theme, with rustic tools and saddles from the original barn displayed for décor.
The rooms are all identified with names of characters from the cowboy film ‘Tombstone.”
In addition to the Sycamore Saloon and suites, there are seven canvas tent “glamping” sites in the lower valley of the property.
Five of the tents feature queen-sized beds and the other two have three smaller mattresses, designed for small families or groups to stay together.
These glamping sites are designed for visitors to experience the nature of Brown County without giving up any comfort expected from a resort.
After a few soft openings for testing purposes, Harmony Tree Resorts celebrated the official, public opening with a “Fall Fest” that spanned the full weekend of Oct. 14.
Fall Fest featured a karaoke night on Friday, followed by a full day of fun and music on Saturday. Two bands played at the Saloon and hayrides were offered to tour what all the property has to offer.
The event ended with Football Sunday, which will be a recurring event in the Saloon.
Finke said last week the Fall Fest had a great turnout, and he hopes the business the resort saw there will be able to continue through the slower winter months.
‘Helping each other out’
Even if business does slow down, developments on the grounds will continue throughout winter, bringing several new amenities to the resort soon.
Finke said he expects to break ground on a winery and wedding venue this year or early next year, which will be within a shipping container park on the property.
The shipping container park will feature a stage and house small shops as well.
“One container might be an ice cream chop, one might be a little deli, one might be a smoke shop,” Finke said.
“All that will be anchored by the winery and the wedding venue on the other end of it.”
Finke says the idea for utilizing shipping containers came from a visit to Las Vegas, where he saw the Downtown Container Park. He also said shipping containers are being used for development in the Indianapolis and Fortville area, where Finke currently resides.
“I like repurposing the product,” Finke said.
“It just made sense for us to try to repurpose those here as well.”
Along with the shipping container park, Finke said construction on treehouse lodgings will begin as well, followed by a-frame cabins.
Finke visualizes Harmony Tree as a place like Hocking Hills in Ohio or Lil Arrow in Tennessee, both of which center around providing comfort and entertainment to visitors, alongside the draw of nature.
“(We are) trying to duplicate what they’ve already done really well but just do it here, closer to the Indiana’s resource, which is beautiful Brown County,” Finke said.
Finke wants the resort to be a place for visitors and a place for locals.
“We want to be a big advocate for the neighborhood, so it’s real important to me that we’re team players,” he said.
“We want to support all the other venues, all the other establishments. Our goal is to help each other out.”
For instance, he wishes to connect trails onsite to biking and horse trails in the bordering state park.
He also wishes to partner with the Brown County Music Center, potentially offering VIP package deals to concert-goers, which would provide shuttle transport to and from the shows, so they can enjoy more food, drink and entertainment in the Saloon, then have a comfortable place to sleep afterwards.
Harmony Tree Resorts will continue to grow, with plans to eventually include a total of 161 overnight units, which will be able to house more than 500 people, Finke said.
Finke described Harmony Tree as a big need for the county.
“We have 4 million people coming here to visit every year, and the average person is staying 12 hours a year,” Finke said.
“If we could increase that to 24 hours, that changes the economics for the county tremendously, and obviously however we help the county is going to help us as well. I’m excited where we’re at and I’m excited where we’re going.”
Harmony Tree Resorts
Location: 1292 State Road 135 South
Phone: 812-200-5650
Website: harmonytreeresorts.com
Facebook: harmonytreeresorts
