Hikers Find House Built Into Hillside — Then They Take a Look Inside

They were trying to understand what they were looking at when footsteps sounded behind them. Laura turned quickly. A man in a waxed jacket was walking up with a canvas shopping bag in hand. He slowed when he saw them staring at the slope, then smiled. “You found it,” he said. Ben expected a warning to move along. Instead, the man introduced himself as Martin Hale.

Martin explained that the hidden structure was actually his home. That created more questions. Why build a house where almost no one could see it? Why bury half of it beneath tons of soil? Martin said the idea had started with the land. The plot was steep, exposed to hard winter winds, and visible from much of the valley. A normal house would have stood out.

Planning officials had also worried about anything that would dominate the hillside. Martin stopped trying to place a house on the land and began thinking about placing one inside it. The slope could shield the rear walls, soften the wind, and preserve the view from below. He gestured toward the narrow door. “It makes more sense from inside,” he said. Then he unlocked it and invited them in.