Think you have to “rough it” to enjoy the wild beauty of the national parks? Think again. Although every national park offers a number of options for camping, backpacking, and cabin dwelling, the parks offer luxury, too.

Lobby of Tenaya Lodge. Photo: Debbie K. Hardin

• Yosemite has two opulent choices. The historic Awahnee Hotel, in the heart of Yosemite Valley, is the most luxurious and most expensive hotel in the national park system. Pampered guests can enjoy astonishing views of Yosemite Falls and the monumental granite cliffs that surround the valley, as well as niceties like daily tea in aptly named Grand Hall,  priceless Native American artwork scattered throughout the property, and five-star service.

• Tenaya Lodge, located just two miles outside the southern park entrance of Yosemite, is a sprawling full-service resort, with an elegant spa, state-of-the-art fitness equipment, sparkling pool, supremely comfortable rooms, and numerous fine dining opportunities. (Don’t miss Embers, the newest upscale restaurant onsite.) Let the concierge arrange for myriad activities, from horse-back riding, to a chuck-wagon dinner, to fly-fishing expeditions.

• The Grand Canyon scenery is impossible to improve on, so the fabulous El Tovar Hotel on the edge of the South Rim does its best to blend in, with low-slung architecture executed in desert-friendly hues. This registered National Landmark (a favorite of presidents and European royalty) has 78 rooms, the best with jaw-dropping views of the canyon, and books up 13 months in advance.

• Yellowstone boasts one of the largest—and best appointed—log cabins in the world: The beloved Old Faithful Inn. Massive timbers stretch up 77 feet in the soaring lobby; look for the fanciful tree house cabin built amid the rafters. As the name suggests, the inn is a stone’s throw away from the most visited geyser in the park. Don’t miss the inn’s famous restaurant, which offers the most civilized meal in the park, with grand buffet breakfasts.

• Sequoia National Park is all about the Big Trees, and the peaceful Wuksachi Lodge nestles among the groves unobtrusively. The cedar and stone lodge offers comfortable and spacious rooms and serene views of the mountaintops. It isn’t uncommon to find deer and bears roaming the grounds. Maximize your viewing opportunities—and up the stunning quotient—by booking a corner Superior Suite, with separate sitting room wrapped in windows.

Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, is National Public Lands Day, when more than 100,000 people in the United States will volunteer their services at an estimated 2,300 projects across the country, making it the largest one-day outdoor volunteer effort in the nation. In addition, as part of the celebration, the entrance fee will be waived at all 391 national parks that day.

Following up the service day, the new Ken Burns’ documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, a six-episode series filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature’s most spectacular locales—including Acadia, Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, the Everglades and the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska—will premiere on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on PBS stations nationwide.

Goodman Fire Area, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colo.; kids with bagged weeds, Sourdough Creek Campground, BLM, Glennallen, Ark. Courtesy: National Environmental Education Foundation

Where You Can Help

Public parks across the country are in need of volunteers—find a location and project at www.publiclandsday.org. Four dedicated sites with special projects include:

Angeles National Forest, Los Angeles County, Calif.

Just a week after firefighters extinguished nearly all of the Station Fire that burned more than 160,000 acres of land in Angeles National Forest, volunteers will work with crews to rehabilitate trails, recreation sites and riparian areas and clear rubbish while learning about fire management in the Big Tujunga Canyon. After spending the morning on work projects around the area, volunteers will have an opportunity to take a guided hike through the recently burned area, learn more about the Station Fire and hear about recovery efforts underway.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, Calif.

The annual tradition of projects at this beautiful urban park will take on more importance as part of the United We Serve initiative. Projects include habitat restoration, vegetation management and grounds and trail maintenance. Over 400 volunteers are expected at locations throughout the park.

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Atlanta, Ga.

Help to restore historic houses adjacent to the King property as well as weeding, mulching and planting around the site. The event will coincide with the conclusion of a national conference, “Breaking the Color Barrier in the Great American Outdoors,” being held in Atlanta.

The National Mall, Washington, D.C.
A kick-off event for a number of projects in the D.C. area will be held at the historic Watergate Steps, next to the Potomac River and near the Lincoln Memorial. Volunteers at the site will prune trees, clear invasive plant species, remove trash and help to create mulch that will be used throughout the National Mall.

National Public Lands Day, a project of the National Environmental Education Foundation and sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., is now in its 16th year. It was established in 1994 to carry on the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a program to revive communities and create opportunities for employment following the Great Depression.

Special Teton Lodging Deal

In honor of the new Ken Burns documentary series, the Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa in Jackson Hole, Wyo., located at the entrance to Grand Teton National Park and just one hour from Yellowstone National Park, is offering guests 20 percent savings with its “Celebrate Our Parks Package” from Sept. 27 to Oct. 31, 2009.

Rates start at $217 per room, per night, based on a three-night minimum. The deal includes:
-    a seven day park pass for two to Grand Teton and Yellowstone
-    a guidebook on both parks, a Flip Video Camcorder for those who would like to create their own National Park documentary
-    a DVD of Burns’ documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea

For reservations or more information, call 800-631-6271 or visit www.tetonlodge.com.

Read our article about the top U.S. National Parks.