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.
