utah

6 of the Best Glamping Spots in the U.S.

Glamping destinations with luxury amenities in gorgeous natural settings, including Safari West and Ventana Big Sur.

Glam + camping = glamping! Who says you need to rough it while you’re enjoying the Great Outdoors?

Glam + camping = glamping! Who says you need to rough it while you’re enjoying the Great Outdoors?

Ah, nature. Whether it’s the chirping of birds, the meandering of a crystal-clear stream or sleeping under the stars, there’s a reason it's called the Great Outdoors. But for those of you who wish to experience Mother Nature but not forgo luxury, why not go for a glamping spree? Enjoy the delights of camping — without an uncomfortable night’s sleep or communal bathrooms.

Here are my favorite glamping destinations in the U.S.:

Giddyup! The Resort at Paws Up is set on a working dude ranch.

Giddyup! The Resort at Paws Up is set on a working dude ranch.

1. The Resort at Paws Up, Greenough, Montana 

Located outside Missoula in central Montana, this authentic working dude ranch and resort occupies an astounding 37,000-acres of unspoiled wilderness. Ride a chuck wagon, fly-fish on the Blackfoot River or watch the breathtaking sunsets after a spa treatment. 

The property boasts luxurious accommodations and amenities including six campsites with safari-style tents featuring fine linens, electricity, private en-suite bathrooms with rain showers and jet tubs. There’s even an onsite butler who caters to your every whim.  

Rustic chic interiors include en-suite bathrooms. Oh, and if you need something, just ring for the butler.

Rustic chic interiors include en-suite bathrooms. Oh, and if you need something, just ring for the butler.

Features

  • Adventure activities like cattle wrangling, horse riding, kayaking, mountain biking and fishing in the Blackfoot River are popular here. 

  • Or just relax in the spa tents, surrounded by the sounds of birds, cool breezes and good vibes.

They don’t call Safari West “the Sonoma Serengeti” for nothing.

They don’t call Safari West “the Sonoma Serengeti” for nothing.

2. Safari West, Santa Rosa, California

This 400-acre private wildlife preserve supports the conservation of 1,000 exotic animals and birds. Creatures that span the entire African continent are the draw at this top-notch safari resort, dubbed “the Sonoma Serengeti.” The luxury tents, imported from Botswana, include a private viewing deck, an en-suite bathroom, vintage furniture, king-sized beds, hardwood floors and other “essential” amenities.

Take a safari right in California and stay in African tents that have bathrooms and viewing decks.

Take a safari right in California and stay in African tents that have bathrooms and viewing decks.

Features

  • Who says you need to go to Africa to go on a safari? At Safari West you can spot giraffes, rhinos, cheetahs, lemurs, zebras, a gorgeous big cat called a caracal and dozens of other species.

  • Enjoy regional delicacies at the Savannah Café and fill your tummy with delicious food.

Pair a trip to the famous national park with a glamping trip to Collective Yellowstone.

Pair a trip to the famous national park with a glamping trip to Collective Yellowstone.

3. Collective Yellowstone, Big Sky, Montana

Located about an hour west of the park’s boundaries beneath Lone Peak, this stunning retreat connects guests with their natural surroundings while providing them with luxurious comforts. Each teepee-like tent is outfitted with a king-size bed, electricity, a wood-burning stove, a full bathroom and a chandelier. You won’t have to think about a thing at this glamping hotspot famous for its sunsets and forest safari, as their dedicated concierges will attend to your every need. Oh, and there’s a nightly communal campfire with s’mores. 

Keep warm inside the teepee-like tents, which feature wood-burning stoves.

Keep warm inside the teepee-like tents, which feature wood-burning stoves.

Features

  • The glamping sites featuring a private deck fill up fast — be sure to book in advance.

  • World-class chefs offer dishes at any time of day to be consumed with gorgeous views. 

Amazing redwoods surround the Ventana glamping resort.

Amazing redwoods surround the Ventana glamping resort.

4. Ventana, Big Sur, California

Walk among the massive redwoods or stare out at the ocean along the rugged Pacific coastline. This resort, part of the Alila family, occupies 160 acres, and its 15 luxury glamping tents include modern amenities like USB ports (so you can charge those phones!), hot and cold running water as well as nightly turndown service with hot cocoa and hot-water bottles to warm your sheets.

Take a dip in the pool when you’re not hanging out in your luxury tent or exploring the environs.

Take a dip in the pool when you’re not hanging out in your luxury tent or exploring the environs.

 Features 

  • The campground is situated along a redwood canyon. Each glamping spot includes a deck with two firepits: one wood-burning, one propane.

  • Try your hand at falconry, getting up close and personal with these birds that can dive at speeds over 240 mph. 

Ever wanted to play a real-live version of Oregon Trail — minus the dysentery? Rustle up some fun at Conestoga Ranch.

Ever wanted to play a real-live version of Oregon Trail — minus the dysentery? Rustle up some fun at Conestoga Ranch.

5. Conestoga Ranch, Garden City, Utah

If you like to glamp by a large body of water, consider this top-notch spot situated on the shores of the turquoise blue waters of Bear Lake. The 18-acre-long ranch calls to mind the Old West. Guests can choose from authentically styled Conestoga Wagons, or cozy traditional family tents each outfitted with soft beds and fresh linens. The Grand Family Tents feature en-suite bathrooms. 

Circle up the wagons! This glamping resort offers a one-of-kind experience.

Circle up the wagons! This glamping resort offers a one-of-kind experience.

 Features

  • There’s something for everyone. Want a romantic getaway? Try the Royal or Grand Tents, which include bathrooms. Family and friends can stay in the same vicinity as part of the Circle the Wagons package.

  • Spend your days exploring the area on complimentary cruiser bikes or playing volleyball, lawn games, ping-pong or air hockey. You can even get a s’mores kit delivered to your wagon.

If you’ve always wanted to stay in a treehouse, there’s an amazing one at Moose Meadow Lodge.

If you’ve always wanted to stay in a treehouse, there’s an amazing one at Moose Meadow Lodge.

6. Moose Meadow Lodge & Treehouse, Waterbury, Vermont

For a different take on glamping, satisfy your childhood dream of staying in a treehouse. And what a treehouse this is! It’s two stories of rustic chic, with a spiral staircase that wraps around a giant maple. Situated amidst more than 80 acres of lush mountains, this is a great spot to enjoy the tranquility of nature. 

The rustic chic interior of the treehouse, which wraps it way around a maple.

The rustic chic interior of the treehouse, which wraps it way around a maple.

Features

  • Of course your stay doesn’t have to be peaceful all the time. Catch an adrenaline rush with local outdoor activities, including skiing, biking and fishing. The less-sportif can spend a day antiquing.

  • Enjoy the view from the Sky Loft, a mountaintop enclosed gazebo, or go for a winter wonderland adventure with complimentary snowshoes and sleds.

Camp in style as in this setup at Paws Up resort in Montana.

Camp in style as in this setup at Paws Up resort in Montana.

Happy Glampers 

This is the year to do your luxury travel a bit closer to home. For Americans in quarantine, the good news is that there are plenty of picturesque and fulfilling glamping experiences from the West Coast to the East Coast. Get the isolation of the outdoors without sacrificing any of the comforts of home. –Rebecca Siggers

Top 6 Wellness Tourism Trips

Hiking and biking the Dolomites along the Italian and Austrian border

Hiking and biking the Dolomites along the Italian and Austrian border

Yoga on the Mexican beach, hikes to Machu Picchu, Pilates in Morocco — the best health tourism adventures.

 

You know the type. Their Facebook page is full of beautiful photos of fabulous trips. You’re simultaneously insanely jealous and giddy with excitement at the opportunity to live vicariously through your friend’s adventures.

Well, that’s Nancy.

I leave with a feeling of renewal and that I can take on all of my biggest dreams.

As I battled my jealousy of and happiness for her, I noticed a trend among Nancy’s trips: They all had some sort of wellness angle. She’d be doing yoga on a beach in Mexico or hiking across Europe or doing Pilates in Morocco.

I decided to get her take on wellness travel. Here are her top trips and advice. Namaste. –Wally

 

What draws you to wellness travel?

I cannot just sit on a beach. I always feel like I need to “earn the day.”

I love combining culture, physical activity, regional food and wine, like-minded people, spirituality and mindfulness into one trip. 

 

What trends have you seen in wellness travel lately?

Adding volunteerism to the experience. For example, in Marrakech, Morocco, we delivered school supplies to a local school and spent some time in the classroom. 

 

Most surprising thing you’ve discovered on a trip?

In Tulum, Mexico, I got a massage from a Mayan healer. These healers can pick up on energy in your body. He told me that the sciatic nerve area can represent “stalled advancement” and that I was experiencing this right now. He basically summed up a few key areas of my life at the time.

This experience motivated me to go after a new career opportunity at my company, which I successfully landed.

 

Nancy’s Top Wellness Travel Destinations 

Amansala in Tulum, Mexico offers runs along the beach and candlelit yoga

Amansala in Tulum, Mexico offers runs along the beach and candlelit yoga

1. Amansala Bikini Bootcamp, Tulum, Mexico

I go to Amansala every year for the last week of the year as a way to undo all of the debauchery from the holidays and to kick-start the New Year.

The setting is boho chic huts and palapas [open-sided shelters with thatched palm roofs] on a white sand beach with Caribbean blue water.

One of her favorite annual traditions: Nancy does yoga at sunset on New Year's Eve

One of her favorite annual traditions: Nancy does yoga at sunset on New Year's Eve

Guests have the option to make the week as active or as chill as they would like. Most choose active due to the wide variety of activities and high-caliber instructors.

The daily routine at Amansala includes morning beach walks or runs, yoga with beach views, cardio class (kickboxing, circuit training, etc.), dance class and/or sunset candlelit yoga.

Experiences such as cultural excursions, massages, a Mayan clay renewal ritual and tarot card readings are all offered at Amansala. You can also sweat out all of your toxins/sins at their Temezcal (Mayan sweat lodge) ceremony, led by an elder Mayan healer.

In between all of this, you can relax on the gorgeous white sand beach. The three golden Labs, who are pets of the property, might join you or try to rally you for a game of “fetch the coconut.”

The food is also healthy and tasty — they even have their own cookbook. 

Amansala combines the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of wellness, which is why I go back every year. I leave with a feeling of renewal and that I can take on all of my biggest dreams. This special place attracts like-minded people, so I have met several friends with whom I am still in touch. 

 

Hiking through the Dolomites mountain range, which straddle Italy and Austria

Hiking through the Dolomites mountain range, which straddle Italy and Austria

2. Backroads Breakaway Walking & Hiking Tour, the Dolomites, Italy

On this tour, you hike every day (four to six hours) in the spectacular setting of the Dolomites mountain range in-between Italy and Austria.

There’s amazing Italian and Austrian food. You might have apple strudel and beer at lunch and then pasta and red wine at dinner.

Nancy and her local guide, with the Cinque Torri in the Dolomites as a backdrop

Nancy and her local guide, with the Cinque Torri in the Dolomites as a backdrop

We hiked from one resort to the next over a seven-day period. We would stop in at ski huts along the way to refuel.

It was the perfect combination of outdoor activity, breathtaking scenery, culture — Italy and Austria! — amazing food and awe-inspiring boutique hotels. 

 

The amazing pool at the Escape to Shape resort in Marrakech, Morocco

The amazing pool at the Escape to Shape resort in Marrakech, Morocco

3. Escape to Shape, Marrakech, Morocco

This yoga and Pilates retreat was hosted at our own private amazing villa in Marrakech, located outside of the medina. Lodging, meals, cultural excursions, and yoga, Pilates and circuit training classes were all included.

This was a great combination of physical activity (about two to three hours per day) and cultural immersion.

Nancy in her favorite store in Marrakech

Nancy in her favorite store in Marrakech

Escape to Shape provided a very safe, fun and invigorating way to experience Marrakech. Erica Gragg, the owner, has been doing this for years, and she curates the perfect trip. She knows Marrakech like the back of her hand and showed us all of the hidden jewels and hot spots. She would open a door in the medina that you did not even know was there, and inside you would find four floors of amazing treasures.

Shopping is a must in Marrakech, and Erica is the perfect sherpa/stylist. Our group came away with beautiful rugs, caftans and home accents that we never would have found without Erica’s expert eye and relationships.

The yoga and Pilates classes allowed us to indulge without guilt in all of the amazing Moroccan cuisine.  

 

4. Miraval Resort & Spa, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Their tagline is “Life in Balance.” Miraval offers hiking in the Sonoran Desert and Santa Catalina Mountains, a large variety of fitness classes, meditation, healthy, delicious food, mindfulness sessions, equine therapy and other outdoor adventure activities.

Their spa is beautiful. Relax by the pool during your downtime. 

I always come away feeling amazing after four to five days here. 

 

Snow Canyon State Park in Utah

Snow Canyon State Park in Utah

5. Red Mountain Resort, Ivins, Utah, USA

Red Mountain offers hiking in a gorgeous setting — literally in red rocks in Snow Canyon State Park, Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park.

Hikes are guided, or you can go on your own — all different levels.

Nancy in Zion National Park, Utah

Nancy in Zion National Park, Utah

The setting is breathtaking and awe-inspiring.

Fitness classes and outdoor activities keep you physically active. There are also great opportunities for personal discovery and mindfulness: intuitive energy reading, guided imagery, etc., as well as artistic pursuits, such as photography and pottery classes.  

 

Machu Picchu, Peru

Machu Picchu, Peru

6. Mountain Travel Sobek Machu Picchu Inn-to-Inn Express Trek, Peru

This was a seven-day lodge-to-lodge trek to Machu Picchu through a variety of terrain, scenery and elevation. 

It was a great combination of scenic hiking, excellent Peruvian food and wine, cultural exposure and great lodging.

Nancy at the peak of Machu Picchu

Nancy at the peak of Machu Picchu