This country is one of the world’s best for glamping — here’s where to go – Glamping Passion

Our passion for glamping — sitting neatly between back-country camping and traditional hotels — continues apace, with a new generation of well-designed, low-impact venues offering access to America’s wildest places without the hardship. Safari-style tents have been pitched on the edges of national parks, design-forward cabins have popped up in forest clearings and indigenous lodges now combine culture and nature. Portable gas cookers are being swapped for fire pits and s’mores kits, zip-up sleeping bags are giving way to plush king-size beds and post-hike aches are eased in hot tubs under the stars. This is camping reimagined — and these are eight of America’s most compelling options.

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1. Under Canvas Yosemite, California

Few brands have ridden America’s glamping wave as assuredly as Under Canvas. From locations including red rock-sculpted deserts to pine-dotted valleys on the fringes of national parks, the group has a habit of placing hotel-grade tents exactly where travellers most want to wake up. Its latest view-tapping outpost opened last spring, near the western entrance of Yosemite National Park in California’s sky-skimming Sierra Nevada range. The signature safari-style tents — complete with king-size beds and en suite bathrooms — have been dropped into a mountain-wrapped forest, with a shuttle ferrying guests into the park for hiking, wildlife-spotting and stargazing. An adventure concierge is on hand to help with forays into the wilderness.
Details A night’s self-catering for two in a glamping tent from £243 (undercanvas.com)

2. Timberline Glamping Co, various state parks in Pennsylvania

The family-run Timberline Glamping Co has already made its mark across the southeast, with its canvas tents arriving in forests and state parks from Alabama to Georgia. Now it is extending its bucolic reach into the northeast through a partnership with Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Seven parks across the state will host the company’s trademark tents, kitted out with pillowy beds, plush decor and thoughtful home comforts such as swish coffee-makers and hammock-strewn outdoor spaces. The locations range from Promised Land State Park, stitched with maple, beech and oak trees deep in the Pocono Mountains, to Hills Creek State Park, a draw for swimming and boating.
Details A night’s self-catering for two in a glamping tent from £110 (timberlineglamping.com)

• Read our full guide to the US

3. Two Capes Lookout, Oregon

The mirror cabins at Two Capes Lookout offer splendid views of Oregon’s north coast

The landscapes of Oregon’s wild north coast do some serious heavy lifting at Two Capes Lookout, with mirror cabins (which have reflective windows on three sides) and geodesic domes playing to epic views. Floor-to-ceiling windows and fire pits are positioned for maximum Pacific coast drama — frothing waves, teetering Douglas firs and rugged headlands — while forested trails wiggle through the generously sized property. You can select your level of luxury here: plump for a cabin with an en suite bathroom and heated floors, or a dome with well-appointed shared facilities. Whichever you choose you’ll get little extras such as bike-repair and s’mores kits, and the beach is no more than a ten-minute walk away.
Details A night’s self-catering for two in a dome from £172 (twocapeslookout.com)

4. Conestoga Ranch, Utah

The large bell tents at Conestoga Ranch can accommodate up to six people

Southern Utah — whose celebrated “Mighty Five” national parks are all fiery rockscapes and cinematic canyons — typically steals the scenic limelight, but near the shores of sprawling Bear Lake, Conestoga Ranch makes a compelling case for the north of the state. The assortment of lodgings brings its own sense of place: cavernous bell tents (some sleeping up to six) sit alongside pioneer-style wagons based on 19th-century designs, while a surprisingly elevated New American menu is dished up at the on-site Campfire Grill Restaurant. Beyond the volleyball courts, games room and complimentary bikes, days here revolve around the water: hire paddleboards or kayaks from the local operator Epic Recreation and go in search of Bear Lake’s sandy beaches.
Details A night’s self-catering for four in a glamping tent from £165 (conestogaranch.com)

5. Shash Diné Eco-Retreat, Arizona

The Kyoob at Shash Diné Eco-Retreat sleeps two and provides desert views, a fireplace and more

Deep in northern Arizona’s high desert, this unique resort is as much about cultural immersion as it is about sleeping under the state’s wide-open skies. The site is owned and operated by the indigenous Diné (Navajo) people and a stay here, on the tribe’s ancestral homelands, includes everything from storytelling sessions to authentic Navajo dinners. Try to book into one of the site’s two hogans — a traditional Navajo dwelling with a wood-burning stove — or if those have been snapped up there are comfortable bell tents and shepherd’s wagons too. Armed with a new cultural appreciation, you can strike out onto the desert trails, where petroglyphs reveal thousands of years of human presence.
Details A night’s self-catering for two in a hogan from £127 (shashdine.com)

6. Bolt Farm Treehouses, Tennessee

Bolt Farm Treehouses are perched high in the mountaintops for panoramic views

There has been a growing appetite for treehouse stays, and strung along the Cumberland Plateau this southern bolt hole is a particularly good example of the type. It’s especially marketed towards honeymooners — and with misty mountain panoramas, view-soaking hot tubs and secluded accommodation, romance gets plenty of encouragement. The property line-up includes (as you might guess) a specially lavish treehouse complete with vintage-inspired interiors and an outdoor shower and hot tub, plus classic domes and mirror cabins. The highlight is the Treehouse Spa, which has an indulgent treatment menu of couple’s massages and mud wraps, while more than two miles of hiking trails lead to forested waterfalls and creeks.
Details A night’s self-catering for two in a treehouse from £850 (boltfarmtreehouse.com)

• Discover our guide to glamping holidays

7. Paws Up Montana

Paws Up Montana is found on a working cattle ranch

CHRIS LODMAN/MONTANA KAIMIN

Opened in 2005, Paws Up Montana is now a veteran of the glamping scene but it has lost none of its lustre over the decades. This is an ultra-luxurious (and wallet-testing) introduction to the great American west, with sumptuous accommodation on a working cattle ranch that’s crisscrossed by a hundred miles of trails. The location is primed for outdoor adventure: try your hand at archery, float on the Blackfoot River, or take to the back-country on horseback or mountain bike, all in the knowledge that luxury awaits when you finish. The luxe canvas tents excel on multiple fronts: amenities include king-size beds dressed with feather duvets and bathrooms with monsoon showers, in pinch-yourself locations (clifftop, creekside or hidden away in the forest). And when night falls, Montana’s notorious big skies come into full view.
Details A night’s self-catering for two in a glamping tent costs from £2,050 (pawsup.com)

8. Under Canvas White Mountains, New Hampshire

The hiking in Franconia Notch State Park is superb

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Come summer, Under Canvas will bring its tried-and-tested glamping formula to New England, with a debut in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. This forested sweep of peaks delivers the scale and solitude more readily associated with the American west — and Under Canvas’s luxury tents are pitched to make the most of this muscular wilderness. You will be on the doorstep of the trails of Franconia Notch State Park, best known for the Flume Gorge, and the snaking Kancamagus Highway. Back in camp, you’ll find all the creature comforts the brand is celebrated for: fire pits for s’mores, a cocooning and well-designed lobby tent, live music sets and yoga sessions that make the most of those epic ridgeline views.
Details A night’s self-catering for two in a glamping tent from £187 (undercanvas.com)