Senior Adventurers: National Parks for Glamping Print


Glamping = glamor camping. It’s for those who like to enjoy the outdoors with some comforts added to the usual spartan conditions. For example, instead of simple canvas shelters with sleeping bags, glampers prefer tents with screened openings. They enjoy sleeping on inflatable mattresses and pillows. Consider some glamping favorite destinations:

Grand Canyon AZ: The natural wonder offers camping, from trailers to pup tents. Some of the most convenient glamping is at Trailer Village, near the South Rim.

Park your RV on a large paved site and hook up for electricity. Nearby showers and laundry machines are coin-operated. Touring, shopping and restaurants are available by free shuttle bus. The nightly cost at Trailer Village is from about $45.

Because of the great popularity of the Grand Canyon, be sure to make reservations at least six months in advance. The park is busiest from late June through early September.

A favorite activity is the one-mile mule ride down Bright Angel Trail to the Arizona desert and Colorado River. The cost is from $50. The mule ride is very popular, and also requires reservations at least six months in advance.

The Grand Canyon is 234 miles north of Phoenix via I-17, I-40 and Highway 64. Entry fee is $25 per private vehicle. For reservations and info,  go to www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/hours

Yosemite CA: Glamp at the Housekeeping Camp. It features 300 concrete and canvas enclosures. Inside each are two canvas cots and electrical outlet.

Close by are restrooms, laundry, showers and retail store. There’s a free park shuttle that takes visitors to hiking and rock-climbing sites, restaurants and swimming areas. The nightly fee is just $5.

A favorite Yosemite location is Half Dome, a soaring mile-high rock formation. It’s so popular in summer that there’s a lottery system for reservactions to climb the face. Entry fee for Yosemite National Park is $50. For info, go to www.yosemitepark.com/Activities

Yellowstone MT: Try a glamping experience at the Bridge Bay Marina by Yellowstone Lake. A $900 fee per person at Bridge Bay Marina includes three nights in a  fully-furnished safari tent, snacks, gourmet meals and candlelight champagne dinners.

Also escorted hikes, swimming, kayaking and visit to Old Faithful geyser. Entry to the park is $35 per vehicle. For info, go to www.yellowstoneparknet.com/lodging/luxury

Denali AK: Denali National Park is a two-hour drive from Fairbanks. The most impressive feature is four-mile-high Mount McKinley. Recommendations are to visit during summer, because Alaska winters are severe.

Consider bunking at Backcountry Lodge. The ads promise porch front views of grizzlies, moose and wolves. Entry fee for Denali National Park is $20 per person. For info, go to www.denali.national-park.com   

Acadia ME: At 1,500 feet, Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park is the highest on the farthest point of the U.S. East Coast. Visitors are the first in America to see sunrise.

Acadia, a 50-mile drive from Bangor on I-95 and Route 3, doesn’t have the popularity of other National Parks. That’s an advantage to those who prefer the quiet, uncrowded beauty of pristine pine forests and hiking trails.

Entry fee is $25 per vehicle, and an $25 per camp site. At the Blackwoods Campground are pumps for water and portable toilets. For info, acadianationalparkonline.com.