Upscale Cabins Booming at National Park Borders
By Rocky Thompson on July 14th, 2010
I love camping but hate tents, sleeping bags, bugs, and generally getting too close to nature. Glamping is out of my price range; is there an outdoor experience for me?
Indeed there is. Upscale cabins are the latest boom business at campgrounds that border National Parks. You get your own bathroom, a kitchen with full-size appliances, and usually a big deck with park views plus a barbecue. You know, not having to haul beer deep into the backcountry would be kind of nice. I guess that as long as the volume of people pouring into parks and bringing their money continues to rise, this kind of thing is okay…at tolerable levels.
We are just steps away from putting Starbucks on top of each trail surrounding those cabins. I wonder if they come with big screen TVs for people to watch nature channels in high def. I say go tent or stay home.
I hear you, and I would be opposed to putting these in National Parks, but this is outside the boundaries of the park. This space could get developed into huge hotels or private ski hills. Little cabins aren’t too bad. At least it opens more people to nature, and it might just influence those people to be a little more environmentally conscious.
I have to agree. After camping and backpacking at the grand canyon and in southern utah I usually stay in the little cabins in moab near Arches NP. It’s nice to have a shower and running water for a few days.