National Park Lodges: Hike-in Style

Part 3 in our monthlong feature celebrating the National Parks centennial: backcountry lodges! No need for hefting a burly backpack, tent, and food to these oases in the wilderness. From the Rockies to the Sierra, we've rounded up some of the best ways to experience national park backcountry, in style!

Week: 05.19.2016
Regions: Northern & Southern CA

Will You Sperry Me?

Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park

The ultimate foodie experience: Dinner at The French Laundry. The ultimate backcountry lodge experience: Sperry Chalet! Reached via an 8-mile (one-way) hiking trail in Glacier National Park, this historic chalet makes a night in the rugged, rocky wilderness very hospitable. Built
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Shoot for the Sun

Summer Vacation Makeover in Sun Valley

Give your next summer vacation a mountain makeover. Specifically, a Sun Valley mountain makeover! Just a 2-hour direct flight from San Francisco or a 2.5-hour direct flight from Los Angeles, Sun Valley, Idaho, is a recreational paradise: 400+ miles of crowd-free hiking and biking
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Yosemite Backcountry Glamping

Hike Yosemites High Sierra Camp - Vogelsang Camp

Love to hike, but hate to lug a bulging backpack? Then Vogelsang High Sierra Camp is your ticket to high-country heaven. Carrying only a daypack with minimal supplies, you can hike all day in Yosemite’s alpine wonderland, then dream the night away in a comfy cot. Even better, you
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Phantom of the Canyon

Phantom Ranch in Grand Canyon National Park

Phantom Ranch Canyons in Grand Canyon National Park
The Grand Canyon River in Grand Canyon National Park
Two hikers relaxing at the riverside in Grand Canyon National Park
Want to really go grand in Grand Canyon National Park? Stay at historic Phantom Ranch! A clutch of simple, private bunk-bed-filled cabins along with dorm-style lodging. Scoring a stay here is not easy, and highly sought!
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Trending Stories NorCal

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  1. Serene Las Gallinas

    A serene stroll alongside marshland, passing ponds and grasses frilled in seasonal wildflowers, with Mount Tam a beacon in the background … how nice. As part of the esteemed Bay Trail, San Rafael’s Las Gallinas Valley Birding Loop and Wildlife Ponds comprises about 3.5 miles of wide-open trail.

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  2. Paint Brushy

    This time of year you’ll have good reason to head for the hills—the electric-green rolling hills of Brushy Peak Regional Preserve in Livermore. This 4.5-mile loop hike is like stepping into a plein air painting.

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  3. Sponsored

    2025 POST Wildflower Walks

    Get flower empowered! POST’s complimentary 2025 Wildflower Walks guide blooms with the best places to see a variety of florals across the Peninsula and South Bay this spring.

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  4. All right, Almaden!

    Take a trip through time on this 5-mile loop in Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Explore the ruins of an old cinnabar mine and enjoy the first hints of wildflower season.

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Trending Stories SoCal

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  1. Sponsored

    Weekend in Reno Tahoe

    Weekend plans? Reno Tahoe! Just a few hours by car or a short flight away, Reno Tahoe springs to the moment with great ways to combine adventure and relaxation in its beautiful mountains-meets-desert setting.

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  2. Hiker walking along the North Bluff Trail on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park

    Purely Wild

    Channel Islands National Park lives up to its nickname as “North America’s Galapagos.” This less-traveled national park is an undeveloped and isolated series of five dramatic and distinct islands reached by boat. Hike the largest of the islands, Santa Cruz.

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  3. Woman hiking the South Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon

    Truly Grand Day Hike

    One of the best spring day hikes in the Grand Canyon? See layer upon layer of the park’s grandeur—including the river—on this 3-mile (one-way) journey to Skeleton Point via the South Kaibab Trail.

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  4. A woman stands amid an array of yellow and purple flowers at Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles

    Petal Paradise

    Tulips, lilacs, and daffodils—flower power is in full bloom at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge. Sprawling across 150 acres surrounded by mountains, the gardens are putting on their best show right now.

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