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Crunchy outdoor traditionalists, with their 40-year-old external-frame steel backpacks and minimalist packing lists (maybe they’ll bring some matches — maybe…) might look down their leathery, unshaven noses at the new glamping trend. (That’s a combination of glamour and camping, in case you’re so unfancy you’ve never even heard the word.) They may see gourmet grub and king beds in studio-apartment-sized canvas tents as a corruption of one of the last bastions of Teddy Roosevelt-ish off-the-grid-ism. “Pah!” they may snort. “That’s not camping; it’s gentrified squatting!”
But for the rest of us, nature is nature and there’s no wrong way to see it.
Even the analog purists afford themselves a few fireside luxuries, right? Like Uncle Ken, who backpacked a heavy rib eye into the Uintas? Or your hippie brother who insists on wearing deodorant only while canyoneering? So why not, at least occasionally, embrace the decadence? Utah’s mountains and canyons are beautiful, even if you’re not suffering.
Glamping may even be the way you get your city slicker mother-in-law into the great outdoors. (She’ll be backpacking the Maze in no time!)
And so, kick back and relax in the great outdoors with these five awesome Utah glamping spots.
5. Capitol Reef Resort
Something tells us the original tepees and Conestoga wagons didn’t have turn-down service and electrical outlets. Here you can choose from teepees, covered wagons, or just a good ‘ol fashioned cabin. Sit around the campfire, stare up at the dark, starry night and ponder your existence in the coolest backyard ever. Need more reasons to glamp here? Here are nine.
4. Zion Ponderosa Ranch
Here you can “rough it” in style and stay any way you want — lodge, cabin, wagon, or tent. The location is stunning and unbeatable with an on-site restaurant and access to a zip line, pools, mini golf, ATVs, and horses. Oh, and it shares an invisible border with some national park.
3. Moab Under Canvas
Sure, your $1,500 Hilleberg tent is lightweight for backpacking, but can it fit a chest of drawers, safari chairs and a wood-burning stove? Or a private ensuite bathroom? There are lots of tent & teepee options for us comfy campers. Some would argue this is camping as it should be. Bonus: Arches and Canyonlands national parks are just minutes away.
2. Moonlight Oasis (Zion)
Pack everyone into the roomy 200-square foot Moonlight Tent that holds two single beds and two queen beds. Here you can stay in a well-watered and solar-powered tent on the property or ask them for a to-go glamping tent and a backcountry campsite recommendation. Look east to Zion & south to Arizona. There are pristine views all around.
1. Conestoga Ranch (Bear Lake)
For a northern Utah take on glamping, (have someone else) pitch your tent on the shores of the Caribbean of the Rockies. No prep needed for this outdoor vacation. Come for the glamping, stay for the Yoga, high-end cuisine & complimentary cruisers. Choose from Grand Tents, Royal Tent Suites, and Traditional Tents. Or, evoke an Old West ambiance and grab one of their Conestoga Wagons. Take our word for it: they’re pretty cool.
