Tag: Mt. Baker

Where to Stay in a Yurt for an Unforgettable Trip

Aside from being the ultra-hip accommodation as the glamping trend continues to gain popularity, a yurt offers so much for a glamping getaway. If you’re new to glamping, or a tried-and-true camper looking for something different, you will quickly find out that the yurt offers a very unique space that has all the amenities you could imagine. Cable TV, bathroom accommodations within the space, comfy bunks, a kitchenette, electricity and plenty of room for activities! Plus, you don’t have to duck when you stand up. This all goes without even mentioning the sense of well-being that is associated with the modern versions of these age-old dwellings. The circular shape of the yurt is said to provide a sense of connection as well as relaxation. So, booking a yurt for your next glamping trip would be an ideal way to get back to being connected with family, friends, nature and your well-being. Here are some options:

Yurt at Thousand Trails Yosemite Lakes
Yurt at Thousand Trails Yosemite Lakes

California: Thousand Trails Lake of the Springs in Oregon House has three yurt accommodations, one of which is pet friendly. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, this location is excellent for hiking and trail-riding, plus there are onsite activities provided by the 120-acre private lake including boating, fishing and swimming. If you’re looking to get in some white-water rafting, consider a yurt stay at one of the two yurt options at Thousand Trails Snowflower in Emigrant Gap which is nearby to the Truckee River. The town of Truckee has some great historical museums, as well as dining and shopping opportunities. Planning to explore Yosemite National Park? If that’s on your getaway list, book a yurt at Thousand Trails Yosemite Lakes. With 5 yurts, choose your location of a meadow setting, hillside setting or riverside setting.

Yurts at Mt. Hood Village
Yurts at Mt. Hood Village

Oregon: Yurt accommodations in Oregon include coastal locations (Thousand Trails Pacific City and Thousand Trails South Jetty), near Portland in the beautiful Mt. Hood area (Mt. Hood Village Campground) and in the town of Bend, considered the “outdoor playground of the West” (Thousand Trails Bend-Sunriver). Bend offers four yurt options, with one being pet-friendly; Mt. Hood has two, both of which are pet-friendly, while coastal locations Pacific City and South Jetty offer two and four, respectively. While Bend offers hiking, biking and craft breweries, the Mt. Hood area is known for the Timberline Lodge and outdoor activities as well as annual festivals like the Huckleberry Festival and Sasquatch Festival. Coastal adventures at both Pacific City and South Jetty include lighthouse tours, beachcombing and countless dune trails to explore.

Thousand Trails Circle M Yurt
Thousand Trails Circle M Yurt

Pennsylvania: The beautiful rolling hills of Pennsylvania’s Amish country, combined with a yurt accommodation at Thousand Trails Circle M sounds like a perfectly peaceful glamping getaway. Choose from one of the two yurts located here and explore Lancaster County. Bike trails range from easy rides (the Conestoga Greenway is 1.3 miles) to more strenuous (the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail is 14 miles), while hiking trails are numerous and varied as well. Of course, there is the option to immerse yourself in the Amish culture with traditional dinners and tours or take a ghost tour, shop the Lancaster Central Market, which has been operating for over 300 years or take a cool covered bridge tour of the 30 surviving covered bridges in the area.

Yurt at Thousand Trails Mt. Vernon
Yurt at Thousand Trails Mount Vernon

Washington: With five different glamping locations with yurt accommodations in Washington State, you can “yurt” your way through this fabulous Pacific Northwest destination feeling super connected to nature all along the way. Thousand Trails Grandy Creek is your gateway to Puget Sound and all things Mt. Baker while Thousand Trails Mount Vernon is great for nearby hiking trails and day trips to the San Juan Islands. Thousand Trails Long Beach is perfect for a glamping beach getaway and a stroll on the town’s historic boardwalk while Thousand Trails Paradise puts you in Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens territory. Looking to visit Seattle, consider a yurt accommodation at Tall Chief Campground and you’re less than 30 miles from Seattle attractions like the Space Needle, Pike Place Market and the Museum of Pop Culture.

Wisconsin: “Explore the Door” as they say when you visit the 75-mile-long peninsula known as Door County. The yurt accommodations at Tranquil Timbers Campground sleep five and are the perfect place to call home while you do all the exploring of this great area that has outdoor activities, art galleries, quaint towns, plenty of shopping and dining experiences, and “uniquely Door County” experiences like fish boils and goats on restaurant roofs (Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant). Peninsula State Park is great for hiking and biking while those in the know say the villages of Egg Harbor and Fish Creek are best for shopping. Take the ferry over to Washington Island for a change-up in the beautiful scenery and visit Nelsen’s Hall for a traditional shot of bitters!

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Five Things to Do in…..La Conner

Swinomish Channel, La Conner Washington.

Settled in the late 1860s, La Conner, Washington, was originally known by the name Swinomish, as the area was home to the Swinomish Indians. In 1869, the town was deeded to John Conner for a whopping $500. Conner went on to name the town in honor of his wife, Louisa Ann Conner, which then became LA Conner, and finally, La Conner.

Other notable things to know about La Conner include that it consistently makes the Top 10 of travel lists when it comes to small, quaint and charming towns; it is located on the edge of the largest tulip-growing region in the world, which means come spring, the tulip explosion in the valley outside La Conner is a sight to behold. And, it is considered a four-season attraction, meaning no matter when you visit, there’s always something going on! From beautiful fall hikes to skiing in winter and the burst of spring flowers and summers on the waterfront, La Conner is a year-round destination.

La Conner RV Resort in La Conner, WA

In short, if you’re looking for a charming, waterfront town, complete with boardwalk, art galleries, restaurants, boutiques, museums, and even a gastropub, plus a vibe that will calm even the most hyper of travelers, then La Conner should be put on your destination list!

Here are five things to do when visiting this Pacific-Northwest charmer.

  1. Museum of Northwest Art: With a mission to collect, preserve and interpret art created in the Pacific Northwest, MoNa, as it is called, has contemporary art exhibits from artists hailing from Alaska, British Columbia, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. MoNa displays both permanent and traveling exhibits and admission is free. For information and hours of operation, visit monamuseum.org.

    Beautiful and colorful tulip fields by the mountains of Skagit Valley at sunrise
  2. Drive or Bike the Valley: As mentioned above, the Skagit Valley is not only home to the beautiful blooms of spring’s tulips, daffodils and more, but it is also a charming countryside dotted with farms, fields, wildlife and charming towns to explore via bike or on the road. Check out visitskagitvalley.com for a bike map.
  3. Visit the Islands: If you’re up to it, a three-mile kayak or canoe paddle across the Swinomish Channel will get you to Goat Island, where you can explore the remains of century-old Fort Whitman. A quick drive across the iconic Rainbow Bridge brings you to Fidalgo Island, home to Washington Park which has a beach and hiking trails. Kiket Island, which is another short drive from La Conner, offers hiking, pebble beaches, and amazing views.

    View from Mt. Erie
  4. Photo Ops Galore: With Mt. Baker as a backdrop, most likely anywhere you take a picture in La Conner will prove a worthy photo op but we’ve found some other worthy backdrops as well in the area. Set your sights on Magnus Anderson’s hand-split log cabin, dating back to 1869 (near the Town Hall); the Swinomish totem pole, which is a replica of the original built in 1939 as a Works Project Administration project (across from the ball fields); La Conner Rainbow Bridge, a deck arch bridge built in 1957 that connects La Conner to Fidalgo island.
  5. Skagit County Historical Museum: Learn all about the history of Skagit County in this unique museum whose exhibits range from Native American artifacts to Shirley Temple dolls. Current exhibits include Hometown Teams, which explores how hometown sports teams play a role in American society.

A cozy cabin at LaConner RV Campground.

The Year of the Yurt

Interior yurt photo from Tranquil Timbers in WI.

If yurt camping has been on your travel bucket list for a while, why not make 2020 the Year of the Yurt? Luckily, Petite Retreats has more than enough yurt locations so you can choose a different spot to yurt every month of the year!

If you’re not familiar with yurts, there are a few things to keep in mind. Our yurts typically feature either two double futons and one set of bunk beds or one double futon and two sets of bunk beds. Some also have a functional kitchenette with a stovetop and microwave (no oven), upright refrigerator with small freezer, and a dining table. Kitchen amenities include an electric coffeepot, a toaster, pots and pans, as well as dishes, glasses, and utensils. Oh, and also a private restroom with shower! They also feature satellite television, a propane fireplace and gas barbeque on the outdoor deck. If you’re looking to rough it a bit more, we do also feature a few yurts that are much more rustic, without a restroom or kitchen, at Snowflower, Mt. Hood, Long Beach, Paradise, Tall Chief, Grandy Creek, and Tranquil Timbers.

Circle M
Yurt so good! Check out these cozy yurts at Circle M in PA.

California yurt options include Lake of the Springs, in Oregon House; Snowflower in Emigrant Gap and Yosemite Lakes in Groveland. Lake of the Springs is nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains and nearby attractions include the New Leaf Llama Farm, home to 30 friendly llamas. Snowflower puts you near Tahoe National Forest and all its activities, including hiking, fishing, swimming, climbing and bicycling. Yosemite Lakes is of course the perfect spot to stay when exploring Yosemite National Park as the entrance to the Park is just five miles down the road. The campground itself offers fishing, swimming and panning for gold thanks to the Tuolumne River that runs right through Yosemite Lakes.

Heading north from California to Oregon, there are four yurt opportunities – two along the Oregon coast, one in beautiful Bend and one in Mt. Hood Territory in Welches.  South Jetty (Florence) and Pacific City (Cloverdale) provide great locations for coastal excursions that could include Florence’s Heceta Head Lighthouse with its beautiful coastal views or wine tours of Cloverdale’s many vineyards. Bend-Sunriver is great year-round and Bend is always full of activity, indoors and out.  Bend’s Oregon Winter Fest is set for February 16, 2020, and summer brings the Bend Summer Festival, set for July. Mt. Hood in Welches is a great place to stay when catching the area’s most famous festivals, including the Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival in August and the Mount Hood Salmon and Mushroom Festival in September. Worth noting, the yurts at Mt. Hood are rustic and don’t have a restroom or a kitchen. That said, they’re conveniently located near a bathhouse. Both Bend and Welches offers skiing and sledding fun in winter and plenty of hiking, biking and fishing come summer.

Photo by @three_amigos_x from the yurts at Yosemite Lakes in CA.

On to Washington State, where five locations offers yurt accommodations.  Starting in southern Washington, there is Long Beach, located on the scenic peninsula with its boardwalk and beaches, and the world Kite Museum (because kite flying is excellent here), which features our more rustic yurt offering. Paradise is in Silver Creek and is surrounded by the mountains, including Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier. The campground has two stocked fishing lakes, too! The yurts at Paradise are rustic, and located near a restroom facility. Tall Chief is just outside Seattle and is the perfect spot to explore Seattle’s offerings, including the towering Space Needle, the lively, and historic, Pike Place Market and the offbeat Museum of Pop Culture. (The yurts at Tall Chief are also rustic.) Mt. Vernon and Grandy Creek, both located in northern Washington, complete the yurt options in Washington and each offer different opportunities. Mt. Vernon, located in Washington’s picturesque Skagit Valley, is a wooded wonderland with activities like hiking and fishing topping the list. The San Juan Islands are just a ferry ride away. Grandy Creek is in Concrete, in Mt. Baker territory, making the North Cascades National Park your playground. Plus, Baker Lake is great for fishing and swimming.

Tranquil Timbers is located on the beautiful Door County Peninsula of Wisconsin in Sturgeon Bay, which was voted one of the Top 10 Happiest Seaside Towns in the U.S. by Coastal Living magazine. Summer is the best time to enjoy yurt camping here as well as the world-famous bass fishing for which the bay is known. The charming towns dotting Door County are another plus to summer in Wisconsin.

Make 2020 the year of the yurt at Yosemite Lakes in CA.
Make 2020 the year of the yurt at Yosemite Lakes in CA.

Finally, the rolling hills of Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County are home to Circle M and their yurt accommodations. Lancaster County offers plenty of Pennsylvania Dutch hospitality from authentic Amish dining experiences and buggy rides to interesting museums (check out the York Barbell Weightlifting Museum and Hall of Fame or the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania). All kinds of family fun, including loads of chocolate, are available at nearby Hershey Park.