Some purists believe camping should include sleeping on the cold, hard ground. And there are those who believe a hotel without room service is considered roughing it.
Many of us are somewhere in between.
If you enjoy roasting marshmallows over a roaring fire and also something more comfortable than a cot to sleep on, welcome to glamping – camping with many of the comforts of home.
Along the East Coast, there are a plethora of glamping sites that offer amenities on the same level as top hotels.
Here are some of our favorites:
1. Asheville Glamping | Asheville, North Carolina
Visitors can stay in a five-person canvas safari tent, a glamping treehouse, or the most unusual — domes that sleep two. Some of the spaces include private baths or even a hot tub. The Ultimate Slide Dome is great for families. It includes a large bed for Mom and Dad and a loft with two queen-size beds. But it’s the large indoor slide that makes being called down for breakfast a lot more fun.
2. Adventures on the Gorge | Lansing, West Virginia
Glampers who want to experience adrenaline-pumping whitewater rafting on the New and Gauley rivers or treetop zip lining can do it here. The glamping experience offers tents with queen-size beds along with a fire pit, picnic table, a mini-fridge and coffee pot.The adrenaline? You’ll have to create it yourself.
3. Tops’l Farm | Waldoboro, Maine
Explore the ends of New England at this 83-acre farm in Midcoast Maine. Open on select weekends May through August, Tops’L Farm offers tasty seasonal foods of the ME state. Small A-frame cabins are supplied with linens and large blankets to keep you warm on cool nights.
4. Eastwind Hotel & Bar | Windham, New York
This outdoor-lovers getaway in the Catskills Mountains sits on 17 acres that was once used by hunters and fishermen. Today it has been converted into a glampers paradise. The hotel is pet friendly and has seven Lushna cabins and three new Lusha suites that include unobscured panoramic views. The suites include a private bathroom inside the cabin as well as one outdoors, a fridge and even robes to snuggle in. And not forgetting it’s a hotel, cocktails can be delivered to the door.
5. Timberline Glamping Co. | Georgia and Florida
Timberline offers experiences at several state parks and campsites in Georgia and one near Tampa. From spending the day near the southernmost point of the Appalachian Mountains at Amicalola Falls State Park in Dawsonville, Georgia, or near the coastline of Lake Lainer at Shady Grove Campground outside of Augusta, Georgia, this company has plenty of options for couples and families. And for those wondering about glamping during the summer? Timberline offers air conditioning for hot southern nights.
By Crystal Schelle