Reader Participation Day: Where's Your Favorite National Park Cabin?

Published Date

December 23, 2009

Are the cabins at the Tioga Pass Resort just outside Yosemite National Park among your favorite cabins in the park system? NPT file photo.

If I'm not sleeping in a tent in a national park, the next best place is a cabin, preferably a log cabin. And there certainly are lots of them, from the Colter Bay cabins at Grand Teton National Park to the tent cabins in Yosemite National Park. Which cabins are your favorites when it comes to visiting the national parks?

The Colter Bay cabins certainly are charming, while Yosemite's tent cabins might require a cultivated taste for some. I've been intrigued by the Roosevelt Fireplace Cottages in Olympic National Park, and enjoyed the rusticity of the Roughrider Cabins in Yellowstone National Park.

But those are just scraping the surface of the many options that exist out there. Since some parks are ringed by cabins just beyond their borders, for this week's survey let's also open it up to cabins and cottages that are within 5 miles of a park. That should toss into the mix the cottages near Acadia National Park, cabins that surround Great Smoky Mountains National Park, those at the Tioga Pass Resort outside Yosemite, and any others that attract national park visitors.

So, what say thee?

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Visiting the Parks

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Comments

Submitted by admin on December 23, 2009 - 7:41am.

We loved staying at the Pioneer cabins at Grand Canyon North Rim.

Submitted by admin on December 23, 2009 - 10:01am.

Our favorite cabin would definitely have been the one we stayed in at Phantom Ranch, night of July 4th. 1988. If we get a second choice it would be at the north rim of the Grand Canyon. There was a huge pine tree that was right beside the cabin. It was so close that a notch had been cut in the eave of the cabin to accomodate it. We could hear the tree gently rubbing on the cabin during the night.

Submitted by admin on December 23, 2009 - 10:37am.

My favorite is a cabin at Bryce National Park. A caffeine-hungry mouse chewed through my backpack to enjoy some ground coffee.

Submitted by admin on December 23, 2009 - 11:06am.

I love the cabins at Signal Mountain in Grand Teton National Park. They are rustic and cozy, perfect for a weekend of exploring the park.

Submitted by MikeD on December 23, 2009 - 11:16am.

We had a good experience at the Ozark NSR Big Spring cabins. Very good deal. And although it was so hot, even at night, that it really wasn't much fun being outside, they had some nice screen porches that overlooked the woods. Very reasonable price-wise too (queen bed, A/C, fridge, microwave, couch, table all included that I can remember).

Submitted by Terry on December 23, 2009 - 11:31am.

I don't know if this counts or not, but our favorite 'cabins' are the concrete units in the Virgin Islands National Park, Cinnamon Bay, St. Johns. We've been there 4 different times and will be there again in a couple of weeks. We can hardly wait. What a great place to camp only a few yards from the beach.

Submitted by admin on December 23, 2009 - 12:19pm.

I love the cabins at Lake McDonald in Glacier NP. My husband and I stayed their for our honeymoon and have tried to go back every year since then. The backcountry ranger cabin up at Granite Chalet is not bad either.

Submitted by y_p_w on December 23, 2009 - 12:36pm.

Love cabins. My fondest memories were of staying in basic cabins around Lake Tahoe as a kid. Here's where I've stayed (that I can at least remember) at NPS sites:

Colter Bay - Grand Teton - duplex cabin.
Old Faithful - cabin w/o bath.
Yellowstone Canyon - quad (side-by-side) end unit.
Bryce Canyon Lodge - original Underwood-designed duplex.
Grand Canyon - Maswik Lodge - quad (all-corner) units.
Sequoia - Giant Forest Village - these cabins were razed in the 90s. I saw my first bear there.
Kings Canyon - Grant Grove Village - single w/o bath.

But my favorite? Probably a Roughrider Cabin at Roosevelt in Yellowstone. There was just something about a cabin where the only heat came from a smoky stove.

Now the one that sounds really intriguing is Sol Duc Resort at Olympic NP. They have various cabin units including ones with kitchens. However - what it comes with is that registered guests have use of the hot spring pools. I've actually used the hot spring pools by paying a day use fee.

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