Presented by Trailborn
A new breed of lodging runs a little bit wild.
In recent times, American lodging has embraced road-trip travelers in ways both new and reminiscent of the old. (Wildsam covered the comeback of classic motor lodges last year.)
And this year, we noticed one trend in particular: New spots, tuned to nature, designed to put guests in closer touch with their surroundings. Sometimes, these efforts look like hotels; in other instances, they stir together cabin living and camping. At every one of these Road Trip Award honorees, the setting is inspiring and the prospects are, let’s say, a breath of fresh air.
West Virginia's Stargazing Cabins
Tucked in a northerly crook of West Virginia, just south of the Pennsylvania state line, Coopers Rock State Forest is one of the country’s most underrated naturalist destinations. The park spans nearly 13,000 acres of impressive sandstone cliffs, sweeping Cheat River Canyon views and dense hardwood forests. Perhaps most notably, the park is home to some of the darkest skies on the East Coast of the U.S. Here, thousands of twinkling stars blanket a near-pitch-black night, with what feels like an iridescent galactic core shimmering through the vastness of space. Now, 12 new A-frame cabins in the secluded east section of the park are outfitted to provide visitors a front-row seat to star-studded skies.
More “Hotels” Bringing Us Back to Nature
Menizei
Olympic Peninsula, WA
This new trio of luxury campsites, just north of the national park, leans into remoteness and the forest-hushed landscape, aiming to create a temporary alternate reality for guests. Menizei is emphatically not a hotel, but rather a light-touch invitation to hole up in shelters that aren’t rustic, per se, but which favor the self-directed and self-sufficient traveler. An adults-only reservation policy and coinage of the concept “forest cocooning” strike a romantic note, but also welcome solo adventurers.
Reset Hotel
Joshua Tree, CA
The first ground-up J-Tree hotel project in more than a decade, Reset Hotel features shipping container-esque design forms and outward-looking, nature-oriented ethos. The modular design, the spare aesthetics and ample access to patio space and stargazing perches strike a balance between design and nature, and most of the property will remain desert. Some say the results evoke a science-fictional space colony, but to us, it’s all Earth, all the way.
Prospect Berkshires
Egremont, MA
We’re not sure if the folks behind the striking archipelago of modern cabins that make up Prospect Berkshires actually coined the phrase “landscape hotel.” But they say it, and we like it. On the site of a former campground, a thoughtful reclamation of history and nature evokes that rustic/refined duality that is so very New England. Handsome, Scandinavian-accented prefab cubes look out over Prospect Lake, while landscape design and native plantings applied a healing touch to the property and shoreline ecosystems.
Presenting Sponsor
Trailborn
Stay at an "Official Hotel of the Great Outdoors." When you travel with Trailborn, you don't have to rough it. You can finally explore the great outdoors the way you want to. Trailborn isn’t just a place to stay, it’s a way to reconnect. To the people who matter most. To ourselves. And to the natural wonders that continue to awe us, no matter how old we are.
