San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Yosemite getting 2 new sites for glamping
A pair of new glamping outfits offering overnight stays in luxury safaristyle tents are staking their claim outside Yosemite National Park.
One of them, Wildhaven Yosemite, opened this spring on a hilly, 36-acre property on Highway 140, about 45 minutes from the Mariposa entrance on the park’s western edge. It offers a mix of 30 heavy-canvas tents and 12 cabins, some of which include kitchenettes.
The Bay Area entrepreneurs behind Wildhaven opened their first glamping (glamorous camping) site in Healdsburg in 2020. The new Yosemite location boasts dogfriendly lodging, yoga classes and cider tastings.
Wildhaven aims to strike “a careful balance between the comforts of modern living and the raw beauty of nature,” according to its website. One night in a “premium” tent, which comes with a queen bed, electricity, heating and a front deck, starts at $200.
A separate glamping operation from Colorado company Under Canvas is slated to open next spring even closer to the park.
Now being built on 80 acres of pine-studded slopes by the Big Oak Flat Information Station on Highway 120, the site is a quick drive from the park’s northwest entrance, the quickest route into Yosemite Valley for San Francisco park-goers.
Under Canvas runs 11 other glamping operations outside national parks including Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Zion, Glacier and Great Smoky Mountains. The Yosemite site, which has been in the works for several years, will be the company’s first entry into California.
“You’re in the woods and it feels like you’re part of the park,” said Under Canvas CEO Matt Gaghen. “You can see into (Yosemite) from parts of the site.”
Under Canvas sites typically feature dozens of cream-colored, heavycanvas tent-cabins with private bathrooms, electricity and heat installed near a larger, lounge-like communal tent used for dining and relaxing. The sites offer fire pits, sitting decks, yoga classes and yard games. The concept, Gaghen said, blends “the best elements of camping with the comforts and amenities that come with an upscale hotel resort” and is meant to appeal to families, outdoorsy empty nesters and young couples alike.
Notably, the Under Canvas camp’s entrance is directly across the road from a Yosemite Area Regional
Transportation System shuttle stop, making for easy access into Yosemite Valley without the hassle of hunting for parking. Another benefit of traveling via YARTS is that riders don’t need to reserve a day-use pass into Yosemite during the busy summer months. However, YARTS recommends that people book seats on their shuttles in advance.
Rates for an Under Canvas Yosemite tent will start at $320 per night.
The glamping sites add to an expanding mix of lodging options near Yosemite’s western border, which include a new 55cabin resort opening in May, an Airstream glamping site on Highway 140, and a casino-resort now under construction.