Pitch a tent? DITCH THAT
Try glamping to savour the backwoods in comfort and style
The Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien will forever be remembered for opening the door to his fantasy-adventure world of Middle-earth, delighting millions of readers.
Kiwi director Peter Jackson employed his cinematic magic, and the sylvan majesty of New Zealand’s forests, to bring Tolkien’s alternate universe to life in a trilogy of films that not only cemented his reputation but created a new tourism industry in his home country.
Canada, it turns out, has its own wizard portal to all things Baggins, Gollum and Gandalf.
For deep in the Quebec countryside is not one but two Hobbit House rentals, all wooden interiors, green roofs and circular doors, to tempt fantasy fans tracking their fictional favourites.
It is but the latest gimmick in the tourism trend of “glamping.”
Shorthand for glamorous camping, it pitched its stall several years ago and looks certain to gain an even bigger following as contagion-wary vacationers eye backto-nature experiences over adventures overseas.
Quebec’s two Hobbit Houses are among more than 2,100 campsites listed on Glampinghub.com — from Mongolian yurts to teepees to log cabins to solar-powered tree houses to Airstream trailers — stretching from the wilds of the Yukon to fishing villages in Newfoundland.
With prices ranging from $50 to north of $4,000, almost every taste is catered for — making the whole concept of “pitching a tent” seem as antiquated as crank-starting your car.
Of course, “glamour” is relative, with some operators promoting off-the-grid charms as much as the luxe linen, hot tubs and yoga platforms of their upscale rivals.
But for glam that knows no bounds, there is only one place in Canada to look: Vancouver Island. Described by Cottage Life magazine as “the undisputed queen of glamping,” the Clayoquot Wilderness Resort near Tofino on B.C.’S raw west coast is the Big Top of fivestar camping, offering “luxury gone wild” amid an ancient rainforest accessible only by aircraft or boat.
With nightly rates as high as $4,700, the resort’s pampering includes 25 prospector-style canvas tents kitted out with antique furnishings, cast-iron stoves, ensuite bathrooms and heated floors. Boredom is staved off with horseback riding, whale-watching, kayaking and “heli adventures,” capped off with “artfully prepared coastal gourmet cuisine.”
For something less Bugatti and more Baden-powell — of Boy Scouts fame — Parks Canada delivers the OTENTIK, a cross between a tent and a cabin that sleeps up to six campers who want a show-andgo experience in the bush. There are more than 400 of these hybrids across 30 campgrounds, at varying prices, and some are even heated.
Parks Canada’s newest innovation is the Microcube, a 10-square-metre box resembling a tiny shipping container. Its “contemporary design” includes a floor-to-ceiling window with double bed, chairs and a table, but no heating. The Riding Mountain National Park in Wasagaming, Man., north of Brandon, is one of two sites (the other’s in Quebec) where they are being trialled.
Back out west, B.C. makes the most of its evergreen landscape with the hanging pods of Free Spirit Sphere in Qualicum Bay on Vancouver Island. Sleep suspended amid the rainforest canopy in “works of art” that marry sailboat-making with tree-house construction to create the “most remarkable accommodation in the world.”
In the Yukon, the Northern Lights Resort & Spa south of Whitehorse rents out three glass-fronted chalets purposely built for viewing the aurora borealis, as well as four traditional log cabins.
Sundance Lodges in Alberta’s Kananaskis country brings the Rockies into focus from hand-painted Sioux canvas teepees, while over the border in Saskatchewan the folks at Flora Bora Forest Lodging at Christopher Lake, north of Prince Albert, present two fully furnished yurts set amid 12 hectares of boreal forest and trails.
Nothing says Canada quite like Algonquin Park in Ontario, and Bartlett Lodge on Cache Lake pulls out all the stops for lovers of impressionist painters, canoeing and wolf whispering. Its Thomson Tent, in honour of the Canadian icon who died mysteriously, comes with a king-sized bed and a deck ideal for summer’s-eve chilling.
In Mattawa, Ont., near the Quebec border, campers at the secluded Nature’s Harmony Ecolodge can savour views of the Laurentian Mountains from a fully furnished
Mongolian-crafted teepee with a wood-fired outdoor tub.
La Belle Province has its elfin delights, but it’s notable too for its Airstream bed and breakfast in the Gatineau Hills, a sleek silver trailer described by owners Motelluxe as “iconic-retro yet eco-green modern” befitting a top hotel. Extras include a “bistro-deck” and outdoor infinity shower.
Down east, glampers can book a yurt near Kingsboro, P.E.I., where dunes and white-sand beaches beckon just a five-minute walk away. New Brunswick’s Lakeway Houseboat Vacations, meanwhile, adds a nautical twist with its opulent “cottages on the water.”
Along the famed Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island, True North Destinations is drawing overnighters with its cosy geodesic domes — and plenty of good karma: the eco-destination has teamed up with a nearby Buddhist monastery.
“You get your accommodations, the marine life, whale watching, seafood and the chance to learn meditation all with one package,” co-owner Tanya Hinkley told the Cape Breton Post.
Want to really unplug? The fishing village of Bauline, on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula, has a simple teepee, accommodating just two people, for those keen to embrace an “authentic camping experience” and mingle with the locals, not their gadgets. “A little bit of paradise,” wrote one reviewer.
A special COVID -19 report by the Kampgrounds of America (KOA) predicts the camping industry will bounce back faster than the wider travel sector. “Once travellers feel it is safe to travel again, spending time outdoors with family is what leisure travellers are looking forward to most,” the report found.
Once travellers feel it is safe to travel again, spending time outdoors with family is what leisure travellers are looking forward to most.
Kampgrounds of America report