Now that we're getting into the summer (-ish) months, you might be thinking about camping. Or maybe you're thinking about it but your significant other is resisting. You're thinking fresh air, tall trees, campfires and cookouts; they're thinking bugs, dirt, lumpy sleeping bags, and funky outhouses.
They have a point.
If you've got someone in your family who's not super stoked about pitching a tent in a crowded state park this summer, maybe you need to up your camping game and graduate to glamping.
Glamping, a combination of "glamorous" and "camping," can mean a lot of things, from a simple upgrade to a primitive yurt at a state park to a rustic cabin with actual amenities like heat, a roof, electricity, and a bathroom.
I found some great guides to glamping around Western Washington and beyond. It's way more common than it was even a few years ago, and it really does make the whole experience a little more civilized for anyone in your crew who's not as comfortable away from creature comforts as you might be.
This page at glampinghub.com is a huge searchable storehouse of possible destinations all over Washington, Oregon, Utah -- all over the place. They list "safari tents," "cabins," and "villas" (which might be a couple of rungs too far up the ladder from what you might think of as "clamping," but hey -- if the price is right . . . .) If you're dreaming a treehouse in Port Angeles or a beautiful white tent with a hardwood floor and a king-sized bed in Oregon, graze this site.
At AllAboutGlamping.com, they run down their list of Top Washington Glamping Sites: Near Leavenworth, there's C+A+V+E, an actual cave with two bedrooms, 20-foot ceilings, a fireplace, and a hot tub. Oh yeah, and tiki torches lining the walls, just like that place where they hold tribal council meetings to vote people off the island on Survivor.
And at Millersvania State Park near Olympia there are six luxury tents, "similar to luxury safari tents," complete with king-sized bed, fireplace, microwave, and fire pit.
Explorer Sue seems to be kind of a Northwest travel blogger. She did a nice tidy piece on glamping in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia.
And while she doesn't provide links for the spots she mentions, she does add some fun options to your glamping possibilities, like an RV park in northern Oregon where you can stay in a sleek Airstream trailer, or the luxurious Tipi Village Retreat near Eugene where you stay in a tipi (or teepee) equipped with a Keurig coffeemaker and the staff will bring you breakfast or direct you to a yoga class.
Sue also recommends Doe Bay Resort, in a remote corner of Orcas Island, where you can just camp, or move up to one of their yurts or cabins.
If you can successfully operate Google, you can probably find your own glamping adventure, but book early -- I think everybody's itching to get away this summer!