Last Updated on November 4, 2026 by Daniel Globe
Glamping gives you the scenery of a campsite without the sleeping bag on hard ground. The best spots pair a real bed, a wood stove or private bathroom with a view you would normally have to backpack in to see. This guide covers the best places to go glamping in the US, mostly around national parks, plus the international destinations that are worth a long flight.
For each destination you will learn what makes it special, what kind of glamping to expect, and the best season to go. We have left out nightly prices on purpose, because they swing widely by date and tent type; check the operator directly when you are ready to book.
Quick Answer
The best places to go glamping in the US are the tented camps near Yellowstone, Glacier, Zion, the Grand Canyon and Yosemite, plus Montana’s Blackfoot River and Big Sur’s redwoods. Internationally, top picks are Wadi Rum in Jordan, the Masai Mara in Kenya, South Africa’s Kruger, Finnish Lapland’s glass igloos, Torres del Paine in Patagonia and Morocco’s Sahara dunes.
Key Takeaways
- Most US national-park glamping camps are seasonal and open roughly late May to mid-September in the northern Rockies, so book early for summer.
- Southwest desert sites near Zion, Moab and Joshua Tree are most comfortable in spring and fall.
- Under Canvas and AutoCamp run the largest networks of glamping camps near US national parks.
- Abroad, timing is everything: July to October for the Masai Mara migration, May to September for Kruger, and late August to early April for Lapland’s northern lights.
- Check whether your tent has a private bathroom or uses a shared bathhouse; this varies within the same camp.
What Makes a Great Glamping Destination
A glamping trip lives or dies on three things: the setting, the season and the comfort level. The destinations below were chosen because they combine a world-class landscape with established, well-reviewed glamping options and a clear best time to visit.
- Setting: Easy access to a national park, desert, safari reserve or dark sky.
- Comfort: Real beds, heat for cold nights and either en suite or well-kept shared bathrooms.
- Season: Many camps close in winter, and some regions are miserable in peak heat.
If you would rather pitch your own luxury setup, see our guide to the best glamping tents.
Best Glamping Near US National Parks
Yellowstone, Montana and Wyoming
Yellowstone is the classic glamping trip: geysers by day, a wood stove and a canvas roof by night. Under Canvas has two camps here, one in West Yellowstone, just outside the park’s busy West Entrance, and one in Paradise Valley near the North Entrance. The West Yellowstone camp offers Stargazer tents with a window above the bed for night-sky viewing. The camps are seasonal, with the West Yellowstone camp scheduled to open May 19 to September 7 in 2027.
Best season: June to early September, when park roads and services are fully open. Read our best time to visit Yellowstone guide for month-by-month detail.
Glacier National Park, Montana
Under Canvas Glacier sits about seven miles from the park’s west entrance near Coram, Montana. Deluxe and Suite tents have private bathrooms and wood-burning stoves, while Safari tents share a bathhouse. Mountain nights are cold even in July, so the stove matters. The 2027 season is listed as May 28 to September 13.
Best season: July and August, when the high country is most accessible.
Zion, Bryce Canyon and Moab, Utah
Southern Utah has the densest cluster of glamping camps in the country. Under Canvas runs camps near Zion, Bryce Canyon, Moab and Lake Powell, and AutoCamp has a site near Zion with its signature Airstream trailers. You can link several parks into one red-rock road trip and sleep in canvas every night.
Best season: Spring and fall, when daytime heat is manageable for hiking and nights are cool around the fire.
Grand Canyon, Arizona
Under Canvas Grand Canyon puts you within driving distance of the South Rim, so you can catch sunrise at the rim and return to a tented camp at night. It suits travelers who want the canyon without competing for lodge rooms inside the park.
Best season: Late spring and early fall, which avoid both summer crowds and winter cold at the rim.
Yosemite, California
Both AutoCamp and Under Canvas operate near Yosemite, giving you a comfortable base outside the valley’s crowded lodges. AutoCamp’s California lineup also includes Sequoia, Sonoma and Joshua Tree, so you can build a glamping road trip around the state’s parks. See our best time to visit Yosemite guide before you book.
Best season: Late spring for waterfalls, or September for fewer people.
Best US Glamping Escapes Beyond the Parks
Blackfoot River, Montana
The Resort at Paws Up near Greenough, Montana, is one of America’s best-known luxury glamping properties. Its six tent camps sit along the Blackfoot River or on bluffs above it, and each has a dedicated camp butler who lights the fire and brings morning coffee. Meals are included. It is a splurge, but it is the closest thing to a safari lodge in the American West.
Best season: Glamping runs mid-May through mid-October.
Big Sur, California
Ventana Big Sur has safari-style tents in a 40-acre redwood canyon along Post Creek, including a walk-in canyon site and a site with redwood views. Tents come with fire pits, power outlets and running water, and dogs are allowed for a fee. You get Big Sur’s coastline by day and a forest hush at night.
Best season: Spring through fall; check the resort for current campground dates and book weekends well ahead.
Joshua Tree, California
AutoCamp Joshua Tree is a strong choice for stargazing and desert scenery, and it is an easy drive from Los Angeles and Palm Springs.
Best season: October to April. Summer desert heat makes daytime exploring hard.
East Coast: Acadia, the Smokies, the Catskills and Cape Cod
Glamping is not just a Western thing. Under Canvas has camps near Acadia in Maine, the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. AutoCamp operates in Cape Cod, the Catskills and Asheville. These are good weekend escapes from East Coast cities.
Best season: Late September and October for fall foliage, or summer for coastal Maine and Cape Cod.
Best Places to Go Glamping Around the World
Wadi Rum, Jordan
Wadi Rum’s red sand, sandstone mountains and huge night skies make it one of the most photogenic glamping spots on Earth. Camps range from traditional Bedouin-style tents to luxury canvas and see-through bubble tents built for stargazing. It is about an hour from Aqaba, and camps usually arrange pickup from the visitor center or Wadi Rum village.
Best season: Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November). Summer is very hot and winter nights are bitterly cold.
Masai Mara, Kenya
The tented safari camp is the original glamping. In the Masai Mara you fall asleep to the sound of the savanna and wake for dawn game drives. The big draw is the Great Migration, when around 1.5 million wildebeest move up from the Serengeti.
Best season: July to October for the migration. The long rains (March to May) bring lower rates but muddy roads.
Kruger National Park, South Africa
Kruger and its neighboring private reserves offer everything from simple safari tents to luxury tented lodges. It is one of the easiest big-game destinations to reach and is well suited to self-drive safaris. Our Kruger timing guide goes deeper.
Best season: May to September, the dry winter, when animals gather at water and the bush is thinner.
Finnish Lapland
Lapland’s glass igloos and glass-roofed cabins, such as those at Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort near Saariselkä, let you watch for the aurora from bed. It is glamping in the warmest, most literal sense, and it is a bucket-list trip for winter travelers.
Best season: Late August to early April for the northern lights, with September–October and February–March often the strongest months.
Torres del Paine, Chile
EcoCamp Patagonia, inside Torres del Paine National Park, uses geodesic domes, with standard domes using shared bathrooms and suite domes for more comfort. It works well as a base for hiking the W Trek with a guide.
Best season: The southern-hemisphere summer, when trekking routes and services are fully running. Expect strong wind in any month.
Sahara Desert, Morocco
The Erg Chebbi dunes near Merzouga are Morocco’s most famous desert glamping spot, with luxury camps of richly decorated tents among the sand. The dunes are far from Marrakech and Fes, so most travelers build the visit into a multi-day southern Morocco route.
Best season: March to May and September to November. Avoid August, when daytime temperatures can reach 40°C (104°F).
Italy
Italy blends glamping with food, wine and coastline, from Tuscan hills to the Dolomites. See our list of the best glamping sites in Italy for specific camps.
Glamping Destinations at a Glance
| Destination | Glamping style | Best season |
|---|---|---|
| Yellowstone | Canvas tents with stoves, stargazer tents | June – early September |
| Glacier | Canvas tents, en suite or shared bathhouse | July – August |
| Zion, Bryce, Moab | Canvas tents, Airstreams | Spring and fall |
| Blackfoot River, Montana | All-inclusive tent camps with butler | Mid-May – mid-October |
| Joshua Tree | Airstreams and suites | October – April |
| Wadi Rum, Jordan | Bedouin tents, bubble tents | March – May, September – November |
| Masai Mara, Kenya | Safari tented camps | July – October |
| Kruger, South Africa | Safari tents, tented lodges | May – September |
| Finnish Lapland | Glass igloos and cabins | Late August – early April |
| Sahara, Morocco | Luxury desert camps | March – May, September – November |
How to Plan a Glamping Trip
- Book early for summer. Camps near the northern parks have short seasons and limited tents.
- Read the tent type carefully. At many camps the cheapest tents use a shared bathhouse.
- Pack for cold nights. Mountain and desert temperatures drop sharply after dark, even in summer.
- Check park entry rules. Camps sit outside park boundaries, so you still need park passes and any timed-entry reservations.
- Respect wildlife and the land. Our Leave No Trace tips apply just as much when someone else has pitched the tent.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best places to go glamping?
In the US, the best places to go glamping are the tented camps near Yellowstone, Glacier, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Moab, the Grand Canyon and Yosemite, plus luxury options on Montana’s Blackfoot River and in Big Sur. Abroad, top choices include Wadi Rum in Jordan, Kenya’s Masai Mara, South Africa’s Kruger, Finnish Lapland’s glass igloos, Torres del Paine in Chile and Morocco’s Sahara dunes.
When is the best time to go glamping?
It depends on the region. Northern Rockies camps near Yellowstone and Glacier open roughly late May to mid-September, with July and August the most reliable months. Desert destinations such as Zion, Moab and Joshua Tree are best in spring and fall. For safaris, aim for July to October in the Masai Mara and May to September in Kruger. Lapland is a late August to early April destination.
Is national park glamping inside the park?
Usually not. The big glamping brands, such as Under Canvas and AutoCamp, operate on private land just outside park boundaries, often within a few miles of an entrance. That means you still need a park entry pass and any timed-entry or vehicle reservations the park requires. Inside the parks, lodging is generally limited to concession-run lodges, cabins and standard campgrounds.
What is the difference between glamping and camping?
Camping means bringing and setting up your own shelter and gear, usually with shared or basic facilities. Glamping provides a ready-made, furnished shelter such as a canvas safari tent, yurt, dome, Airstream or glass igloo, with a real bed and often heating, electricity and a private or nearby bathhouse. Many glamping camps also offer food service, guided activities and nightly campfires.
Can you go glamping in winter?
Yes, but your choices narrow. Most US national-park tent camps close for winter, so look at desert destinations such as Joshua Tree, which are at their best from October to April. Internationally, Finnish Lapland’s glass igloos and cabins are built for winter aurora viewing, and southern-hemisphere spots such as Torres del Paine and Kruger have their own seasons during the northern winter.
Is glamping good for families?
Glamping works very well for families because the setup is done for you and the beds are real. Several Under Canvas camps offer tents with an adjoining kids’ tent, and suites that sleep four. Camps near national parks make it easy to combine short hikes, ranger programs and campfire evenings. Check bathroom arrangements, since shared bathhouses can be a walk away at night with small children.
Sources
- Under Canvas – Glamping locations – List of Under Canvas camps near Yellowstone, Glacier, Zion, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Acadia and others.
- Under Canvas – Glamping near Glacier National Park – Camp location, tent types and 2026/2027 season dates.
- AutoCamp – Locations – AutoCamp sites including Yosemite, Zion, Joshua Tree, Sequoia, Cape Cod, Catskills and Asheville.
- The Resort at Paws Up – Glamping – Blackfoot River camps, camp butler service and mid-May to mid-October season.
- Visit Finland – Best times to see the Northern Lights – Lapland aurora season and peak months.
- MasaiMara.com – When to visit the Masai Mara – Migration timing and rainy seasons.
- Divergent Travelers – Wadi Rum camps and planning guide – Camp styles, best seasons and access from Aqaba.
