Glamping is a style of luxury camping that offers all the comforts of home—think electricity, air conditioning, and private bathrooms, just to name a few—while also letting travelers immerse themselves in a beautiful natural setting. Glamping resorts are an ideal family vacation idea because they encourage kids to enjoy the outdoors without forcing parents to plan a complicated family camping itinerary.
The best family glamping resorts in the U.S.
With the popularity of glamping resorts on the rise, new luxurious glamping tents and yurts are popping up all over the U.S., including near favorite family vacation spots like national parks. From luxury safari tents and covered wagons to a vintage Airstream in all its glory, these are the best glamping resorts for families.
1. AutoCamp Cape Cod
Falmouth, Massachusetts
Take your pick from a renovated Airstream, luxury safari tent, or modern glamping cabin at AutoCamp Cape Cod, one of the best family glamping destinations in the U.S. to open under the AutoCamp brand name. Families with younger kids can also stay at a BaseCamp, a mini-suite site featuring an Airstream trailer with a custom kids’ tent.
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AutoCamp Cape Cod is located in Woods Hole with direct ferry access to Martha’s Vineyard for an action-packed island day trip. Kids will also love the onsite Adventure Zone and nearby Woods Hole Science Aquarium. Hit the water via kayaking or paddleboard, or opt for a deep-sea fishing excursion, sail on a historic schooner ship, or bike ride along the Shining Sea Bikeway.
Other AutoCamp locations across the U.S. include Joshua Tree, Russian River, Yosemite, Zion, and the Catskills. AutoCamp Asheville is expected to open in May 2024.
2. Sandy Pines Campground
Kennebunkport, Maine
Set on a salt marsh near Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport, the family-friendly Sandy Pines campground offers traditional RV and tent sites as well as family glamping tents and family cottages that sleep two adults and two children. For the safari tents, you can choose from a layout where the twin beds are in the same tent or separate.
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All guests at the glamping site have access to the heated saltwater pool, general store, snack bar, kids’ kraft tent, playground, and lawn games. Bike, paddleboard, and kayak rentals are also available onsite.
3. Westgate River Ranch Resort and Rodeo
River Ranch, Florida
The unique and welcoming Westgate River Ranch is a 1,700-acre Florida dude ranch about an hour south of Orlando. Luxe Conestoga wagons sleep up to six guests and come with a king bed, queen sleeper sofa, and twin bunkbed (read our full review).
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Bookings include private concierge services and all-inclusive and unlimited activities like horseback riding, trap and skeet shooting, archery, airboat rides, VIP access to the Saturday night rodeo, and a complimentary golf cart for the full glamping resort experience. Spacious new glamping tents and teepees sleep four and come with concierge services, complimentary golf cart use, and full en suite bathrooms with a walk-in shower.
4. Far and Away Adventures
Sun Valley, Idaho
If you’re looking for something a bit more adventurous than just sleeping in a safari tent, Far and Away Adventures runs multi-day rafting tours that can be catered to families. While you spend the day rafting along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, Owyhee River, or Bruneau River, an advanced team of guides will raft ahead carrying food and equipment so that by the time you arrive at the riverside campground, your camp is already set up.
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Tents have raised beds, tables, rugs, and nightlights for maximum comfort. You can also take backcountry hikes to waterfalls. On family trips, there’s educational programming.
5. Asheville Glamping
Asheville, North Carolina
Take your pick of a vintage Airstream, safari tent, bell tent, or clear dome at this glamping location in Asheville. Kids will particularly love Dome 3, which features a sleeping loft and a nine-foot slide. Some accommodations include extra perks like a grill, fire pit, or hot tub. This glamping resort is ideal for families looking to hike in the surrounding mountains or explore downtown Asheville, which is less than a 20-minute drive away.
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6. Under Canvas Great Smoky Mountains
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Just minutes from the Great Smoky Mountains Sugarlands entrance in Pigeon Forge is Under Canvas’s Great Smoky Mountains location. A luxury camping company with sites across the U.S., Under Canvas offers deluxe safari tents in a variety of layout options. (Some examples include suite-style tents with a king bed and queen sleeper sofa, or a Stargazer tent for adults with a separate kids’ tent.) Most layouts include a private bath, deck, and wood-burning stove.
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At camp, you’ll enjoy complimentary activities like scavenger hunts and guided hikes, on-site dining, and picnic areas with grills. The Great Smoky Mountains location is an ideal home base for family trips because it’s just 10 minutes from Gatlinburg and provides easy access to vacation highlights like the Ober Gatlinburg Amusement Park, Gatlinburg Space Needle observation tower, and a two-mile cable car called Sky Lift.
Additional Under Canvas glamping resorts include locations near Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Moab, Mount Rushmore, North Yellowstone, West Yellowstone, Zion, and Moab.
7. Royal Gorge Cabins
Canon City, Colorado
Royal Gorge Cabins offer family glamping tents with double queen beds from April to October. They’re extremely comfortable (think in-floor heating, Wi-Fi, electric outlets, a private patio and fire ring, and an onsite dining option) and there’s no shortage of nearby outdoor activities, either. The glamping tents are just minutes away from the highest suspension bridge in the U.S., not to mention whitewater rafting, fishing, mountain biking, hiking, and ziplining in the Royal Gorge and Canon City area.
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Nearby attractions include the Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience Museum and Ropes Course, as well as Garden of the Gods, The Broadmoor Seven Falls, Cave of the Winds Mountain Park, and the Manitou Cliff Dwellings.
8. Firelight Camps
Ithaca, New York
At the whimsical Firelight Camps at La Tourelle Hotel and Spa in the Finger Lake region of upstate New York, families will be comfortable in tents with double queen beds and a private tented porch. Some glamping tents also have electric heaters, fans, floor lamps, and outlets. Additional amenities include a complimentary continental breakfast as well as a bar serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks from local purveyors, communal campfires and grills, and activities like outdoor yoga and wild foraging hikes (for an additional fee).
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You’ll have direct access to Buttermilk Falls State Park when staying at the camp as well as the option to book treatments at the hotel’s spa. And even though the campground provides plenty of reasons to stay, Ithaca is just five minutes away and offers local groceries, cafes, restaurants, and ice cream shops.
9. Treebones Resort
Big Sur, California
The premier glamping resort in Big Sur, Treebones Resort Big Sur offers breathtaking views and plenty of outdoor activities for families looking to disconnect from Wi-Fi and reconnect with each other on their California vacation. You can go truly basic (simple tents) to luxury ocean-view yurts (with queen- or king size beds) to a one-of-a-kind solar-powered “cocoon tent” with 500 square feet of living space, a luxurious king-size bed, an en suite bathroom, and a private deck and fire pit with sunset views.
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Rounding out the California glamping experience are a pool and hot tub, massage and yoga offerings, seasonal whale watching, and easy access to Big Sur hikes and beach combing.
10. Tobacco River Ranch
Eureka, Montana
Experience the true Montana lifestyle with the family at the Tobacco River Ranch near the U.S. and Canadian border. Thanks to its northern location, you can see the Milky Way and Northern Lights on clear nights at this glamping ranch, where you’ll stay in a refurbished cabin or vintage trailer with riverside views. You can add pre-made food packages to your stay as well.
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Kids will love feeding the ranch’s animals, and the whole family will enjoy paddling or tubing down the Tobacco River. Bike rentals are available, and the property connects to the Pacific Northwest Scenic Trail. There’s no shortage of hiking opportunities at the Ten Lakes Scenic Area and Kootenai Falls, either. And you’ll also find world-class climbing at Stone Hill, two golf courses, lakes for paddling and fishing, a historic downtown, and even a life-size Stonehenge replica nearby.
