Frontier Drive Inn Rooms
On Earth Day, April 22, which is also the start of National Park Week, all US parks offer free admission. So strap on those hiking boots, and get prepped for some serious adventuring. Here is the latest travel news:
Frontier Drive Inn.jpeg
There’s never been a more exciting time to visit Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. North America’s highest sand mountains shift with the wind, at times reaching up to 13,000 feet. Sandboarders, night sky aficionados, and hikers sojourn to Alamosa to explore (and even ascend) the dunes. Nearby, the team at the new Frontier Drive-Inn reimagined a 1940s drive-in movie theater to now offer private abodes in renovated SteelMaster sheds or cozy yurts decorated with western textiles, both overlooking the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo mountains.
A nightly film screening in one of its 3D-printed adobe structures is not to be missed. For inspired Italian fare, grab a seat inside the candlelit dining room at the new James Beard–nominated Friar’s Fork for everything from a fancy fried bologna sando to a delectable eggplant parmesan.
Crater Lake
Some say Southern Oregon’s jaw-dropping Crater Lake National Park is one of America’s finest places to seek awe. Let the ladies at Explore Southern Oregon tailor a kayak trip through the Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge or a hike around the rim of Crater Lake. Looking for a lighter adventure? Winter snowshoe tours and summer boat trips have returned after a long pandemic hiatus.
Beds in the region can be hard to come by, so book well in advance for rooms at Klamath Falls’ Running Y Resort. The property just gave its Sandhill Spa a facelift to provide river stone massages with dreamy views of Klamath Lake. Pop into the Ruddy Duck, a timbered dining room, food truck, and performance space for local crooners, to enjoy fresh caught wild salmon swimming in a bourbon-honey bath. Its array of craft beers on tap might be the antidote for those sore post-hike muscles.
Yosemite National Park
It‘s tough not to be smitten with Yosemite National Park, and lucky for travelers, there are a few new reasons to voyage north. The venerable Ahwahnee Hotel just reopened after getting gussied up for summer. If that’s too posh (or crowded), Sonoma County’s favorite glamping hub, Wildhaven, now offers 40 new glamping tents in nearby Mariposa County. Integrating the outdoors with a dash of hipster minimalism, Wildhaven offers comfy beds, semi-private outdoor chill spots, and staged photo ops for the ’gram.
Before heading back home, motor over to Merced’s first fine-dining establishment, Rainbird. Executive chef Quentin Garcia earned his chops studying under Michelin-starred greats around the world, including Restaurant at Meadowood’s Christopher Kostow. Now, Garcia is bringing his flair to the “Gateway to Yosemite” with an imaginative five course tasting menu paying homage to California’s abundance. Dishes like parsnip macarons, a duck breast in pine honey, and a grilled bread pudding topped with earl gray and lavender are putting Merced on the map.
