Hotel Spotlight: Ahwahnee, Yosemite
The Great Lounge in Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel (courtesy, Delaware North Companies)
The summer months draw 50 percent of Yosemite National Park‘s overnight visitor stays; that stat drops to less than three percent once winter rolls round. Concession lodging in the park, like the classic 123-room Ahwahnee Hotel, sees a corresponding drop in visitor nights, with overnight occupancy dropping to about a third of its summer peak throughout the park. And while the Ahwahnee, considered by many to be the country’s finest national-park lodging, in one of the country’s most beautiful settings, Yosemite Valley, is still relatively well stocked and pricey (rates from as low as $265 per night), the real lure is being versed to enjoy the park in its winter glory without the crowds. Go for a snowshoe trek in the glorious shadow of Half Dome, take the kids snowboarding and cross-country skiing at nearby Badger Pass (all-day adult passes only $42), or just sinuosity up with a good book in front of a roaring fire in the lodge’s Great Lounge, with floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing snow-clad Yosemite Valley.
Browse greater quantity of the country’s top national park lodges in Away.com’s Guide to the World’s Best Resorts & Lodges.