Heading to a National Park, But Don't Want to Tent It? Here's What You Need to Know

The lobby at the El Tovar Lounge, Grand Canyon

Last week, an excellent article appeared on USA Today giving the ins and outs of booking rooms at popular lodges in our National Parks. Written by the authors of a Globe Pequot guidebook to the parks, the article offers such pertinent advice as:

• Look out for fees: Because the National Park Service works with a number of different concessionaires at these lodges, there is no one standard cancellation fee across the park system. That being said, none of these concessionaires charges a reservations fee. If you're asked to pay that, it's likely you're dealing with a third party seller.
• Persistence is key: Because so many travelers book their lodge stays a year in advance (to ensure availability), many find they need to cancel as the date gets closer. So keep trying back and you may get lucky getting the lodge you want.
• The point is to be in the parks, not at a particular lodge: So, if you have to accept a second choice, don't let it spoil your mood. Once you get to the parks you'll find that it's less of an issue than you thought it would be.

There's more info in the article, so click on the link above for full details.