This Winter, Book A Yurt
Stay cozy this winter by bedding down in a heated cabin or yurt.
Equipped with cooking facilities, fireplaces, and bunks, backcountry huts, cabins, and yurts (Mongolian-style round shelters with a wood frame and canvas walls) are the civilized way to camp in cold weather. These shelters, which dot the north country, typically cost $25 or less per person per night and sleep six to 10 people per yurt and a few dozen in the larger huts. The most popular huts and yurts book months in advance for winter weekends (check for waiting lists), but those in more out-of-the-way places are often available at the last minute. These five hut and yurt systems boast excellent reputations and superscenic locations.
- California: Sierra Club huts near Lake Tahoe and in the Angeles National Forest, (415) 977-5646; www.sierraclub.org/outings/lodges
- Colorado: 10th Mountain Division Hut Association huts in the White River, Arapaho, and San Isabel National Forests, (970) 925-5775; www.huts.org
- Michigan: Porcupine Mountains State Park cabins, (906) 885-5275; www.exploringthenorth.com/porkiesum/cabin.html
- New Hampshire: Phillips Brook Backcountry recreation Area yurts, (800) 872-4578; www.phillipsbrook.org
- Oregon: Eagle Cap Wilderness yurts, Wing Ridge Ski Tours, (800) 646-9050; www.wingski.com