AMERICA’S BEST
CAMPSITESVoyageurs
National Park
Minnesota
Paddle out to the Locator
chain of four lakes. There
is only one single-family
campsite at each, and Quill
or Loyden are occupied the
least. —Chuck Remus, former
Voyageurs chief rangerYellowstone
National Park
Wyoming
The sites at the drive-in Can-
yon Campground are really
convenient for spotting wild-
life, with trails into the Grand
Canyon of the Yellowstone.
It’s a big campground, but the
tents-only Loop E is more
secluded, especially sites
95 and 96. —Linda Veress,
Yellowstone spokeswoman
and former rangerDenali National
Park & Preserve
Alaska
At Wonder Lake, there is a
campground with just 28
sites. You’re as far from civi-
lization as you can be while
still being on a road. You
get amazing views of Denali
only 26 miles away—it looks
monstrous. —Chad Oelke,
backcountry rangerAcadia National Park
Maine
Reserve one of the nine hike-
in sites at Schoodic Woods
Campground. It’s on the main-
land, but the sites are away
from the road and you’ll feel
like you’re alone in the forest.
—Christie Anastasia, public
afairs specialist, rangerYosemite
National Park
California
The Tuolumne Meadows
campground is one of my
favorite places in the sum-
mer. It is out of the main valley
and above 8,000 feet, so it’s a
totally diferent ecosystem of
plants and animals like yellow-Ideal for new campers,
or folks looking for built-
in comfort, Tentrr sites
include a 10-by-12-foot can-
vas tent with a queen-size
cot, ire pit, drinking water,
sun shower, camp toilet,
and grill. The 500 camp-
sites are clustered in the
Northeast, but Tentrr is
expanding to the West
Coast this summer.
BOOK THIS: Slippery Rock
River Retreat in Greene,
Maine [A]. Hike the prop-
erty’s 400 acres and launch
canoes from the campsite’s
river shore. ($100 per night)
The sharing economy of Uber and Airbnb has come to camping.
These three services open private lands to campers,
ofering greater privacy, amenities, and access.This international
service ofers 10,000 simple
spaces for backpackers to
pitch a tent or park an RV
in 55 countries, with its
highest concentration of
sites in Western Europe.
A backyard campsite aver-
ages just $11 per person
a night, with the hosts on
hand for local insight.
BOOK THIS: Schierman
Sanctuary in Saint John,
Washington [C]. Stretch
out over the 40 acres of roll-
ing hills, relax by the pond,
or run the bocce court.
($15 per night per person)The 40,000 sites across
the U.S. range from econ-
omy camps on a lawn to a
treehouse with a hot shower.
Use Hipcamp to rent a spot
just outside a bucket-list
park, like the Grand Canyon
or Yosemite, to sleep in the
same natural splendor with-
out the crowds.
BOOK THIS: Salmon Creek
Ranch in Sonoma County,
California [B]. Rent the
secluded Creekside Camp
No. 3, sleep among red-
woods, and head two miles
down to the coast to whale-
watch. ($90 per night)ABCCONTINUED@PopularMechanics JULY/AUGUST _ 201 57