Yurt Camping
Looking for rustic comfort? ‘Yurt’ in luck!
By Shannon Huffman Polson
Those of us living in the Pacific Northwest know a thing or two about the outdoors. We head out with packs on our backs and boots on our feet, paddling kayaks and canoes, and sleep outside with nothing but a thin sheet of nylon between us and the elements.
There are times in life, though, where we want a little bit more than the thin air mattress between our tired bodies and the hard ground.
We still want to commune with Mother Nature, but we have a lower tolerance for discomfort. Maybe we’ve just met someone we are introducing to the outdoors. Maybe we have kids. Maybe it’s just a weekend we want to be a little bit more…comfortable.
If you ask, the Northwest delivers. To connect to the outdoors in rustic comfort, look no further than a yurt.
Breathable and waterproof
The inside of the Roundhouse Yurt at Paca Pride Guest Ranch in Granite Falls offers exceptional luxury.
Once a portable tent for nomads in central Asia, the simple round structure is now popular for anyone wanting to enjoy a unique experience in the natural world.
Originally a yurt would have been covered in skins, but modern fabrics covering the wood lattice structure keep yurts breathable and weather-proof. The single-room structure usually places bunks around the sides, and has a space to gather around a wood stove and a simple kitchen for cooking.
Larisa Moore, her husband and four-year-old son used yurts as a transition to camping. Starting with the yurt at Seaquest State Park near Mt. St. Helens, they enjoyed it so much they booked for the following year. In the interim, they stayed in a privately owned yurt at Paca Pride Guest Ranch near Granite Falls.
“It was a perfect introduction to camping for my son and he loved it,” she says of the 730-square-foot roundhouse yurt at Paca Pride, their son’s visit enriched with a view of the shaggy Alpacas on the property.
Creature Comforts
Brindy Bundesman and her family first tried a yurt after tent camping for years but wanted an option that allowed for more comfort over a multi-day trip while retaining the best parts of sleeping in a tent.
“I loved that there was a built-in heater and a warm place to retreat to without having to crawl into my sleeping bag,” she says. “I also enjoyed hanging out in the yurt early in the morning, drinking coffee and playing board games with the kids. It allowed us to be lazy longer in the morning than we would have in a tent.
“And I loved that we didn’t lose the intimacy of tent camping — all sleeping together in the same small space. And with young children it gave us a place they could retreat to for some down-time in the afternoons. There was enough space for them to each have quiet playtime on their own — something that wouldn’t happen in a tent.”
For Anna Davidson and her family, the yurt is comfortable enough to spend a season. Every summer, Anna, her husband and two kids live in a yurt on a farm near Carnation, Wash. where they run a year-round home delivery service of organic fruits and vegetables.
For Davidson, the connection to nature and a simple existence is paramount. “I love being in one space, where we are all together,” she says. “I love being unplugged so we can really focus on each other and on our basic needs. I love that from every window in the yurt you look out and are connected to the environment and surrounding nature, the river, the sky, the farm, the mountains.”
For those who love the experience of drinking great wine in a relaxed outdoor setting, Alexandria Nicole Cellars in Prosser, Wash. offers a premium yurt camping experience in the middle of their Destiny Ridge estate vineyards overlooking the Columbia River. What’s more, Alexandria Nicole was selected as the 2011 Washington Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest.
Jan Munger and her husband found that a yurt at Cape Disappointment State Park on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula was perfect for breaking their three-month old daughter into camping.
“We brought a Coleman stove to cook our meals, but didn’t have to worry about setting up a tent — and it was heated, which was perhaps the best part considering it was June and still quite cold.”
Yurts aren’t only for families. Riisa Conklin and her new husband, Drew, began their married life together at a yurt in Leavenworth. “It was such a beautiful space, and very romantic,” Conklin says.
That simplicity allows yurters to focus on relationships.
“Some of my favorite yurt evenings are after snuggling with the kids and reading stories by oil lantern light, putting them to bed and enjoying a campfire with my husband right outside the door,” says Davidson. “It’s like being in an outdoor living room within earshot and eyesight of the kids but in our own little world.”
With all of their idyllic comfort, yurts still qualify as rustic accommodations. Brindesman notes that the vinyl mattresses aren’t always comfortable, and sometimes the beds are short for her and her tall husband. “It’s still more comfortable than a Thermarest, though,” she laughs.
The challenges of renting yurts relate to availability. Bundesman recommends booking as early as possible, especially during the summer peak season.
Resources
Yurt rentals in the U.S.:
http://www.yurts.com/how/yurt-vacations.aspx#west
Washington State Parks:
http://www.parks.wa.gov/yurtsandcabins/
Oregon State Park Yurts:
http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PARKS/rustic.shtml
Idaho State Parks:
http://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/lodging/yurts.aspx
Paca Pride Guest Ranch: www.pacapride.com
Alexandria Nicole Cellars/Glamping:
http://www.ancglamping.com/
SV Trekking: www.svtrek.com/huts.php
Shannon Huffman Polson is a Seattle writer who loves any outdoor adventures in tents or yurts with her husband, son and dog. She has published in Seattle and Alaska magazines, literary magazines and others. Find her at www.aborderlife.com and www.kidsinthewoods.com.
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