The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (40 page)

If you crave adventure, check out the parkway in winter, when the vagaries of the weather create drama and force the odd road closure. Embrace the cold. Troop through the snow counting elk foraging for food, then warm up at the
Banff Upper Hot Springs
(403-762-1515,
www.hotsprings.ca
, $7.30 Canadian). If you forget your bathing suit, don’t worry: You can rent one—and towels—for a few dollars. As the snow flurries around you, you won’t have a care in the world.

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

Alberta Tourism,
800-252-3782,
www.travelalberta.com
.

Banff/Lake Louise Tourism,
403-762-8421,
www.banfflakelouise.com
.

Jasper Tourism,
800-473-8135 or 780-852-3858,
www.jaspercanadianrockies.com
.

Parks Canada,
www.pc.gc.ca
.

sleep in a tree house

TAKILMA, OREGON

Treehouses lift the spirits. They inspire dreams. They represent freedom: from adults or adulthood, from duties and responsibilities, from an earthbound perspective. If we can’t fly with the birds, at least we can nest with them.

—
AUTHOR PETER NELSON,
TREEHOUSES: THE ART AND CRAFT OF LIVING OUT ON A LIMB
(1994)

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Talk about staying in a high-rise. At the Out ‘n’ About Treesort in Takilma, Oregon, guests can bunk down in one of 13 different tree houses. All have electricity, and some even have indoor plumbing. As the pun-loving staff at this family-run property put it: The experience is treemendous.

The Treesort began in 1990 when Michael Garnier decided a fledgling bed-and-breakfast business might get more attention if he put the beds up in a tree. Guests loved it, but the local building inspectors didn’t, and Garnier found himself ensnared in a multiyear battle to win the right to rent out tree houses. In 1998 the officials finally backed down and agreed to the alternative building plans. Garnier, who had developed special equipment to support the houses and prevent damage to the host tree, now runs workshops to teach the fundamentals of building tree houses.

ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER

The U.S. Forest Service rents out several dozen fire towers, simple perches in some of the country’s most beautiful settings. The towers are concentrated in the West, primarily in Montana and Oregon, although you’ll find some in Idaho, California, Washington, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

Rentals are a relative bargain at about $50 a night, plus a $9 reservation fee, but this isn’t posh penthouse living. Instead, consider the experience glorified camping. Although most towers are equipped with pots and pans and a stove, you’ll have to supply sleeping bags, and often potable water. Your restroom will likely be a nearby outhouse. Bring binoculars because what these towers lack in amenities they more than make up in views!

The list of towers available to rent is constantly changing, but a good place on the Internet to check is the Forest Fire Lookout Association rentals page at
www.firelookout.org/lookoutrentals.htm
. Make reservations by calling 877-444-6777 or visiting
www.recreation.gov
.

TWO OTHER TREE HOUSES

 
Carolina Heritage Outfitters.
Top off a day of canoeing South Carolina’s Edisto River with a night in a tree house. Carolina Heritage Outfitters rents its two tree houses to guests taking a two-day, 20-mile canoe trip. The homes come equipped with a kitchen, outdoor grill, and dining deck. They’re screened, with a bathroom a short walk away. The homes rent for $125 per person, but that includes two-day canoe rental and shuttle service to drop-off and pickup points.
Carolina Heritage Outfitters, Hwy. 15, Canadys, SC 29433, 843-563-5051,
www.canoesc.com
.

 
Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park & Campground.
At this campground in northern Florida, about 85 miles west of Jacksonville, a tree house offers a literal bird’s-eye view of a music festival stage. The house, which sleeps six and is built around a live oak tree, runs $179 a night when there’s not a concert or festival. (It’s considerably more during performances.) It’s equipped with a microwave, a coffeemaker, and a bathroom with a clawfoot bathtub. Guests can hike on the 800-acre property. For an extra fee, there’s golf nearby and canoe trips available. The property’s also home to the world’s largest bat house, and the nightly emergence of hundreds of thousands of the insect eaters is astonishing. Don Miller has stayed in the house several times. “Your senses soar from the feeling of being up in a tree,” he says.
Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, 3076 95th Dr., Live Oak, FL 32060, 386-364-1683,
www.musicliveshere.com
.

None of this matters, though, when you open your eyes in the morning and the first thing you see is a tree trunk in the middle of your room. It’s fun and a little unbelievable, says Scott Miller, who has twice brought his family from Pasadena, California, to the resort. Both times he reserved the tree house named Pleasantree, which is built in a Douglas-fir—and more importantly has a bathroom. His wife, Miller says, wasn’t interested in climbing down a tree in the middle of the night if nature called. The house, which can sleep five, is reached by winding stairs and rope bridges. Miller says his family first came to the resort after he and his son built a tree house in their backyard. But after visiting, they realized they hadn’t planned big enough, and expanded the size of their retreat as soon as they returned home.

Guests are advised not to bring suitcases, but duffle bags work fine with a customized luggage pulley system. Houses are equipped with a refrigerator, have windows, and are heated. Although each tree house has the comforts of a cozy inn, on a breezy night you can still tell you’re not in a Motel 6. “When the wind blows, there’s kind of a swaying motion,” Miller says.

Rates for the smallest house begin at $110 per night in the off-season. It’s $10 more during high season, which runs from mid-June through October, and when multiple-night stays are required. But don’t worry; the Treesort offers much more than the novelty of sleeping off the ground. With 36 acres adjacent to the
Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest
(www.fs.fed.us/r6/rogue-siskiyou), there’s nearby hiking and exploring. Many families are drawn to the Treesort’s zip lines, which cost $45. But you can try out your Tarzan moves at no charge on a rope swing, which is accessed from a three-foot platform. There’s also swimming and horseback riding, which cost $35, and craft activities, $20. Some visitors take day trips to nearby
Oregon Caves National Monument
(www.nps.gov/orca), which offers tours ($8.50) from late March through November, and
Redwood National Park
(www.nps.gov/redw). Wine lovers will want to tour an area winery, such as
Bridgeview Vineyard & Winery
(4210 Holland Loop Rd., Cave Junction, 877-273-4843,
www.bridgeviewwine.com
) or
Foris Winery & Vineyards
(654 Kendall Rd., Cave Junction, 800-843-6747,
www.foriswine.com
).

The Treesort considers itself a branch-and-breakfast, providing a complimentary full spread for guests every morning. For other meals, guests have access to an outdoor cooking area, or they may choose to eat in nearby Cave Junction.
Wild River Brewing & Pizza Company
(249 N. Redwood Hwy., 541-592-3556) and
Nacho Mamas Taqueria
(131 N. Redwood Hwy., 541-592-2200) are particularly popular and offer entrées for less than $10 a piece. But make sure to get back home in time for the nightly campfire and a chance to tell stories, make s’mores, and meet your fellow tree dwellers.

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

Out ‘n’ About Treehouse Treesort,
300 Page Creek Rd., Cave Junction, OR 97523, 541-592-2208,
www.treehouses.com
.

cycle the natchez trace

TENNESSEE TO MISSISSIPPI

It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up them and coast down them.

—
AUTHOR ERNEST HEMINGWAY (1899–1961)

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America’s earliest superhighway cut across mountains, rivers, and swamps. Initially, it provided a path for wildlife, Native Americans, and pioneer traders. Now, the Natchez Trace is favored by vacation drivers and bicyclists.

The 444-mile route leads from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi. The top speed limit is 50 miles an hour and commercial vehicles and billboards are barred. Simply put, it’s a pretty country ride that can last for days.

Native Americans used the trace, which was actually a series of paths, for centuries to track game and travel through the region. As white settlers pushed into the area, they also began using the primitive Indian trails, with the heaviest traffic occurring in the 1800s, when the trace was developed as a path for boatmen who would take loads down the Mississippi River, sell everything, and then walk home. Famous Americans who traveled the “Old Natchez Trace” range from Abraham Lincoln’s father to Andrew Jackson to John James Audubon.

But the trace fell into disuse with the rise of the steamboat and train. Its resurrection started in 1937, when it was developed as a linear parkway that roughly paralleled the original trace, although construction wasn’t completed until 2005. The route makes a memorable bike trip, but beware: There are no shoulders and cyclists must share the road with auto traffic. “It’s not like Mom and Dad and the kids are going to go out for a bike ride here,” says Amy Genke, a National Park Service interpretive ranger.

But with a little preparation, you can have a wonderful experience. “It’s scenic. It’s beautiful,” she says. “It has a relaxed pace and an off-the-beaten-track appeal.”

$PLURGE

VBT’S GUIDED BIKE TOURS

If you’d love to bike the trace but not worry about logistics (or flat tires), you can take a seven-day guided tour. VBT, a decades-old tour company offering trips around the world, will provide a bike, accommodations at historic inns, most meals, and full van support. But you still have to do the pedaling. Trips from $1,795.
VBT, 614 Monkton Rd., Bristol, VT 05443, 800-245-3868,
www.vbt.com
.