Good news, glamping fans: Starting in 2020, there will be new tented resorts near two of California’s national parks, Yosemite and Joshua Tree, and on Catalina Island and in Sonoma, all thanks to company Under Canvas.
The new sites were all chosen for one specific reason, Under Canvas CEO and cofounder Sarah Dusek told the San Francisco Chronicle—they’re “iconic outdoor destinations that have wild beauty to them that we can help our guests’ experience in a really authentic way.”
The first-to-open California offering, Yosemite, will be ideally located 15 minutes from the entrance of the national park and will consist of 99 safari-inspired tents spread across 85 acres. Under Canvas Sonoma, also slated for a 2020 debut, will have 50 safari-inspired lodging tents on 40 acres, with views of surrounding vineyards and San Francisco Bay. Under Canvas Catalina Island will follow in 2021, as will Under Canvas Joshua Tree, which will be just 15 minutes from the entrance of the national park, which is known for its stargazing.
Under Canvas was founded in 2009 and opened its first camp in Yellowstone in 2012. Since then, the company has grown to eight glamping resorts: Yellowstone and Glacier in Montana, Moab and Zion in Utah, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, and the Grand Canyon and Tucson in Arizona. This California expansion will mark a 50 percent jump in Under Canvas’s outposts.
Each of Under Canvas’s lodging tents can hold up to four people and sport king beds and a wood-burning stove. That’s not all: Each campsite has daily housekeeping, hot water, and low-flow flushing toilets, yet uses 84 percent less energy and 87 percent less water than a similar-sized hotel, says the company. By 2021, the brand hopes to be producing zero waste by eliminating plastics, recycling, and using compostable plates and flatware.
