America the Beautiful

National Parks Perfect for Honeymoon in Great Outdoors

By Alison Ashton
Copley News Service

When it comes to choosing the honeymoon location, sun-drenched resorts usually come to mind first. But couples with a love of the great outdoors couldn't find a better setting than one of America's legendary national park lodges. Moreover, these lodges are proof that exploring our national parks doesn't mean you have to rough it. Many lodges offer all the luxury and amenities of a resort, but with some of the country's most stunning scenery as the back-drop for newlyweds.

Yosemite National Park: Built in 1927, the impressive, granite-and-timber Ahwahnee in Northern California's Yosemite National Park is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and that makes it seem like an especially auspicious place to start a new marriage. Its location in the heart of Yosemite Valley also makes The Ahwahnee the ideal base from which to explore the park.

Accommodations are in 123 rooms, suites and cottages (complete with CD players and bathrobes). The hotel's public spaces feature Indian-inspired decor, massive stone fireplaces — perfect for a romantic nightcap — and the legendary Dining Room (it has a dress code in the evening, so remind the groom to bring a jacket and tie). Ask about the overnight "Diamond Anniversary Package," which includes accommodations, special keepsake gifts, a bottle of The Ahwahnee's private-label wine with a pair of commemorative wineglasses, an hour-long behind-the-scenes tour of the hotel and a copy of the book "The Ahwahnee, Yosemite's Classic Hotel." It's available throughout 2002 for $457.50 per couple. Regular room rates start at $326 per night.

Also on the National Register of Historic Places is the Wawona Hotel, located near the park's south entrance. The Wawona was established in 1856 as a stagecoach stop, and many rooms recently underwent an extensive renovation to enhance the hotel's Victorian-era charm. Rooms are clustered in eight white Victorian-style buildings with expansive verandas. It's the perfect vantage point from which to watch the deer stroll up to nibble on the foliage. Rates at the Wawona start at $94 per night.

For more reservations and information about The Ahwahnee or Wawona Hotel, call (559) 252-4848 or visit www.yosemitepark.com.

Grand Canyon National Park: Presiding over Grand Canyon National Park's South Rim in Arizona, the 78-room El Tovar is the elegant base for many park visitors. And it's been serving visitors for nearly a century — El Tovar opened for business in 1905 at what was the end of the Santa Fe Railroad line. The hotel has hosted many luminaries over the past century, including Teddy Roosevelt, Zane Grey and Albert Einstein. Rates at El Tovar start at $148 per night.

Another Grand Canyon landmark is the Bright Angel Lodge. Designed by architect Mary E.J. Colter in 1935, it's a rustic gem perched right on the South Rim. You can't get any closer to the canyon without venturing into its depths. Bright Angel Lodge also is the meeting point for visitors taking the famous overnight mule trip to the canyon floor. Cabins range from $76 to $236 per night.

For information about Grand Canyon lodging, call (303) 297-2757 (29-PARKS) or visit www.grandcanyonlodges.com.

Death Valley National Park: Couples who say "I do" in Las Vegas will find glorious isolation and first-rate accommodations two hours away at the Furnace Creek Inn in the heart of Death Valley National Park in California. The inn was built in 1927 by the Pacific Borax Co. to provide upscale accommodations for the company's executives. It was built in the Mission style, complete with red-tile roofs, indigenous stone and adobe bricks made on the site by Shoshone Indians. The Panamint Mountains and spectacular views of the desert surround the inn.

Furnace Creek Inn has 66 rooms, including a pair of suites. For the ultimate get-away, reserve a room with a spa tub and a balcony over-looking the desert. There's plenty to do in the park, including golfing at the world's lowest links, the below-sea-level Furnace Creek Golf Course, and horseback riding, hiking and spectacular drives. However, newlyweds may not want to leave the inn's delightfully warm, spring-fed swimming pool.

Rates start at $230 per night. The best time to visit is November through April, when the weather is most comfortable. For more information, call (760) 786-2345.

Grand Teton National Park: Honeymooners heading to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming will find a pair of intriguing hotel options. The intimate Jenny Lake Lodge is situated at the base of the Tetons and offers 37 Old West-style historic cabins dating from the 1920s. Rooms are appointed with down comforters, handmade quilts and no TVs or phones. The lodge is close to plenty of hiking trails. Nightly rates, including breakfast, five-course prix-fixe dinner, horseback riding and bicycle rentals, start at $429 per couple.

Set atop a bluff overlooking Jackson Lake and the Tetons, the 385-room Jackson Lake Lodge is a full-service resort. The lodge boasts a heated outdoor swimming pool, two restaurants and an activities desk that can arrange horseback riding, float trips on the Snake River, lake cruises, fishing, and bus tours of Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. View rooms (you want that, don't you?) start at $225 per night.

To learn more about either property, call (800) 628-9988 or visit www.gtlc.com.

Volcanoes National Park: A visit to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island adds new meaning to the phrase, "Come on, baby, light my fire." Located high atop Mauna Loa is an active volcano, which you can explore by car or foot. (The best way, however, is a ranger-led night hike, when you can see the lava glow.)

The park also is home to Volcano House, Hawaii's oldest, continuously operating hotel. It started in 1846 and continues to welcome adventurous guests with 42 rooms and 10 cabins perched on the rim of the Kilauea caldera — the world's most active volcano. The lodge is a good jumping-off point for the 11-mile Crater Rim Drive that circles Kilauea. Rates are about $185 per night for a crater-view r