Rustic wooden beams, natural stone fireplaces, and wool blankets are some of the quintessential elements that many of us picture when we dream up the perfect national park stay. Colloquially called “parkitecture” by the National Park Service staff, this nature-first aesthetic has led to some truly remarkable buildings in remote locations. Over the years, it’s evolved to include space-age sites with floor-to-ceiling windows and epic back-country visitor centers.
It’s no secret that America’s national parks boast some of the most stunning landscapes in the world, but they are also home to some phenomenal man-made structures. Here are a handful of the NPS’s most impressive architectural feats.
You can watch Yellowstone’s biggest geyser from the Old Faithful Inn.
Photo by VCNW/Shutterstock
Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone
State: Wyoming
Location: 3200 Old Faithful Inn Rd.
Built between 1903 and 1904, the 327-room Old Faithful Inn is one of the largest log structures in the world, measuring a whopping seven stories tall and 700 feet long. Inside, visitors can marvel at towering lodgepole pine columns and warm up next to a massive lobby fireplace. During the park’s high season (June–August), free historic tours of the building’s jaw-dropping interior and exterior are available for those who don’t book a room.
Lookout Studio, Grand Canyon
State: Arizona
Location: Grand Canyon Village
Designed by renowned architect Mary Colter in 1914, Lookout Studio seems to perch precariously on the rim of the Grand Canyon. This natural stone building is often considered the most photographic point on the South Rim’s sprawling expanse. It serves as a quaint gift shop and excellent viewpoint for modern visitors. If you’re hungry for more of Mary Colter’s ground-breaking work (she was prolific in the early years of the National Park System), check out Hermits Rest and Hopi House, both within the Grand Canyon.
The Paradise Inn is only open from May through September each year.
Photo by Piotr Musioł/Unsplash
Paradise Inn, Mount Rainier
State: Washington
Location: 52807 Paradise Valley Rd. East, Ashford
Though Paradise Inn is only open from May through September each year, this circa-1917 lodge is well worth a gander. Featuring 121 rooms near the wildflower-rich trails of the park’s Paradise area, the inn’s design feels like traveling to a 19th-century Swiss chalet. Unable to stay the night? Day visitors can also stroll through the site’s stately lobby or enjoy a plate of wild-caught Pacific Northwest salmon in the historic dining room.
A young Ansel Adams often visited the Ahwahnee.
Courtesy of Aramark Destinations
The Ahwahnee, Yosemite
State: California
Location: Ahwahnee Dr., Yosemite Valley
Surrounded by Yosemite Valley’s sky-high cliffs and immense granite domes, the Ahwahnee is as rich in park history as it is in views. Designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood and first opened in 1927, the hotel was constructed to maximize the park’s impressive views, with arching timber beams and floor-to-ceiling windows to give guests glimpses of sites like Half Dome and Yosemite Falls. It remains one of the most luxurious in-park stays in the country, complete with an airy, high-ceilinged dining room and enormous stone fireplace for coffee and conversation.
Alpine Visitor Center, Rocky Mountain National Park
State: Colorado
Location: Trail Ridge Rd., Grand Lake
Completed in 1965, the Alpine Visitor Center marks an important turn in parkitecture when woodsy buildings gave way to retrofuturism. After a stroll along the 0.6-mile Alpine Ridge Trail that starts at the parking lot, enjoy sweeping views from the center’s café, the highest in the entire National Park System.
Many Glacier Hotel feels like a touch of Europe in the USA.
Courtesy of Xanterra Travel Collection
Many Glacier Hotel, Glacier National Park
State: Montana
Location: 1147 Route 3, Browning
One of the best-known historic buildings in the National Park System is the Many Glacier Hotel. This European-style chalet was first built by the Great Northern Railway in 1914–1915, in an attempt to market the area’s mountains as “America’s Alps,” and it sits prominently at the edge of sparkling Swiftcurrent Lake. From its various guest rooms and public verandas, visitors can glean soul-stirring views of Mount Grinnell and Swiftcurrent Mountain. Book a room for second-to-none access to the area’s vista-studded hiking trails (like Grinnell Lake and the Swiftcurrent Nature Trail), or simply sate your hiker hunger with prime rib or sautéed rainbow trout at the Ptarmigan Dining Room.
The Inn at Death Valley even has a wellness center, which is rare for national parks.
Courtesy of Xanterra Travel Collection
The Inn at Death Valley, Death Valley
State: California
Location: CA-190, Death Valley
When you aren’t off exploring Badwater Basin, cool off and kick back at this true oasis in the hottest, driest place in North America. Once an elegant desert escape for bygone movie stars, like Clark Gable and Marlon Brando, the Inn at Death Valley is situated at the center of Death Valley’s most famous attractions. Here, Spanish-style casitas mingle with warm-hued fireplaces and natural stone facades. Today’s hotel guests can enjoy a palm tree–lined pool, reading lounges with vintage furnishings, and a 1920s-style dining room, complete with vistas of arid mountains.
